Sermon: The Lord Surrounds His People
Scripture Text: Psalm 125
Quotes for Reflection
Thomas Keating, Open Minds, Open Hearts
You can only face up to who you really are in the presence of someone you trust.
Steven J. Lawson, The Holman Old Testament Commentary on Psalms
What difficulties are you facing? What disturbing circumstances are threatening your peace? For what demanding challenge, threatening problem, or imminent crisis do you need God's help? Be assured that God is infinitely greater than whatever threatens you. This is the time to anchor yourself firmly to the Lord.
Timothy & Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus: Psalm 125
Trusting in God is like being in a mountain fastness (verse 2). How? Trusting God provides a superior vantage point. It helps us see our own sin and see that wickedness only pays in the short term. Trusting God is also the way to eventually get breathtaking sights of God himself. When Isaiah saw the Holy One, high and lifted up, it permanently changed his view of everything (Isaiah 6:1–8). Most of all, trusting God means connecting yourself to the one person who will endure forever. And that means you will endure as well (verse 1). In a world in which seemingly everything changes and nothing lasts, fix your mind on that.
Application Questions
1. Where might you be struggling to trust God right now? Why is this matter particularly difficult?
2. Consider a time when you find yourself at a fork in the road, faced with a choice between unrighteousness and righteousness. What did you choose and why? What do you notice about the nature of both pathways?
3. What does it look like to be at peace, surrounded by the Lord? How can this be true even in the most difficult of circumstances?