#877 Shaken

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!  Psalm 125 ESV

A Psalm of Ascents, the Lord surrounds His people.

Another of the Pilgrimage songs, another step in faith, reaching from the acknowledgement of God's past interventions in the songs before, faith looks to what it does not yet see, it hopes in God forevermore.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion - If your trust is in the unchangeable, the infinitely Holy and just Creator, you come to a settled place in your heart. A city set on a hill, a fortress, surrounded by mountains and blessed by God. If you put your trust in Christ then it is in God, and His salvation. You are partakers in His death and resurrection, knowing that you have an advocate in the heavens, eternal and always making intercession for the saints. My hope and therefore my life rests in Him. 

…24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches. 25 David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope,… Acts 2: 24-26

So the Lord surrounds His people - This is from now on, you are never alone. He does not leave us comfortless, without discipline or locked up, but is ever working on our behalf. 

- Note, it is not said that Jehovah's power or wisdom defends believers, but he himself is round about them: they have his personality for their protection, his Godhead for their guard. We are here taught that the Lord's people are those who trust him, for they are thus described in the first verses: the line of faith is the line of grace, those who trust in the Lord are chosen of the Lord. The two verses together prove the eternal safety of the saints: they must abide where God has placed them, and God must for ever protect them from all evil. It would be difficult to imagine greater safety than is here set forth. C. H. Spurgeon 

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest - You may be oppressed, wicked men may rule for a time, but it shall not find permanent rest over the righteous. Kings and kingdoms will come and go, but the promises of God will stand. Oppression brings with it the temptation of doubt, of hate, of giving up, disloyalty, compromise, but God promises that we will not be tempted beyond what we are able. He will provide a way of escape.

…21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. 23 At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it.… Matthew 24: 21-23

24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you in advance.… Matthew 24: 24-25

And to those who are upright in their hearts - We should not fail in praying for the saints, especially those of us who are blessed with so much time. This is a great strength that we overlook, and when we do pray we tend to be self serving, but it is so much more glorious to take our eyes off ourselves. Count our present suffering as joy and let us look upon the suffering of others as so much the more significant. Let us find ways to relieve their suffering since ours no longer measures up. 

But those who turn aside to their crooked ways - The way of peace, the truth is not without consequence in an evil world, and some will give up the straight and narrow for the comforts and ease of the wicked.

- Alas, there are some who pass from one class to another, not by a happy conversion, turning from the twisting lanes of deceit into the highway of truth, but by an unhappy declension leaving the main road of honesty and holiness for the bypaths of wickedness. Such apostates have been seen in all ages, and David knew enough of them; he could never forget Saul, and Ahithophel, and others. How sad that men who once walked in the right way should turn aside from it! Observe the course of the false hearted: first, they look out for crooked ways; next, they choose them and make them "their crooked ways"; and then they turn aside into them. They never intend to go back unto perdition, but only to make a curve and drop into the right road again. The straight way becomes a little difficult, and so they make a circumbendibus, which all along aims at coming out right, though it may a little deviate from precision. These people are neither upright in heart, nor good, nor trusters in Jehovah, and therefore the Lord will deal otherwise with them than with his own people: when execution day comes these hypocrites and time servers shall be led out to the same gallows as the openly wicked. C. H. Spurgeon

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. 20 You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.… 1 John 2: 18-20