On My Way Up: A Summer Pilgrimage in the Psalms of Ascent | Psalm 125

Contents of Abraham Lincoln’s pocket when he died:

·      Two pair of glasses + cases, one repaired by twine

·      Lens polisher

·      One sleeve button

·      An embroidered handkerchief: “A. Lincoln”

·      A watch fob – counter balance to a pocket watch

·      Pocket knife

·      5$ Confederate Bill

·      A purple silk lined wallet with 9 newspaper clippings

Psalm 125 is known as a communal psalm which means it’s not a song of thanksgiving or a prayer of Lament or really even a prayer… it is a call to the community to stand in confidence in the person and power of God.

Psalm 125 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 evil doers. Peace be on Israel.

…  like Mount Zion

Geographically Defended

1 Those who trust in the Lord are…

Those whose trust [rely on, lean their whole weight upon] is in the Lord are like Mount Zion; high up, protected by the natural topography, fortified walls and an army ready for all opposing forces! 

… which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

The Hebrew translated “shaken” is better understood in English as “will not fall.” Our trust is not in avoiding the shaking, our trust is in not falling!

Pilgrim’s Pro Tip: Lean your whole weight upon your Lord [the person you have placed yourself under] and He will defend and protect you like Mount Zion!

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.

There isn’t now, nor will there ever be, a place or circumstance where God can’t or won’t keep you from falling! How does that fact impact your pilgrimage!

3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous…

Scepter equates to the presence of oppressive rule and it’s real. The applications are political and social systems, as well as regular practices of injustice.

The good news is…the scepter of the wicked is real but it 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 evil doers.

The Hebrew root for “upright” literally means “to be straight.” The members of this community had 2 choices:

1) To walk straight after God, and in His will and ways

or

2) To walk crooked and face banishment with the evil doers.

Psalm 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

V5b Peace be on Israel.

Peace = Shalom = wholeness, rest, ease.

Both of these statements are true at the same time:

1.     The world is a hard place, a dangerous place and is becoming more hostile to the people and ways of God.

2.     God is our refuge; He will not fail and we will not fall! Our enemies are potent they just aren’t omni-potent!

Our faith is a fortress and God is our refuge; He surrounds us! Don’t give up on God and don’t give in to the wickedness around you. Walk straight and He will direct your paths.

“For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-to-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness [inability to see] as we move around down here knee deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not the objective proof of God’s existence we want but the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle that we are really after and that is so, I think the miracle we really get.”                               - Fredrich Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat