Safe and Secure
1 Those
who trust in the Lord are
like Mount Zion,
which
cannot be shaken but endures forever.
2 As
the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so
the Lord surrounds his people
both
now and forevermore.
3 The
scepter of
the wicked will not remain
over
the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their
hands to do evil.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good,
to
those who are upright in heart.
5 But
those who turn to
crooked ways
the Lord will banish with the evildoers.
Peace be on Israel
The theme of the previous Psalm, 124, is “if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us the enemy would have overtaken us we would have been destroyed.” But Yahweh was on our side.
Based on those past deliverances, the pilgrims now sing with confidence and joy the truth they have learned by experience, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be shaken (or moved) but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord (Yahweh) surrounds his people now and forevermore.” (v1-2) Their past experiences have strengthened their faith for today and the future.
Most of us can recall the times when our deliverance and survival could only have been from God—emotional, financial, physical. This Psalm enables us too to affirm our security and protection in Yahweh.
Israel’s geography
It is natural that the Israelites would use their own geography as the metaphor for their stability and security. They were heading towards Jerusalem the city set on Mount Zion, the site of the temple, the place where they would meet God. And from Jerusalem they could look out and see the surrounding mountain. These became a metaphor for the security they felt in Yahweh.
Our connection with this Psalm and its geography is Jesus.
We don’t live in Jerusalem when not heading to the earthly Jerusalem and we don’t look out and see the mountains that surround Jerusalem. We have an even more sure foundation. Here’s what we read in Hebrews 12. (I have reduced it for the sake of space; it is worth reading the whole section.)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem.
You have come to thousands upon thousands
of angels in joyful assembly,
23 to the church of the firstborn…to God…
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood…”
Note: You have come. It is done. It is
finished. We already belong in an eternal city on an eternal mountain, as
Isaiah said (Isaiah 2:2). Unshakeable. Immovable. Unassailable.
How does it work, saying that we have already come to this mountain and city? Let me illustrate…
Marilyn and I have spent lots of time travelling in and living in some of the world’s trouble spots. When we would land again in Sydney I would often utter the words, ‘We’re home’. We weren’t really, we had another couple of hours driving ahead of us if the traffic was bad. But yes, we were home. The foreign, oppressive governments and militia come and cannot drag us back.
That’s the way it is for us. We have come to Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem. We are home. We still have a little distance to go, but we are home, under a regime that is always for us never against us.
It may well be that some of us are going through deep times at this moment. No matter your circumstances, God is still your foundation and protection. Let your memory of past deliverance be an anchor for your faith today. Perhaps share your stories with each other.
Verse 3 then expresses their ongoing hope in the administration or management of Yahweh. The sceptre or reign of evil will not be permanent. The Hebrew verb tense describes an incomplete action. Evil may be here, but it is incomplete. It cannot take us over. Can you see also that wickedness needs permission to remain where it is when it is. As the apostle Paul said in Athens, God sets the times and the seasons and the boundaries for the nations of the earth. They exist under his permission.
Today we are not surrounded by enemy nations, we are surrounded by powerful new ideologies. They seek to sweep away not just everything we value but to remove every trace of Christ from society. But the kingdom to which we belong cannot be shaken and cannot be removed. Hidden, perhaps, by oppressive legislation, but never destroyed. Nor will we be destroyed. God is our eternal deliverer.
Verse 4 For these pilgrims this gives rise to a bold approach to Yahweh. They pray, “Do good, O Lord, to those who are upright in heart.” You and I cannot fully prescribe what that good might be like. God may remove our ideological enemies, or he might “prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.” Surely both are acceptable?
“Peace be upon Israel.”
The Psalm closes with the blessing of peace.
Is that for us? How are we connected to that? Our connection once again is Jesus.
In his magnum opus, Romans, Paul spends a whole chapter showing us that Abraham is our father on the basis of our faith, whether Jew or Gentile. We have one father in the faith. There is one vine, one olive tree, and in Ephesians 1, one new nation. As Jesus said, there would be one flock and one shepherd. Believing Gentiles and Jews are together in that one flock.
Together then, we are “the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:16) Therefore the blessing is ours because of Jesus.
So from each other to each other, on the basis of our sure foundation and certainty of reaching our goal, even in Coronavirus times,
“Peace—stability and a deep sense of security—be upon you.”
Ray Barnett
