Psalms

Chapter 125

The LORD Surrounds His People

This psalm compares those who trust in the LORD to Mount Zion: stable, unmoved, and enduring. From there it says the LORD surrounds his people as the mountains surround Jerusalem, prays that he would do good to the upright, warns that wicked rule will not remain forever over the righteous, and closes by separating the crooked from the faithful with a final word of peace over Israel.

Within the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 125 extends the theme of pilgrim security by moving from rescue remembered to security sustained. It fits Book V by pairing trust with stability and by insisting that God's care for his people is both protective and moral: he guards them, restrains wicked domination, blesses the upright, and distinguishes them from those who turn aside.

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Psalms 125

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vv. 1-5

The LORD Surrounds His People

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A¹ song of ascents. ²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ³For the scepter of the wicked will not rest ⁴Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, ⁵But those who turn to crooked ways

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01vv. 1-5The LORD Surrounds His PeopleThe psalm says that those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, enduring and unshaken, and that the LORD surrounds his people as the mountains surround Jerusalem. From that image of security it turns into prayer and warning: the righteous should not be left under wicked rule forever, the good should receive the LORD's goodness, the crooked should be led away with evildoers, and peace should rest on Israel.