Psalm 125:1-5

Psalm 125:title–5 ESV

A Song of Ascents. 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. 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. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts! But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!

Ps 125:1–5. God honors the confidence of His people, by protection and deliverance, and leaves hypocrites to the doom of the wicked.

125:title–5 Psalm 125 is a corporate psalm of confidence—meant for a group to use to express trust in Yahweh. Psalm 125 is also one of the pilgrimage psalms (Pss 120–134), intended to be during pilgrimage to Jerusalem (see note on 120:title). Psalm 125 combines themes of trust in Yahweh and observance of Yahweh’s covenant with His protection of Jerusalem. The psalm opens by describing the interplay between Israel’s trust in Yahweh and His protection of Israel and Jerusalem (vv. 1–2), and explains Yahweh’s protection of Israel from foreign rule as a concern to protect the purity of Israel (vv. 1–3). Then, the psalm begins a new section by addressing Yahweh in a direct request to protect the righteous, punish evildoers, and bring peace upon Israel (vv. 4–5).

The Pilgrims’ God-Centered Confidence

PSALM 125

This psalm is all about trusting in God, a central mark of God’s people. It’s a psalm of confidence highlighting God’s trustworthiness. The chief image of this Song of Ascents once again is “the mountains” (cf. 121:1). The holy city is in view, and the stability and security of God’s people are described with this image. Kidner notes the basic nature of the psalm, saying, “True religion starts at the center, the Lord in whom all things—Mount Zion included—hold together” (Psalms 73–150, 437). This psalm helps us remember who is at the center of all things, including our lives—namely, the Lord.

The Scriptures emphasize trusting God. Abraham, our pilgrim father, “believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6; Rom 4:3; cf. 4:22). Likewise, the Christian faith begins here, with faith in Christ alone (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:8–9). But then our Christian lives continue in a pattern of trusting in God (Heb 11). This involves a series of steps of trusting in God as the Lord sanctifies us. We must learn to trust in God in all sorts of difficulties and trials (Prov 3:5–6).

Trusting God implies that we believe God is trustworthy. So, for what do you need to trust God? What challenge are you facing? What fear do you have? What hardship are you experiencing? What frustration are you enduring? This is an opportunity for you to trust God and for your relationship with God to deepen.

The psalmist teaches us that those who trust God know his stability, security, goodness, and holiness.

Those Who Trust in God Know His Stability (125:1)

The psalmist says we will be like God’s rock-solid, holy mountain: unshakable (cf. Pss 46; 48:2). When trials come, he says you will be immovable. You will be anchored. You will not collapse and panic in hardships. You won’t sink.

We shall be like the great mountain if we but place our trust in God. Like the mountain of God (Isa 28:16), the child of God cannot be removed and abides for eternity.

Specifically, build your life on Jesus Christ and you can be stable in the storms of life (cf. Matt 7:24–27). Beware of a false faith. James says even the demons believe and tremble (Jas 2:19). Trust in the Savior alone for life and salvation. And also commit your life to him. Cling to him. Have confidence in him. All other ground is sinking sand.

Stability doesn’t mean we don’t grieve. It doesn’t mean we don’t weep. It means we don’t freak out in the midst of trials; we trust in the Lord.

125:1 For Israel, Zion represented the center of the earth and the place where the Lord dwelt. The Hebrew word mut (shaken) functions as a wordplay with Hebrew hammattiym; “turn aside” (v. 5). Those who trust Yahweh will remain stable, while those who depend on evil ways will be turned aside.

Those Who Trust in God Know His Security (125:2–3)

The figure of speech changes in this verse. Now God is pictured as the hills that surround Jerusalem. Mountains are not only stable but also protective. In a world concerned with security, this psalm helps us remember where our ultimate security rests—namely, in the Lord.

2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people. As the mountains that encircle the Holy City stand as silent sentinels guarding her gates, so too God silently stands in the shadows of our lives, protesting us from the assaults of the wicked one (cf. Zech 2:4–5; 2 Kgs 6:17).

Mount Zion wasn’t the highest peak of the mountain range around Jerusalem. The surrounding mountains protected the city. Invading armies would have to march up the mountains or through the mountain passes (leaving them vulnerable). Jerusalem was thus defensible. The hills served as a great wall. The psalmist is saying that God similarly surrounds his people (cf. Ps 34:7). Nothing will come into our lives that isn’t permitted by God, for the good of the person trusting in him, and for the glory of God. He will protect you. The prayer of Saint Patrick comes to mind:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. (“St. Patrick’s Breastplate”)

When the King of kings is with you and is protecting you like this, you’re secure! Peterson says, “Being a Christian is like sitting in the middle of Jerusalem, fortified and secure” (Long Obedience, 91).

3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. The people of God should not expect immunity from the scepter of wickedness any more than the city of God was immune from attack. God has promised to keep us through trials, not from them. Still, God would not permit Jerusalem to be trodden down by the Gentiles forever, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. God will not try men beyond their strength (1 Cor 10:13). He will not allow the siege to last forever.

Further, the psalmist says in verse 3 that if the people will trust in God, they will be protected from wicked leaders. “The scepter of the wicked” represents an evil king (e.g., Sennacherib). The psalm is saying that no evil power will be allowed to come against Jerusalem if the people will trust in God. But if they put their trust in horses and chariots, destruction will result, which is what you read about in Israel’s history. Many would “apply their hands to injustice.” It proved to be disastrous.

While Israel did have to endure godless rulers, the psalmist is instilling the ideal principle. God will not allow the unrighteous to rule his people forever. From the New Testament we know that the King of kings has come, and he will come again to set up his eternal kingdom. With that hope we are secure. And the New Testament also teaches that we should pray for leaders in churches and nations, that their leadership would exemplify righteousness.

125:3 An unusual expression, the scepter of the wicked refers to the authority of evildoers (Eze 19:11–14), which would not continue to dominate the land of the righteous. On Judah as the “scepter of righteousness,” see Gen 49:10. Those who lived in the land of their inheritance would conduct themselves as God’s people, avoiding evil and injustice (Ps 82:2; 107:42).

3 That trust includes faith in the Lord’s providential world-rule. The duration of oppressive or inadequate rule is adjusted to the patience of the Lord’s people in enduring it. It will not reach the point where they would fall into the evil (‘deviation’) of resistance, violating what the Lord has appointed (Rom. 13:1).

4–5 Such a situation, where trust is challenged by circumstances, calls for prayer. Prayer is not directed against the wicked (5)—they are left to the Lord—but to the enriching of those who follow the Lord from the heart (4), his Israel (5), the true people within the professing people.

Those Who Trust in God Know His Goodness (125:4)

The psalmist says that those who trust in the Lord learn of God’s goodness and seek his provision for all their needs. The psalm shifts to a prayer. Those who do good and those who are upright are those who “trust in the LORD” (v. 1). Trusting precedes doing good works and practicing righteousness (Eph 2:8–10). Having said that, let’s not minimize the implied call to godliness here. God’s people should reflect God’s character.

The psalmist is asking God to bless those who walk in God’s ways. He knows God is good, so he asks for God’s blessing and favor. James says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). So humble yourself before him, walk in holiness, and seek him for his grace, for the Lord is good and does good (Ps 34:8).

Those Who Trust in God Know His Holiness (125:5)

5. In contrast, those who turn aside unto crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. The word translated crooked ways (Heb ‘aqalqal) occurs here only and as “highways” in Judges 5:6. It means side roads that deviate from the straight path of right. Men who are upright in their hearts, such as David, are the object of God’s watch over us; men who are workers of iniquity, such as Saul or Ahithophel, are objects of God’s wrath. But peace shall be upon Israel is actually a prayer, Peace be upon Israel, and is a fitting benediction to this hymn of trust.

125:5 On those who turn aside, see note at verse 1. The Lord will banish evildoers (lit. “lead them away”; cp. Job 12:17, 19).

Those who refuse to humble themselves before God and walk in his ways will suffer dreadful consequences, as the psalmist explains in one frightening verse. If people turn away from God, he will give them a “push in that direction” (Lawson, “Trusting God”).

So the option in this psalm is either blessing or banishment. Trust in God and receive blessing (especially eternal blessing), or reject God and perish. Those who trust God know that he is holy and must not be trifled with.

The writer concludes fittingly with this word: “Peace be with Israel.” This is really the theme of the psalm. If you trust God, you can know his peace. If you don’t trust him, you will freak out and worry. You will be restless. But you can rest when you rest in him. As believers, we rest in God until we experience total shalom, total well-being. In the New Testament Paul says,

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6–7)

Take your petitions to God! Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything, and you can know the peace of God that will guard your heart.

How does one come to know this supernatural peace of God? It comes through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Paul writes to the Romans, “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1 HCSB). You can have peace with God through Jesus, who forgives sins and grants eternal life. And you can know the peace of God through daily resting in him.

Let’s trust God and experience his stability in the midst of chaos. Let’s trust God and experience his security in the midst of fear. Let’s trust God and experience his goodness in time of need. As we trust him, we can know his peace even in times of anxiety.

Reflect and Discuss

8. What does Psalm 125 teach us about the believer’s stability and security?

9. What does Psalm 125 teach us about the Lord’s goodness and justice?

10. Since each of these psalms emphasize community, take some time to pray through these psalms with other believers or perhaps sing some songs in community—expressing your need for mercy, expressing thanksgiving, and expressing confidence.

HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible

Daniel L. Akin, Johnny M. Hunt, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101–150, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2021), 205–209.

Psalm 125

Three kinds of people are mentioned in this psalm: those who trust in the Lord (v. 1), who are also called righteous and good (vv. 3–4); those who compromise with the enemy (v. 3); and those who deliberately go on the wrong path (v. 5). We could probably call them the faithful, the backslidden, and the apostate. This psalm was probably composed during the post-exilic period of Ezra and Nehemiah. Nehemiah mentions all sorts of people who made his work difficult for him, beginning with Shemiah, the “secret informer,” and Noadiah, the hireling prophetess (Neh. 6:10–14). Eliashib was a compromising high priest (Neh. 13:4–9), and one of his grandsons married into the family of an enemy of the Jews (Neh. 13:28). There were also many unnamed Jewish men who entered into mixed marriages that were contrary to God’s law (Neh. 13:1–9, 23–31; Ezra 9–10). Thank God for the faithful who believe God and obey His Word! The psalm names the benefits that faith and faithfulness bring to God’s people.

Faith Keeps Us Standing (vv 1–2)

Spiritual security and stability belong to those who walk by faith. The city of Jerusalem was firmly established and could not be shaken. For one thing, it was built on a solid foundation of rock that went deep into the ground. The city was surrounded by a number of hills and probably two sets of walls. Even more, Jerusalem was home to the holy temple of Jehovah and the throne of David. God’s glory and God’s authority dwelt among His people.

The writer did not say that God’s people should be like Mount Zion but that they are like Mount Zion. We are built upon the solid Rock, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Peter 2:4–8). He dwells within us and He surrounds us with His protection and mercy. As people of faith, we shall not be moved (16:8; 21:7; 62:6). Like Paul, we say, “None of these things move me” (Acts 20:24). We have a marvelous standing, for we stand in God’s grace (Rom. 5:2; Gal. 5:1), and we stand by faith (Rom. 11:20). We take our stand on the truths of the Word of God (2 Thess. 2:15) and stand in the will of God (Col. 4:12). It is God who enables us to stand (2 Cor. 1:21, 24), and because He does, we are able to accomplish the work He wants us to do (1 Cor. 15:58). When we begin to trust ourselves or other people, and we bypass the Lord, then we begin to waver, stumble, and fall.

Faith Keeps Us Obeying (v. 3)

The land of Israel belongs to the Lord and He allowed His people to dwell there as long as they obeyed His covenant (Lev. 25:2, 23, 38). The land was assigned by lot to the various tribes (Josh. 14–19) and was never to be sold to anyone outside the tribe. But over the years, their sins defiled the land and the Lord finally had to send the people to Babylon to give the land the rest and cleansing it needed. While the people were away, some of the land was taken over by strangers, including Gentiles from neighboring nations, and this had to be straightened out when the exiles returned. Israel was under Persian rule during the post-exilic years, and the Persian officers could do as they pleased. Some of the Jews became weary of this arrangement and capitulated to the Persians. “If you cannot whip them, join them.” But the “scepter of wickedness” was wielded not only by Persians but also by greedy Israelites who disobeyed God’s law and exploited their own people (Neh. 5). The prevalence of evil makes it easier for everybody to sin (Matt. 24:12), but the Lord will not permit this to go on forever. The people who trust God will obey His Word no matter what others may do, and they will not succumb to temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).

Faith Keeps Us Praying (v. 4)

Jesus taught us to keep on praying and not become discouraged if the answer is long in coming (Luke 18:1–8). The times may be bad, but there are always good people in bad times, people who trust God and obey His will. No matter how depressing the times may be, people of faith pray and receive good things from the hand of their Father (Luke 11:9–13). To live by faith is to keep our eyes on the Lord (123:1; Heb. 12:1–2), rest on the promises of His Word, and do what is right no matter what others may say or do. Faith means living without scheming.

Faith Keeps Us Hoping (v. 5)

People of faith know that God will one day judge the disobedient, no matter how much they seem to get away with resisting God and abusing others. The future is your friend when Jesus is your Lord. It is not easy to walk on the narrow way, but it leads to life, while the broad way leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13–27). They may be enjoying the pleasures of sin now, but what will the outcome be? “Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off” (37:37–38, NKJV).

The life of faith is not easy, but the life of unbelief is much harder—in this life and in the life to come.

Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 157–159.

125 A Prayer of Trust

The Security of Divine Protection The poet cites the geographical permanence of the Temple Mount and the defensibility of its home, Jerusalem, to illustrate the security and protection of the righteous. He also foresees divine judgment on the disobedient.