Trust

Title:  Trust

Scripture Reading:  Psalms 125:1-5

They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

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

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.

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

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.

We live in uncertain times. 

As Christian, should we react like the people of the world?

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep to those he loves.  As Victor Hugo wrote, ‘When you have accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace; God is awake.’

The key text for this sermon is Psalms 125:1: ‘They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.’ 

The theme of this key text is trust, which is the title of my message this morning. 

If there is one sentence that summarize this entire Psalm it is this: ‘The Christian life is not meant to be one of self-dependent toil, but of dependent trust.’

1. The concept of Trust

The concept of trust as defined by the bible is expressed as:

• Trust in the Name.
• Trust in the Mercy.
• Trust in the Word.
• Trust in the Salvation.

We cannot properly put our trust in Him until we remove our trust in other things. 

Charles Spurgeon says that it is a good thing to understand much, and to trust in the Lord with growing knowledge, but even if we do not know much, yet if you are trusting in the LORD, you still will be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed.

Also, this trust shows several facets of our relationship with the LORD:

• We fear Him.
• We love Him.
• We know Him.
• We have a personal bond too intimate to be a passing liaison.

This covenant lifestyles is manifested in the followings:

• Repentance
• Faith/Trust/Believe
• Obedience
• Perseverance

2. The Promise of Trust

Psalms 125:2, ‘As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.’

Mountains surround Jerusalem. 

So, the pilgrim coming to Jerusalem saw these mountains and with this song they made spiritual application from the geography. From this verse we can derive that:

1. The LORD surrounds His people. God promised not only to be present with His people, but also to be all around them.  He would surround them, so that nothing can get to them unless it first passes through Him.
2. The mountains surround Jerusalem. God puts a hedge around us. The term hedge, signified by the mountains, is a hedge of protection. Job 1:10, ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.’
3. We are like Mount Zion, which cannot be removed. Some persons are like the sand -ever shifting and treacherous. Some are like the sea -restless and unsettled.  Some are like the wind -uncertain and inconstant. But believers are like the mountain- strong, stable and secure. John Stott writes: ‘God’s people are like a mountain surrounded by mountains, both immovable and impregnable.  John Philips sums it up nicely when he says, ‘To get at Jerusalem an enemy had to get past the mountains.  To get at God’s people, an enemy must first get past God.  Truly those who trust in the LORD are safe and secure.

The imagery of ‘mountains’

• YHWH is the shield and protector of His people!
• There is a covenant fidelity on the Part of God.
• This promise abides continually for the people of God.

We must never separate Psalms 125:1 from Psalms 125:2; the promise of verse 2 has the condition of trust in verse 1.  Bible commentator Morgan said, ‘in the days when these people failed in trust, the surrounding mountains failed to secure safety to Zion. It was overcome and trodden down.’

3. The Scepter of Trust

Psalms 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.’

The word ‘rod’ here has the equivalent of another word ‘scepter.’ A scepter is a rod or wand borne in the hand as an emblem of regal or imperial power. It is a royal or imperial power or authority, sovereignty.  This is the imagery for kingship. 

Here we are told two things:

• No foreign king shall reign over God’s people
• No Idolatrous King shall reign over God’s people.

This is conditional.  The time frame of Psalms 125:3 is uncertain.

• The enemy did control Israel (past)
• The enemy will never control Israel (future)

So, it also means one who deviates from YHWH’s covenant requirements shall not rest upon the land, or the allotted land.

How does this apply to us?  Those who trust in the LORD have a secure inheritance.

4. The Goodness of the Trust

Psalms 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.’

God is good and His people should reflect Him by doing good.  Both the Hebrew words for ‘good’ used in this verse, has the concept in line with ‘We reap what we sow.’  The Psalmist is calling out to God to do good. 

5. The Peace of Trust

Psalms 125, ‘peace shall be upon Israel.’

The God of Peace and the Prince of Peace desire peace for those who trust Them!

Psalm 125 ends with a prayer pronouncing Shalom upon Israel. Salem came from the word Jerusalem, which means peace. 

The Psalmist stretches out his hands over all Israel, as if blessing them like a priest, embraces all his hopes, petitions, and wishes in the one prayer, ‘Peace be upon Israel.’ 

In summary, you will notice Psalms 125 characteries two kinds of people. This is known as ‘the two ways’ of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The two ways means, life and prosperity when we have trust in God, but death and destruction if we do not trust God. 

We have a trust issue.

And this trust issue dates back to the Garden of Eden.

Why do we have problems trusting God?

Because the serpent’s lies was planted in Adam and Eve the day Eve believed the lies of the serpent. And this lie had been passed down to all mankind. This lie has kingship over our human mind, our mindset – A DEEP INBORN DISTRUST IN GOD.

What was that lie?

That God wasn’t good. God was a joy killer. God didn’t have our best interest at heart.

So how to overcome this chronic and inherent distrust in us?

We cannot. Only one man could -Jesus. 2000 years ago, Jesus came to nullify this lies within us. Because of our fallen nature of distrust, Christ experienced the curse of the withdrawal of God’s presence and protection of God on the cross. All the mountains of God’s support were taken away from Christ. God’s presence no longer surrounded Christ like Mount Zion on the cross. Instead, Christ was surrounded by loneliness SO THAT IN WHATEVER SITUATION YOU ARE IN, YOU HAVE HIS ABIDING PRESENCE.

ON THE CROSS,JESUS LET THE SCEPTER OF WICKEDNESS REST ON HIM BY LETTING UNRIGHTEOUS MAN STRETCH OUT THEIR HANDS AGAINST HIM BY KILLING HIM, THUS BREAKING THE CHRONIC CURSE OF DISTRUST IN ALL OF US IN GOD. IN SO DOING, CHRIST SECURED GOD’S INHERITANCE FOR US, SO THAT NOTHING CAN TEAR US AWAY FROM HIS CARE AND FAITHFULNESS.

Today we can trust God if YOU CAN SEE WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR YOU IN ORDER TO LET THE SCEPTER OF TRUST REST ON YOU IN HIM. The serpent thought he had ruled over the minds of mankind with distrust but our Greater Mount Zion is here today, so ready to surround you even though you may not see or feel him. And his surrounding presence is A REALITY AND A REAL SUPPORT because He was stripped of all these just so you can confidently proclaim, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this tie forth and forevermore.”