Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. — Psalm 125:1-2 

Reading: Psalm 125

Reflection:

As the Bob Dylan song says, “The times, they are a-changin’.” How much? How long? Will they go back? The answers are unclear. With the ground moving so much beneath our feet, it’s the permanent and the constant that help us balance and find our footing.

Here is the constant of constants: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore (v. 2). God’s people are surrounded by God’s protection and presence. In theological terms, God is immutable, meaning that not only is God unchanging and constant, but he cannot be changed. No one and nothing can make him other than he already is. His justice is permanent. His righteousness is unmovable. His holiness and goodness abide forever. His power is unchallenged. And if we are his, his love is forever.

Uncertainty leads us to believe we are vulnerable and exposed to whatever trouble might be encroaching. Contrary to what our eyes see, however, God has positioned himself all around us like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. In other words, God’s arms are always wrapped around us.

Of course, this is a security we did not earn. In fact, in our sin we tried to wriggle free from God’s grip, and sin leaves us naked and exposed like Adam and Eve after they sinned in Eden. At various times, Jerusalem became a den of wickedness, and there was spiritual darkness within her walls. That’s the thing about those mountains, though: they still surrounded the city no matter what was happening within.

The rest of Psalm 125 trusts that God will be good to those who are good and upright in their hearts (v. 4), but that he would lead away those who turn aside to their crooked ways (v. 5). 

Only the good and upright would be preserved in Jerusalem. In our sin, we deserved to be driven out of the city, but in our place, God drove his own Son out of the city to a place called Golgotha. And within those mountains of God’s protection, Christ was exposed and crucified. What’s more, Jesus was counted good and upright in heart for our sake, so that God can do good (v. 4) to us and allow us life in the land allotted to the righteous (v. 5).

That is why [t]hose who trust in the Lord are like Mt. Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever (v. 1). Because if we trust in Christ by faith, we know God has secured us in the city and that he will surround us from this time forth and forevermore.

Response:

1. Though it’s easy to forget and overlook such things in the midst of trouble, consider the many ways God has surrounded us with his loving protection. How has he protected you physically, emotionally, relationally, and especially spiritually during the pandemic and throughout your life? Turn and worship God for his goodness to you.
   
   
2. Psalm 125 also reminds us that only the righteous remain in the city, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong (v. 3). What ways are you tempted to stretch your hands out to do wrong? What false promises of protection, comfort, and satisfaction have you reached after? Confess and repent. Moreover, what is the righteous work God has set before you today?
    
3. If, by faith in Christ, you have become inhabitants of God’s great city, you are surrounded by God’s protection and are secure. How can you then become a source of constant presence and protection for those around you? To the anxious and fearful hearted? To those oppressed and trapped by sin? To the vulnerable and weak among us?
   
   
4. Consider how Psalm 125 relates to Christ’s promise in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), that, behold, he is with you always, to the end of the age. How does (or should) the constant, unchanging presence and protection of the Lord affect your participation in evangelism and discipleship-making? How can you always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you? (1 Peter 3:15).