with me if you would this evening to the second reading that we have that is Psalm 125. Psalm 125 and we wish to take us our text this evening verse 5 the last words of the psalm but peace shall be upon Israel but peace shall be upon Israel. We are looking at these various songs of degrees there, songs of ascent. We have looked at Psalm 120 through to 124. Psalm 120, the psalmist is lamenting that he's down in Mishah that he's among those who are deceitful tongues, that he is in the land where there's false tongues. He's in distress. And then he lifts up his eyes to the hills from whence he's going to find his aid in Psalm 121. That is looking to Jerusalem. to the place, not just the hills around him, but to Jerusalem, to Mount Zion, where the Lord meets with his people. That's where his eyes are lifted to. In Psalm 122, he begins his journey. And I think the more I've looked at this, the more I'm convinced that in Psalm 122, I don't think that They are at Jerusalem. In fact, this is perhaps, in retrospect, looking at it, this is the beginning of the journey. This is where he says, I was glad when they asked me and said to me, go up to the house of the Lord. And then he begins to think about Jerusalem. He's thinking about it. In Psalm 123, he's got direction. as the servant waits for the master to point, this is giving him the direction, how he is, the way he is to go. He's waiting and lifting his eyes up to heaven at this point. He's not just looking at Jerusalem as the place where the temple is, but he's looking above that for direction. At the end of it, he says, we are exceedingly filled with contempt Our soul is filled with the scorning of those that are at ease. There are those that are scorning him. And the answer to that is found in the next psalm, the psalm that we did last week. Had not the Lord been on our side, Israel could now say, and that's the psalm that we've sung. Had not the Lord been there, their wrath would have been kindled against us. They would never have reached Jerusalem. But the Lord was their help. Now, I think, is the time that they really have come to Jerusalem. Now is the time, I think, when they come to Jerusalem, what is it that they are looking for? They have had God's help in getting there. They've anticipated coming here. When they get there, they discover that there is absolute security. That as far as Jerusalem is concerned, although there were those who were exceedingly filled with contempt against them, who scorned them, although they were living among many enemies, when they came to Jerusalem, they discovered that there was absolute security, absolute assurance. that all was well. Where else can you hear the words spoken of that are spoken at the beginning? They that trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion which cannot be moved. We live in a world where there is nothing certain. We live in a world where things can change from month to month. Who would have imagined at the beginning of this year We would be locked down. Businesses would be going bankrupt. People would be losing their jobs. Who would have imagined any of these things? There is nothing certain. But the psalmist here sees that Zion is certain. Zion standeth sure. He is given the most absolute assurance. It's that wonderful assurance that when you come to the covenant-keeping God, it's that assurance that the Christian can have, that no other religion, no other philosophy, nothing else can ever give you this or have such a glorious assurance. You take Job, Think of Job and all the difficulties that he had. He lost his family. He lost his wealth. He lost his health. Even his wife turned against him. You would have thought, what could Job have? But Job is able to say, remember, I know that my Redeemer lives. What wonderful assurance Job had that even in the midst of all that was going on in his life, he had wonderful assurance and that he could trust in the Redeemer and that one day he would see him face to face. That's a wonderful assurance. Paul himself has something of that very assurance when he writes to the young man, Timothy. He says, he is speaking, wherefore I am appointed a preacher and apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which cause I suffer these things." So Paul suffers many things. Think of all that Paul suffered. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that for which I have committed, that which I have committed unto him against that day. Paul had wonderful assurance. Assurances that are given to him by the Lord. Now, he can say the same in Romans chapter 8, for example, when he said, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other creature will ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. He was persuaded. And when Paul uses the word persuaded there, he's really meaning, I am absolutely assured. I have an absolute assurance. that nothing will separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. I have an absolute persuasion that he was able to keep that which I have committed unto him. What wonderful assurance that is. And that's what Psalm 125 I think is giving this evening. This Jew or Israelite who's come from a great distance, who's dreamt about Jerusalem, who's been directed on the path. And as he's come, he's been kept. Had the Lord not been on our side, how would I have gone? But now he comes to Jerusalem to the one place where there is an absolute security that's given. They that trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion, they shall never be moved. God's church will never be destroyed. That was a wonderful assurance and you know it's only at this place that such assurance can be gained. Here was the place where God met with his people at the mercy seat at the temple it is only when we when they came there And when they arrived there, and when they saw that it's only there, and they saw the hills of Jerusalem, the hills that surrounded Jerusalem, it was then that they knew that they had absolute and total security. And my friend, it's only when we come to the heavenly Jerusalem, it's only when we come to the place where God meets with his people, at Calvary's Cross, it's only when we come to our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has entered in through the veil, it's only when we enter into there that we can have assurance of security. Now it's that assurance that I want to look at this evening and first of all I want to look at the basis of that assurance. What is the basis of the assurance? They come, but peace shall be upon Israel. That's our text this evening, verse 5. Peace. Peace and assurance. What blessed peace they saw and they were assured of when they came to Jerusalem. But the peace is at the end of the process. The peace that they would enjoy was at the end of the psalm. It was based upon what has gone on before this. The peace that they had wasn't primarily based upon their experience. Psalm 124 speaks of their assurance But here he's speaking about peace and assurance and it's based upon, not upon themselves. What assurance that we can have this evening is not based upon ourselves. Sam 125 doesn't say they have assurance, they will have peace because of them, because of what they are, because of what they're going to do. That's not where the assurance is to be found. The assurance is found in the promises of God and the Lord himself. In the promises that God has given to them when they come to Jerusalem and to the temple. They that trust in the Lord, they shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth forever. Why is it that they are going to be unmovable? Because the Lord is around his people from henceforth and forever. It's the fact that God is around them. God is with them. They would have peace and we would have peace all be around them but God would be with them. Christ would come and he says my peace I give unto you not as the world gives unto you but I give to you a peace that is from God and is based on God's word, based upon God's promises, based upon what God is and the covenant that he has entered into with his son. So the basis of this assurance is not themselves. The basis of the assurance is because God surrounds his people. Now look at what it says, they that trust in the Lord. It's as though it's as though the He says, those that trust in the Lord, they cannot be removed. They're like Mount Zion. Despite all the efforts of the devil, despite all the efforts of the evil one, yet the church will never be removed. Those that trust in the Lord shall never be removed. The devil down through the Old Testament sought time and time again to destroy the church. In the days of Elijah, the cause of the church was very low. When you come even to the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, the cause was very low. But yet, the devil, for all that he sought to extinguish the church, could not do it. Even at the coming of Christ, there was a remnant that waited for the consolation of Israel. And with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that what is said here in Psalm 125 is also said, in many respects said, by the Lord Jesus Christ to the disciples and to Peter. Remember how the Lord asked them, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Who do they say that I am? And they said, well, but some of them say that you're Elias and others Jeremiah. Somebody said that you're one of the prophets. But Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? And Peter said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. What a wonderful testimony. Now Jesus says, blessed art thou, Simon Bertuna, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee. but my Father which is in heaven." This had been revealed by God to Peter, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the very Son of God incarnate. He's in human flesh. The Lord says, upon the, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Now, some people say it's referring to Christ himself. I particularly, I prefer to believe it's the testimony that Peter has now, it is upon Peter, but it's upon the testimony that Peter has given. Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Upon this testimony, I will build my church. Now, whatever it is, whatever it is, what Jesus then goes to say is, that the very gates of hell will not prevail against him. Christ will build his church. He will build it by the Calvary, by the cross, by a testimony, by the church, the trust of the church in him. You can go back to Psalm 125, they that trust in the Lord, they that trust in the Lord's Messiah, shall be like Mount Zion. Jesus says the very gates of hell will not prevail against him. What a wonderful, wonderful encouragement that is today in a day of small things. In a day when there are many scoffers and a day when there are many who pour contempt upon the gospel and upon the church and they look at the church and the church seems to be as nothing But Jesus says, the very gates of hell will not prevail against his despite all the attempts of the evil one to extinguish the faith of the church. Those that trust in Messiah, they will be, they will abide forever. They will be like the mountains around Jerusalem. Now, sometimes it's very difficult, isn't it, to comprehend some of these things. They're spiritual things. How do you comprehend it? It's not just ourselves that would find these things difficult. The psalmist himself and those of the psalmist's day found these things difficult to comprehend. So the Lord condescends to them. He condescends to give to them a picture that shows to them and would demonstrate to them what he meant. He says, as the mountains that are round about Jerusalem, as they came towards Jerusalem, he said, that's why I think Psalm 122 is still back there, I think they're now coming to Jerusalem, and they see the situation of Jerusalem, and they see the mountains that are around Jerusalem, And the Lord gives to them a picture, the psalmist is given a picture of how the church, how Zion, God's people will be kept. God is like the mountains around Jerusalem, he's around them. Every side, no matter what side you would come from, God is surrounding his people. on every side. And my friend, what is true in picture for God's people in the psalmist's day, way back there in the Old Testament, is true today. God is surrounding His church. His church, just like Jerusalem, is built upon a rock. Jerusalem wasn't an unstable city. It was built upon a rock. It was built on a solid hill. And so it is that the church is built just like that. We are told that Jesus is that rock, that we are to build upon the solid foundation. Well, the church is built upon a solid foundation, and that foundation is Jesus Christ himself. And those that trust in him, trust in his promises, they will never be put to shame. Take a look, for example, at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1. 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, and in verse 19, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay. but in him was yea." In other words, what Paul is saying there is there's no uncertainty here. The gospel that was preached wasn't yea and nay, or nay and yea. It wasn't an uncertain gospel that was being preached here. It wasn't something that would cause you to lack assurance, he's saying. It was not yea and nay, but in him was yea, for all the promises of God in him are yea and in him amen, and to the glory of God by us. So the gospel, and the gospel that the church is built upon, is yea and amen in Jesus Christ. That's what gives you the glorious assurance that the church will never fail. that those that put their trust in him will be like Zion Hill, surrounded by these mountains. And look what Paul goes on to say, now he which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. So when you look at this, they that trust in the Lord shall be like Zion Hill. The Lord is round about his people. Today we are able to say that God is around and in and with his people. You take, for example, God the Father. He has given to us great and precious promises. And all these promises, says Paul, are yea and amen in Jesus Christ. So God the Father has given us the promises. He has given us his word. Providence itself, as we saw this morning when Judas was said to betray Jesus Christ, this wasn't something that happened. And then God said, well, I need to now do something about this. It was all part of his plan. Judas coming in the very time that he came, was by God's decree because Christ would be crucified on the day of the Passover. Providence is in the hand of God. His word is given to us. His promises are given to us so that he surrounds us with the promises and with the providence that is his. And he gives it to us through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who dwells in the believer by faith. He doesn't just surround his people, he actually dwells in them by faith. And the Holy Spirit indwells them, and the Holy Spirit reveals the things of Christ, so that God is surrounding in and with his people, giving to them providence, his word, his promises. That's where you get your assurance. That's when you know that there will be peace in Israel. That's when you know that the very gates of hell will never prevail against God's church. There will always be those who trust in him and when they trust in him, they will be like Zion Hill. God will surround them and God will preserve them. So that's the basis of their assurance and many of the facts of the assurance that belongs to them. But what are the consequences of such assurance? Well, you may think to yourself, if we have such assurance that Zion, that is God's church, God's people, can never be removed, but will abide forever, and that the Lord is around them as people from henceforth and forever, he will never forsake them, Does that mean that they will never have any trouble? Does that mean that they will be free from any bother? Well, the very opposite is the case, because look what he says here. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. You see, they will not be moved, even though the devil will seek to remove his church, even though the devil will seek to extinguish the church, and the rod of the wicked will be there. You see even in Israel, Israel is a nation that rebelled against God and they were taken down into bondage into a foreign land. They weren't always in the in the promised land because of their disobedience they were taken away and they were brought down into and the rod of the wicked is probably the Persian king that's resting upon the children of Israel. But even when the rod of the wicked is brought upon them, they will be preserved. Now there are two things here. And what we're saying here is that that doesn't mean to say that the outward church will have troubles. But there are two things, two particulars that are brought before us in this psalm. There is, first of all, the wicked. He talks about that, the wicked, the rod of the wicked. The rod of the wicked would come against and does come against God's people. As we've said, the children of Israel were taken down into bondage. And what was there that would perhaps shift God's people? But persecution and the rod of the wicked. You see, Jesus Christ, when he went to Calvary, the rod of the wicked came against him. You think of the Roman soldiers and you think of Herod, who sent him to be scourged. Herod who mocked him. The rod of the wicked. Jesus Christ suffered the rod of the wicked, but yet he was never moved. he stood. And the church today will experience the rod of the wicked. They will experience the wicked men rising up against them and we're living in a day when wicked men will rise up against God's church. But here is the assurance that God gives. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon them the Lord, lest the righteous put forth their hands into iniquity." In other words, the Lord, even in the midst of affliction, even in the midst of the rod of the wicked, he will curtail that. He will himself restrain that so that the righteous will not fall away. His church, God's church, will never be extinguished because of the rod of the wicked. That's not what the wicked think. We live in a day when there are those who would love to extinguish the gospel in our land. They would love to do away with the church. They would love to put the church inside their buildings and keep them there so that they can't preach outside. They would love to do away with the church. But the psalmist here is the assurance that even the rod of the wicked will not rest on them such that the church will fall away into iniquity. There is nothing like the rod of the wicked to bring about corruption, but it will not bring such corruption that those who trust in the Lord, those who in the midst of it trust in the Lord, they will not fall away. That's a wonderful, a wonderful assurance that those who trust in the Lord, even the rod of the wicked will not destroy the church. But there's a second thing here and there's a second thing that if anything can be as even more dangerous to the church, and that is the exposure of the hypocrite. He says in verse five, as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, you might think that that's the wicked, but that's not the wicked. The Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. So he's even talking here about those who are within the pale of the Christian church, who turn aside to crooked ways, who don't trust in the Lord. They also will fall away, but the Lord will give peace, will set peace upon Israel. The Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, but peace shall be upon Israel. In other words, peace will be given to the true Church of Christ. Now how often have we seen, even in our own lifetime, what damage has been caused by those who turn aside to their crooked ways within the bounds of the church and exposed as such. But the Lord says even that will not destroy God's church. Even the hypocrite turning to his crooked ways will not destroy the peace. of God's Israel. So we see here that there is a wonderful encouragement against the work of the rod of the workers of iniquity and for such as the hypocrites who turn aside to their crooked ways these things could cause such devastation that God's people could be overwhelmed and fall away but the psalmist here has this wonderful assurance they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion. And the workers of iniquity, they will be led away, but peace shall be upon Israel. That's an encouragement this evening to us, surely, when we think about the church in our own day, all that it has to go through, all that it does go through, all the discouragements that there are, all that the rod of the wicked are against it, and even within the bounds of the visible church, There are those who turn aside unto crooked ways and thus expand. What a disheartening that would be. But my friend, look at where the assurance is. It's that God is in the midst of his church to preserve his people. Now saying that, there is another consequence. Because if it's the case that there is such assurance that the true church, those who are truly trusting in the Lord, those who are born again by God's Spirit, those who are saved by the grace of God, that they will stand as a mountain, they will never be moved, that means we can sit back and reap the benefits of the consequence of that and do nothing. My friend, that's not true. Look what the psalmist says. There is a consequence of assurance that the workers of iniquity will be cast away and peace shall be upon us all. But look at what the psalmist does. He engages in prayer. Look at verse 4. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. You see, just because They come to Jerusalem, and they have set before their eyes the glory of Jerusalem and the security of Jerusalem. It doesn't mean to say that they can then sit back and do nothing except it. What it does is set them to prayer, to the prayer to God. And my friend, what a great encouragement it is. They have to pray. They have the promises of God. They have God's rich promises to set before him. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. He's not talking about self-righteousness. He's talking about those who, by God's grace, are trusting in him, trusting in his way of salvation, trusting in the Lord. And he says he's praying for God's church. My friend, just because we know that God is good to his people. Even though we know that the gates of hell will never prevail against God's church, that doesn't mean to say that we don't pray. Indeed, it's that that encouraged him to go and pray because he knew that he was coming to the God and he was praying according to the will of God. That's what prayer is, isn't it? It's bringing our desires according to his will. they brought, they knew what God would do and God would use their prayers as the means of bringing to pass his own purposes. So when we have that glorious assurance that the church will never be, never fail, then that should set us to prayer. So what does all this do for us this evening? What does it mean? Well it ought to bring us to ask ourselves, are we those that are spoken of in this psalm? They that trust in the Lord. Are we they that trust in the Lord? We see that they're just described as righteous. We are seeing the very last verse that said, the peace shall be upon Israel. In other words, God's true people. Are we trusting in the Lord? Are you trusting this evening in the Lord? Are you trusting in the things of this world that change every day? This is the unchangeable. The hills around Jerusalem were unmovable. God is around His church and He will safeguard those that trust in Him. Are we trusting in Him? And if we are trusting in Him, my friend, what a glorious comfort and assurance the Word of God gives to us this evening. They had come all the way up from Israel, from distress, looking forward to being in God's house, waiting for the direction that the Master would give them, saying as they went, if the Lord hadn't been on our side, we would never be here. But once they get there, they discover that God is for his people, and God will be around his people. He will protect his people and he will bless his people. What wonderful assurance we have this evening if we are trusting in him. Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Gracious and ever-blessed Lord, we thank thee for the promises that are given in thy word, that the Lord shall lead them away, the workers of iniquity and those that turn to their crooked ways, but peace shall be upon Israel. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who says, peace I give unto you, nor does the world give I unto you, but he gives the peace, peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray and ask this evening that thou would bless the preaching of thy word. Undertake for us this evening, pardon us all our sin, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Now we're going to sing in Psalm 125. Singing in Psalm 125. and singing the whole of the psalm. Psalm 125, the whole of the psalm, the tune is Erechstein. They and the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill, which at no time can be removed, but standeth ever still. I frown about Jerusalem, the mountains stand away. The Lord has spoken of compass so from henceforth and from me. Psalm 125, the tune is Erechstein. They and the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill. In the Lord, that firm it trusts, shall many lives die on him, which at no time can be removed, but stand ever still. ♪ The trumped-upon Jerusalem ♪ ♪ The mountains stand away ♪ ♪ The Lord is bold, doth come by storm ♪ ♪ From heav'ns forth and far ♪ ♪ For ill will trod upon the Lord ♪ ♪ All just men shall not lie ♪ ♪ Let righteous men stretch forth their hands ♪ ♪ Unto iniquity ♪ ♪ To thou, to all those that be good ♪ ♪ Thy goodness far imparts ♪ ♪ And to thou, good to those that are ♪ ♪ Upright within their hearts ♪ ♪ But as for such as turn aside ♪ ♪ After their crooked way ♪ ♪ Go shining forth with wicked men ♪ ♪ On Israel peace shall stay ♪ The following are the intimations. We remind you of the prayer meeting tomorrow evening at 7pm. The congregational prayer meeting is on Thursday. It may in fact take the form of a service and if it does, it will go out at half past seven on both Zoom and on Sermon Audio. And the services next Lord's Day are at 11am and 6.30pm. These are all the intimations we'll conclude with the benediction. Now may the grace of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons one God, rest on and abide with you now and forevermore. Amen.