Psalm 125
The LORD Surrounds His People A song of ascents.
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
We are still trudging onwards toward Jerusalem. Our feet are a bit sore, and we are tired of eating the dust stirred up by others ahead of us. We still have a few hours to go before we can stop for the night, so we are singing to encourage ourselves and to remind God that we are out here in the wilderness and we need protection from bands of roving robbers. We fervently desire to be so established that we can never be diverted into wrong spiritual directions. We comfort ourselves with the thought of the mountains that surround Jerusalem.
“For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.” There is nothing to indicate that David has written this psalm, so this psalm might have been written later when things were sliding downhill spiritually and morally in Israel. This verse would then serve both as a reminder and a prayer for God to keep the righteous from falling into injustice.
“Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.” As pilgrims, we hope that we are among the upright in heart and we really need God’s goodness; otherwise, we will never make it to Jerusalem, let alone back to our home towns and villages. We are also praying fervently against the evil we see around us and begging for God’s perfect peace.
APPLICATION: I love this psalm, particularly the verse that says, “For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.” When people urge my husband and me to tell the complete story of our missionary careers, we just smile. Even now, there are many parts of our story containing sensitive information that cannot be made public.
We have worked with several different projects in Ghana and in each case, there have been times when we have had to beg God to remove the scepter of the wicked from the land allotted to the righteous. No hospital, no organization of any kind, can fulfill its God-given calling when top leadership fails to behave in a godly fashion. Lower-level workers watch leaders carefully, and as soon as a leader becomes corrupt, those at the lower levels take that as permission for them to behave corruptly as well.
Whistle blowers generally have a rough time and we have raised alarms about malfeasance on many occasions. Leo Rosten in one of his books quotes Maimonides as having said “Tell the truth and see the world.” Tell the truth and you are likely to be invited to work elsewhere! To quote Martin Luther, “This is most certainly true!”
But if we only focus on that verse, we ignore the rest of the psalm. “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.” When we trust in the Lord, He secures our position and He surrounds us forever. As soon as we trust in the Lord, we become part of His people and the Lord protects His people. We are still subject to attack, but we can rest in the confidence that God is with us, even in the attacks.
“Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.” We should always pray for those who despitefully use us; however, we should also pray for the good and the upright in heart, that they will persistently follow the Lord, despite all trials and obstacles. And we should pray the same prayer for ourselves. At one point, I was falsely accused of mishandling money donated by a long-time friend. My accusers had no details whatsoever; they simply hoped to collect as much of that money for themselves as possible. God gave me grace to go through some very harrowing meetings, the results of which completely absolved me of any wrong-doing. Ultimately, God gave us peace over the entire matter.
Today, you might be caught in a situation in which leaders are failing to behave righteously. You might feel you are the only one who sees the evil that is going on. Do not worry! Keep praying, particularly praying that the wicked will not rule over the land-or anything else-allotted to the righteous. God is still on the throne and God is still sovereign and in control. Your prayers ARE being heard and at the right time, God will act.
There is a point toward the end of the last section of the JRR Tolkien Ring Trilogy where all seems lost. Just then, the hero throws a ring bearing ultimate power into a volcano, destroying it, and breaking the evil spells that have allowed an empire of wickedness to flourish. Suddenly, everything in that empire dissolves and its grotesque warriors fade away to nothingness.
When we first came to Ghana, veteran missionaries told us stories of times when those bent on evil against them suddenly repented completely. God still can defeat the evil threatening the righteous. Trust Him and stand and see His salvation!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let all those under attack for being righteous take courage from You and deliver them from the Evil One. We bless You that You always honor Your word, even above Your Name. Be our deliverer! Rout the forces of evil! And do not allow the scepter of wickedness to remain over the allotment of the righteous. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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