Spurgeon Verse Expositions - Psalms 125:1 - 125:5

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Spurgeon Verse Expositions - Psalms 125:1 - 125:5


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

Psa_125:1. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

Various conquerors have destroyed the buildings upon Mount Zion, but the mountain itself is still there. None have ever dug it up, and cast it into the Mediterranean Sea. It stands fast, and will stand there as long as the world endures; and “they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion,” they shall abide as firmly as that sacred mountain does. Nothing can move them, or remove them; they are in the hands of Christ, and none can pluck them thence. “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;” says Christ, “and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” Oh, what a solidity does faith give to a man!

Psa_125:2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

This verse shows the believer’s safety, as the former one showed his stability. As the mountains stood to guard the sacred city, so does God stand round about his people as a wall of fire. Before any can hurt the believer, they must first break through the ramparts of the Godhead. It is not merely said that horses of fire and chariots of fire are round about his people, though that is true; but that the Lord himself is round about them, and that not occasionally, but “henceforth even for ever.” I believe in the eternal safety of the saints, and I would base it upon these two verses alone if there were no other Scriptures to that effect. If they never are to be moved any more than Mount Zion, and if God is round about them for ever, then they must live, and they must stand. There is no “if” or “but” put in here, — “provided that they behave themselves,” and so on. No; but, trusting in God, they never shall be moved, and God will be round about them as their sure defense. I fancy I hear someone say, “If it be so, why am I tried and troubled?” Ah, my brother, it was never contemplated that you should be free from trouble! There is a rod in the covenant; and if you never feel it, you may suspect that you are not in the covenant.

Psa_125:3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

You will feel that rod, but it shall not rest upon you. The days of persecution shall be shortened for the elect’s sake; and though, perhaps, the devil may be more furious with you than ever, having great wrath because he knows that his time is short; yet God will put an end to your suffering, your persecution, your oppression, for he knows your frame, and he is aware that, perhaps, if the temptation were pushed too far, you might yield. Therefore will he makes way of escape for you; he means to try and test you, but not too much, he will abate the fierceness of man’s wrath, and deliver you.

Psa_125:4. Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

True believers are good; especially are they good at heart, for grace has made them so, and God therefore will do them good. He will bless them more and more; he will sanctify them, and prepare them for the ineffable goodness that is at his right hand for ever and ever.

Psa_125:5. 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.

There are there always have been — in the Church of God some who have been the Church’s dishonour. They have crooked ways of their own, and, in due time, under stress of persecution, or through temptation, they “turn aside unto their crooked ways.” They leave the path of trustfulness and holiness, as Judas did, as Demas did, as many beside have done. What will God do with them? He will “lead them forth;” he will show them up; he wilt bring them into the light; and in what company will he lead them forth? Why, “with the workers of iniquity,” for if they were not such in outward action, they were really so in thought and heart. And where will he lead them? He will lead them forth to execution; they shall go among the malefactors, they shall be led forth to die. But will this hurt the Lord’s people? No; when the chaff is separated from the wheat, the wheat shall be all the purer. “Peace shall be upon Israel.” All the Lord’s chosen, pleading, princely people — his Israel — shall have peace upon them. May we all be found amongst them, for Christ’s sake! Amen.



Psa_125:1. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

I noticed, in one of the reports of the survey of Palestine, that it is said that, albeit every building upon Mount Zion has been demolished, and not one stone has been left upon another, yet the scarps of the hill are altogether immovable, and remain the same as ever. Mount Zion itself cannot be removed, but abideth for ever, and the child of God, by faith in Jesus, cannot be moved by fear, nor removed by sin, but abideth for ever. We abide in Christ, and Christ abides in us — and this makes us like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. If any of you are tossed to and fro, or are changeable, so that you do not know your own minds, may the Lord deliver you from such a state as that! It is faith that makes us steadfast.

Psa_125:2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

Here is security as well as stability. The mountains stand like sentinels around the central hill of Zion, so the city is well guarded, and God protects his own people against adversaries of every kind, and he will continue to do so “from henceforth even for ever.”

Psa_125:3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; —

God does not completely screen his people from trial. They sometimes feel the rod of the wicked in the form of slander, oppression, opposition, and persecution, but they shall not always feel it: “The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;”

Psa_125:3. Lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

If too heavily oppressed, they might do wrong in order to escape from oppression, and God will not have that. He will not let his people be tried above what they are able to bear. He knows that the tendency of poverty and suffering might be to provoke them to sin, therefore he will not let the rod of the wicked rest upon them, lest they put forth their hands unto iniquity.

Psa_125:4. Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

God is always good to his own people. This prayer is also a prophecy that it shall be well with those that fear the Lord.

In time, and to eternal days

‘Tis with the righteous well.”

Psa_125:5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,

There are still such people, who profess to be all right, yet they are not; for, after apparently going a little way in the straight road, they turn aside unto their crooked ways. Well, what shall happen to them?

Psa_125:5. The LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity:

They chose the same way, so they shall share the same end. What a sad end for those, who once stood side by side with the saints, to be led out to execution side by side with the workers of iniquity!

Psa_125:5. But peace shall be upon Israel.

In the 1st and 2nd verses of the Psalm, they are said to be like Salem; in this last verse, they are said to have Salem, that is, peace: “Peace shall be upon Israel.”



Psa_125:1. They that trust in the LORD shall be us mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

What comfort there is in this verse to all who trust in the Lord! We never expect to see anyone tear up mount Zion by the roots. The Romans have been there, and ploughed mount Zion as a field, but they could not remove it, it is there still, and the natural features are the same as they were in the days of Abraham and David. Mount Zion “cannot be removed but abideth for ever.” Men have swept away much that was built on it, but mount Zion is there still, nor shall any human power ever be able to remove it; and, glory be to God, neither men nor devils shall ever be able to remove us if we trust in the Lord, for we “shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”

Psa_125:2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

At Jerusalem, there is first the deep valley round the hill, and then afterwards a range of encircling mountains, but the munitions of stupendous rock are nothing compared with those eternal ramparts which protect the people of God.

Psa_125:3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands into iniquity.

“The rod of the wicked” may fall upon the lot of the righteous, but it shall not “rest” there. The godly may be oppressed for a season, but that season shall not be too long for them to endure. God will not allow his servants to be tried above what they are able to bear, lest their faith should fail, and, in order to escape from their oppressors, they should “put forth their hands unto iniquity.”

Psa_125:4. Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

The psalmist prays to Jehovah to do good to those whom he has made good, for there are none who are naturally good; and there is a special goodness which he bestows upon those whom he has made good by the effectual working of his good Spirit. When they no longer lean this way or that way, but stand upright in their integrity, then shall they know this special goodness of the Lord.

Psa_125:5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, —

Ways of policy, of falsehood, of self-seeking, of presumptuous sin, of backsliding, —

Psa_125:5. The LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: —

If they will work iniquity, they shall go with those that work iniquity. Each one shall go to his own company; if we have loved the people of God on earth, and have walked in God’s ways here, we may confidently expect to be gathered with his elect above; but if we have turned aside to crooked ways, what can we expect but that, where the workers of iniquity go, there we too shall go? “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, Jehovah shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity:” —

Psa_125:5. But peace shall be upon Israel.

What a blessed benediction that is, — peace! It is the one thing that we want above everything else. We are sometimes glad to know more; but we often tire even of knowing, and would rather sit down as children who are satisfied with what they have been told by others who do know. We wish to be very useful in the world, — and, blessed be God, we can never rest unless we are useful; but there are times of weariness when the best blessing for us, the blessing which shall most help to fit us for future service, is perfect peace, that peace of which our Saviour said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” Are all of you who are trusting in Christ in the enjoyment of that peace at this moment? If not, you are not living up to your privileges as believers.

This exposition consisted of readings from PSALMS 123, 124, and 125.



Psa_125:1-3. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. For the rod of the wicked shall not test upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

By “the rod” is here meant “the scepter.” The wicked shall not permanently rule over the righteous; they may have a temporary dominion and sovereignty; but, in due season, their rod shall be broken, and their power shall be scattered to the winds.

Psa_125:4-5. 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.

May we have faith to lay hold upon that last blood promise, and so enjoy the peace of God which passeth all understanding! Amen!

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 123, 124, 125.