Listening to Psalm 125, I, Sarah, envisioned the people traveling to Jerusalem to worship, and remembered my own journey there. Surrounded by mountains, the topography reminds the faithful of God’s presence all around them. As the words soaked in, several phrases lingered:
“So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever”
“The Eternal wraps around those who belong to Him”
Savoring these words, more phrases surfaced:
“Wickedness shall not rest on the land of the righteous”
“Wickedness will not get the upper hand”
Then troubling questions came to mind. Am I afraid that I am not good enough, that God will send me away? Does fear arise in others as they hear this psalm? During an extended time of great difficulty, someone asked me,“What is your sin that God is punishing you so?” As I remembered the pain of wrestling with that question, thoughts stirred in me and I began with talking with God.
O Loving God,
Bad things do happen to people who belong to you. People who love you do suffer the effects of living in a broken world. Those who harshly judge those enduring troubles, asking as Job’s friends did, “What sin have you committed?” pervert and twist the words of the psalm. Your promise, Eternal Loving God, is that wickedness will not get the upper hand; wickedness will not permanently rest on those who belong to you. For even when we are hard-pressed in times of dire distress, you encircle us on all sides just as the mountains surround Jerusalem. You’ve got our back! You hold us in your loving embrace. The suffering is for a season. Your love wraps around us always and forever. Lord, whatever this day brings, joy or pain, or both, may I remember that I am held by you, embraced in your love. Every way I turn, you are there, now and forever. Amen
As I shared my prayer with God, the tension in my chest released and something in my body shifted. As a peaceful calm replaced the tension, I savored being encircled in God’s love. As you listen to or read the psalm, notice what remains with you. Share what arises with God in prayerful conversation, knowing that you are held in God’s loving embrace.
Psalm 125 (The Voice)
A song for those journeying to worship.
All who have faith in the Eternal stand as Mount Zion:
unmoved, enduring, eternal.
Just as the mountains around Jerusalem embrace her,
the Eternal, too, wraps around those who belong to Him—
for this moment and for every moment to come.
For wickedness will not get the upper hand;
it shall not rule the land where righteous people live
Lest good people go bad
and do what is wrong.
Be good, Eternal One, to those who are good,
to those who are filled with integrity.
The Eternal will send all the wicked away
along with those who pervert what’s good and twist it in their own crooked way.
May peace be with Israel.
For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, phrase or image which caught your attention you as you listened to or slowly read the text? Quietly savor this with Jesus.
Notice any felt sense that seems to emerge as you linger with this passage. It might come as a bodily feeling, emotion, metaphor, picture, gesture or sound. See if you can describe it and simply be with it with patient curiosity. Be open to whatever more might emerge.
Perhaps you might want to draw, color or journal your conversation.
As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some quiet moments with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.
Psalm 125 (Amplified Bible)
A Song of Ascents.
Those who trust in and rely on the Lord [with confident expectation]
Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not reach 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 as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God],
The Lord will lead them away with those who do evil.
Peace be upon Israel.