Psalms 125:1

THIS is the first verse of one of the Songs of degrees. These Songs were probably sung by the pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem, when they halted at the various stations or passed certain places of interest. It is very possible that this Psalm burst forth from joyful lips at the moment when Zion first came into sight and the worshippers gazed upon the city of their solemnities. Happy pilgrims!

They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion. The emphasis lies upon the object of their trust, namely, Jehovah the Lord. What a privilege to be allowed to repose in God] How condescending is Jehovah to become the confidence of his people! To trust elsewhere is vanity; and the more implicit such misplaced trust becomes the more bitter will be the ensuing disappointment; but to trust in the living God is sanctified common sense which needs no excuse, its result shall be its best vindication. There is no conceivable reason why we should not trust in Jehovah, and there is every possible argument for so doing; but, apart from all argument, the end will prove the wisdom of the confidence. The result of faith is not occasional and accidental; its blessing comes, not to some who trust, but to all who trust in the Lord. Trusters in Jehovah shall be as fixed, firm, and stable as the mount where David dwelt, and where the ark abode. To move mount Zion was impossible: the mere supposition was absurd. Which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. Zion was the image of eternal steadfastness, —this hill which, according to the Hebrew, "sits to eternity, "neither bowing down nor moving to and fro. Thus doth the trusting worshipper of Jehovah enjoy a restfulness which is the mirror of tranquillity; and this not without cause, for his hope is sure, and of his confidence he can never be ashamed. As the Lord sitteth King for ever, so do his people sit enthroned in perfect peace when their trust in him is firm. This is, and is to be our portion; we are, we have been, we shall be as steadfast as the hill of God. Zion cannot be removed, and does not remove; so the people of God can neither be moved passively nor actively, by force from without or fickleness from within.

THIS is the first verse of one of the Songs of degrees. These Songs were probably sung by the pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem, when they halted at the various stations or passed certain places of interest. It is very possible that this Psalm burst forth from joyful lips at the moment when Zion first came into sight and the worshippers gazed upon the city of their solemnities. Happy pilgrims! They had left behind them many a dreary glen and dangerous wood and now they saw in their full view their journey's end and, therefore, they sang with all the gathered joy of days gone by. They could not have so exulted if they had not previously sorrowed. The same truth may be learned from the use of the term, "Song of degrees"—it warns us that this Psalm rises out of that which preceded it, as one step of a staircase rises above its fellow. David had not sung the 125th Psalm if he had not first learned to sing the one hundred and twenty-fourth. If he had not been where men threatened to swallow him up quickly and found in such a case that the Lord was on his side, he could not have been quite so sure that, "they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed." Our experiences are our instructors even concerning themselves—they shed light upon each other and we learn enough from one trial to begin to unfold the mysteries of another.

They that trust in the Lord - Every faithful Jew who confides in Jehovah shall stand, in those open and secret attacks of the enemies of God and truth, as unshaken as Mount Zion; and shall not be moved by the power of any adversary.

They that trust in the Lord - His people; his friends. It is, and has been always, a characteristic of the people of God that they trust or confide in him. Shall be as mount Zion - The mountain which David fortified, and on which the city was at first built, 2Sa 5:6-9. The name Zion became also the name by which the entire city was known. Which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever - A mountain is an emblem of firmness and stability; and it is natural to speak of it as that which could not be removed. There is something more than this, however, intended here, as there is some ground of comparison especially in regard to Mount Zion. This must have been either the idea that Zion was particularly strong by position, or that it was under the divine protection, and was therefore safe. Most probably it refers to Zion as a place secure by nature, and rendered more so by art.