A Psalm of Remarkable Trust
Reading for Thursday 3.9–Saturday 3.11
Like most of the Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 125 appeals to Jerusalem's special symbolic status as the center of God's dealings in the earth (for more on this, see the reflection for Psalm 122). The psalm heavily leans on the concrete imagery of Jerusalem to reveal the invisible reality of God's people.
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Psalm 125
A Song of Trust
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be upon Israel!
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A Psalm of Remarkable Trust.
For both Jerusalem and the people of God, it is Yahweh who secures their position (vv. 1-2). For the pilgrims singing this song, either in or on their way to Jerusalem, the concrete imagery of Yahweh surrounding His people as the mountains surrounded the city (v.2) would have been a palpable and powerful image.
The picture depicts a people secured and guarded by their God. Of course, Jerusalem's reality was not congruent with the theology surrounding her symbolic status. The psalmist ties any past or future misfortune of Jerusalem not to God's unfaithfulness, but to Israel's. Thus the psalmist appeals to the justice of God and the faithfulness of God's people (vv. 3-5). It is not Yahweh who fails, but Israel. Yahweh ever remains faithful.
The psalmist likely did not understand that Jesus would ultimately secure the future for His people in this very city. The God who established Jerusalem would die just outside her city walls. But even here in this ancient song, we see the truth that it is and always has been the case that God's people are secured by Him, not themselves.
In Jesus, the psalm's final cry for Shalom (peace) is answered by God in ways more glorious and loving than the psalmist could have ever imagined.
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Reflect with a friend
Take a moment to picture the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. Allow your imagination to help you worship the God who establishes, and guards you.
The idyllic theological picture of Jerusalem does not stand up to her concrete reality at any given time in Israel’s history. How does this incongruence help you think about what is versus what ought to be in the world, in your daily life, and in your spiritual life?
In what ways are you tempted to earn God’s love? In what ways are you afraid you are losing God’s love for you? Take a moment to reflect on how Jesus’ ultimate act of loving you and establishing you firmly in that love speaks to these temptations and fears.
