Well, we're turning to Psalm 125. Psalm 125. We come this evening to consider this sixth song of degrees, or as the title of the series we've given it, Songs that Pilgrims Sing. Psalm 125 and verse number one. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, but peace shall be upon Israel. Amen. Now you may have noticed, I didn't notice until I was looking into this, but there are some similarities with the Psalms that we've already considered. For example, Psalm 120 closely correlates with Psalm 123. both of those Psalms they look at and they consider the problems and difficulties that pilgrims face in this world. Journeying through this life is not one that is easy, there are real pressures that have to be navigated. So Psalm 120 and Psalm 123 come very closely together. Similarly with Psalm 121 with 124. Those psalms, the psalmist is orientated to consider God and to consider where his help comes from. So for example in Psalm 121 there is that looking up to the hills, my help comes from the Lord. And indeed in Psalm 124 verse 8, that same refrain is made at the end, our helpers in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. There is that acknowledgement that if it hadn't have been for the Lord, then we would have slipped, we would have fallen, we would have been lost, yet God has kept. And likewise as we come to Psalm 125 this evening, there are similarities with what we thought about when we were looking at Psalm 122. In 122, the psalmist has arrived in Jerusalem, he is taken up with the wonder of Zion, and likewise here in Psalm 125, the scene is being sat or stood in Zion, beholding the city and the benefits and the blessings that relate to it. So we have a wonderfully encouraging psalm before us this evening. As we think about the world in which we live, by and large the things of God are disregarded. It doesn't matter whether we are here in the United Kingdom or whether it is in the United States or whether it is in China or Europe, by and large the things of God are disregarded by this world. Many would think that the church, Christianity, the Bible, the ways of God are outdated and irrelevant for today's world. And so for those who are following God, those who are trusting in him, there can be that real sense in which we are the outsiders we don't belong, we aren't particularly wanted, and certainly our views aren't considered to be valid either. Sometimes, perhaps more often than we would like to believe, that the church, Christians, those who hold the Bible dear, are actually considered to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to many of today's issues. And if we aren't careful, then we can start to doubt the things that we've believed and then begin to embrace the things that this world stands for. Well, we might also believe that we are the only and the first generation to have experienced such hostility and such disregard by this world. And we perhaps think that our time, the place which we live is unique and somehow we have it much worse than any other generation has had it. Well if we look at history and if we look at the scriptures we discover that there isn't anything new under the sun. What we are facing may be called things differently, it may be packaged in a different way, but that same hostility, that same opposition, that same oppression has been there throughout time, and we find that God's ways by this world have been disregarded all the way through. As you look at Psalm 125, you have an encouragement but also the backdrop of the realism that exists of God's people who are living under wicked rule. But here is the encouragement that we have from 125, is that though God's ways are disregarded, though God's people are maligned, God nevertheless keeps and protects and supplies that care that they need to all those who put their trust in him. And so this psalm is an encouragement for us to persevere and to keep trusting. Verse one to verse three gives us a series of assurances and comforts and encouragements that can help us living in a time like this. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. for the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. So the first encouragement that we can draw from this psalm is this, those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, they are unmovable and they will remain forever. You have the picture of Mount Zion given to us there in verse one. And mountains aren't easily moved. You expect them to remain where they are if you came back at a later time. We're going down to Penzance at the weekend, and as we come down the A30, you'll come down to Mara Zion and you'll look over Mount Spey, and there you will see St. Michael's Mount. we fully expect St Michael's Mount to be there because it was there when we were last there and we don't expect it to have drifted out into the Atlantic heading down across to America. Why? Because mountains don't move, they are unmovable. And in the scriptures, Mount Zion is portrayed as being unmovable. Jerusalem sat upon Mount Zion and throughout the Bible, throughout the Old Testament in particular, that picture of mountains gives that symbol of stability. And those who trust in God, as the Psalmist says, are those who are like Mount Zion. They have a position of stability. Though this world is changing and frothing and in turmoil, those who trust in the Lord cannot be removed. Psalm 46, there is a river. The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved, he uttered his voice, the earth melted, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. So the people of God are likened to Mount Zion that is unmovable. We have in 1 Peter 2 verse 4 and following, the way in which the people of God are likened to stones, and Jesus Christ is likened to that chief cornerstone. 1 Peter 2 verse 4, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore, also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, or a special people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. lively stones, people in Christ who will not be confounded. So those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, unmovable forever. Well verse 2 has another encouragement for us. Those who trust in the Lord are like Jerusalem, As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. The idea that you have here is fully guarded forever. Mount Zion, it was a high mountain, but there were mountains around it that were taller, and these mountains provided a natural barrier or a guard around the city of God. And the psalmist is likening the people of God to being like Jerusalem, surrounded and guarded by the Lord. And when we think about our God protecting us, keeping us, surrounding us, he is our guard against the power of sin, against the power of Satan, and against the opposition of this world. Well, as we think about the way in which God protects, God guards, God keeps, perhaps we think back to Psalm 121, verse five. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore. Those very strong words that are used, we will be kept, the Lord will preserve, the Lord will watch over, the people of God are fully guarded forever. If you think about the Lord Jesus Christ being likened to the good shepherds, In that very famous chapter of John 10, you have the way in which the shepherd is described. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hands. Okay, and isn't that wonderful to think about the security that we have in our God. The people who trust in God are like Jerusalem, fully guarded, protected forever. They shall never perish. None can take them or pluck them out of his hands. The third encouragement that we have to those who trust in the Lord, they are protected in the sense in which evil will not rule over them forever. The psalmist is writing for a people who are living under wicked rulers. And this is a timeless psalm. It could have been sung quite ably by the people of God when they were in slavery in Egypt. or when they were under siege by the Babylonians or the Assyrians, or indeed under Roman rule. And as we think about our own experiences, we can see that living for God in this world, we will be governed by those who do not uphold the things that God upholds, do not love his way or his rule. And so the psalmist is writing for a people who are living under that wicked rule. But the promise of God is that this evil, these evil rulers, they will not rule forever. Listen to what we read of in verse three. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. As you look at history, Wicked nations, they've come and then they've gone. They've come and then they've gone. But there is that day coming. when they will come and they'll go and they won't then come again because the final deliverance will have been achieved for the people of God, for Christ's bride and for his church. So the Lord's people are protected, evil will not have that forever dominion over them, they will be delivered. And when we think about this for ourselves, we perhaps think about nations and rulers and governments and that kind of thing, but we also know the temptations that come our way, that temptation to conform or that temptation to sin. And there is that temptation to follow the ways of this world. but we find that God will protect his people and ensure that they're not overcome. Paul writing to the church at Corinth makes this point. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. As we think about this world, living for God in this world, the temptation for us is that we start to doubt God, We start to embrace the ways of this world. We think what God is directing is harsh or unpleasant or unreasonable and we think the world is appealing and it is reasonable and yet verses one to three are reminding us to hold fast. God will keep, God will guard, God will protect all those who trust him and we are to persevere in trusting God. Paul writing to the Corinthians in chapter 15 says, therefore my beloved brethren, Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. As we move on in this psalm, you come to verse number four, and we have here a prayer for those who trust in the Lord. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. Whilst the first three verses of the psalm are an encouragement or an assurance for those who trust God, verse four is a prayer that God would bless those who are striving to trust Him and live for Him, those who are good. Now, some might say there's none good. No, not one. There's none righteous. No, not one. There's only one that is good, and that is God. Well, that is true. And yet at the same time, if the Lord has worked in our hearts, then we have that status of being called righteous or saints, if we like. And so the Lord here is being asked to bless those who are remaining faithful to him. A prayer for the Lord to protect, preserve and provide for his people. When we think about all the ways in which this world may come against us, we want good to be done to those who are good. And in Romans chapter 8 and verse 28, We have that wonderful promise and comfort that everything is working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. God and his providence is going to work everything out so that it will be for the ultimate good of his people. And at the end of their life, as they look back, or perhaps in eternity, as they're looking back and surveying their life, they will be able to say how mercy and goodness has followed me all the days of my life. But as we think about this goodness that comes to us, that righteousness which comes from Christ, it enables us to be blessed. we are blessed and good will be done for us. Because Romans 8 continues, verse 29, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. The devil, the great adversary of the people of God, the mighty accuser, he will come with accusations. But what do we have in that passage we've just read? We have that reminder that it is God who justifies. So although the world may come with its condemnation, what is our hope? It is that Christ has died, yea rather is risen again, and is at the right hand of God, making intercession for us. If God has done that for us, if he saved us, if he's not spared his own son, will he withhold some good for us? Will he keep us in a state of spiritual penury, if you like? No, he will give us freely all things. And so the psalmist here prays, do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them who are upright in their hearts. we pray for God's blessing upon brothers and sisters in Christ. We're not asking necessarily that they will have lots of money or they'll have a fantastic job or a massive house. We're asking that God would be good to those who are good, those who are his people, those who are trusting him. But verse five causes us just to stop and to consider. Because whilst verse four is a prayer for those who trust in the Lord, we have a warning for those who do not trust in the Lord. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. And so whilst verse four is talking about the faithful, those who've kept, those who trusted, verse five is a warning for those who are tempted to forsake their God. Whilst we know that those who are truly saved will never be cast out, there are those who have the appearance of trusting. But when life gets difficult and when the troubles arise, you then see what their faith really was like, counterfeits. You have the parable of the four types of grounds. you have that hard stony ground where nothing grows. We're not talking about that. But then you have two descriptions of ground, one of which is stony and rocky but there is soil there and so there is some hope that fruit will come but it doesn't come because it withers and dies. And then you have the ground that is full of weeds, and those weeds, they entangle and ensnare and overwhelm that shoot that is growing up. And again, no fruit is seen. These are they likewise, which are sown on stony ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness. and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time. Afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth, for the word's sake immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. The psalmist is warning that God will judge all those who do not truly trust in him. The apostle John writes in 1 John 2 verse 15, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, The lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Very sobering words. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, carried away to be destroyed. But then the psalm concludes with the latter part of verse five, but peace shall be upon Israel. And so the psalm concludes with a prayer of blessing on the people of God. The psalmist, the situation hasn't really changed. There is still that wickedness around them. Evil workers are still ruling over them, yet they are protected. Yes, they are being watched over by God. They are surrounded by his presence. And the people of God are given this wonderful blessing. And the psalmist prays that they may have peace. Peace in their hearts. Peace in this life. Is it possible to have peace in this life? Well, in measure, yes. For the people of God, in measure, they can have peace. They can face tomorrow. They can face all the challenges of life because of the peace the Lord gives. The Lord Jesus Christ said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Whilst the Lord gives peace in this life in measure, there is that abundance and that fullest sense in which we'll have the peace in eternity. It will be peace unending, peace undisturbed, free from conflict, free from sorrow, free from all that will cause harm and distress to the soul. Isaiah 26 verse 3, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. sorry, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. This is the peace that the Lord promises. I mentioned Psalm 122 a little while ago. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sake I will now say, peace be within thee. Because of the Lord our God, I will seek thy goods. The psalm ends by asking that the peace of God may abide with his people. and obviously Psalm 46, the text behind me, be still and know that I am God. We can have peace in this world. Why? Because we're trusting the Lord. And because we're trusting the Lord, we're like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, but peace shall