603. Nisi quia Dominus

A paraphrase of Psalm 124, another Song of Ascents or pilgrimage hymn. For the tune, I'm turning to the old Lutheran Hymnary, John Adcock's 1882 tune DERWENT ("Behold, how good a thing").

Were God not on our side—
Proclaim it, Israël—
Were God not on our side
When foes upon us fell,
We had been swallowed in their ire,
Consumed by its volcanic fire.

Were God not on our side—
Let all His people say—
Were God not on our side,
We had been swept away.
The raging torrent would have drowned,
Without His ward, this holy ground.

Praise be to Adonai
Who, His belov'd to spare,
The dogs' teeth would deny,
Would break the fowler's snare.
In His name lies our hope of aid:
The One who earth and heaven made.

ART: Gustave Doré, The Great Flood, 1866, public domain.