September 3 — Psalm 125

“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 time on and forevermore. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong. Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts. But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers. Peace be upon Israel!”

“Those who trust in the LORD…abides forever.”

The theme of today’s psalm is safety and security. We should notice by now that these Psalms, these Psalms of Ascent are psalms that build upon each other. That’s another reason why we can call them psalms of ascent. Psalm 125 takes the hills of Psalm 121 (I lift my eyes upon the hills) and the holy city of Psalm 122 (Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem) and combines them into a new image showing G-d’s people are as safe and secure as Mount Zion (Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion).

Psalm 125 focuses on the geography of Jerusalem to show that G-d’s people are as secure in the Lord as the city upon the hill, Jerusalem.

Psalm 125 states three simple but profound truths. 1) Those who trust in the Lord are safe and secure. 2) Those who trust in the Lord have a secure inheritance. 3) Those who trust in the Lord have a secure future. We are safe and secure from the Devil’s clutches, for Jesus has defeated all evil and death — we trust that through Jesus, our eternal inheritance is secured and will be delivered when we cross the threshold of death to enter into our future life with G-d.

These promises should bring you and I immense peace.

Let us Pray:

Almighty God, surround your people with your presence. Let your justice rule, that we may not put our hands to evil nor turn aside to crooked ways, but that we may stand fast in your word and pursue the ways of peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

September 2 — Psalm 124

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say—if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and Thou forgavist the iniquities of my sins.”

This is how I remember beginning the services of my Lutheran church when I was a kid. It is an immediate confession and a promise of forgiveness from the get-go of our worship lives. We all need help from time to time — and this was the message of our last devotion. Today let’s look at how it is we should ask for help.

In the Psalm, the writer says his help is in the Lord — and he adds a reason why he reaches out to the Lord for this help: because the Lord made everything. The Lord created all things. As such, if there is someone we should look to for help, it is the Lord. The Psalmist states:

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say….then they would have swallowed us up alive”

That is the positive truth which we come to worship the Lord, which we come to the Lord in prayer, in which we live our lives.

The theme of dependence on the Lord in a hostile and difficult world is a recurring feature of the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134). Psalm 124 is like 121 which is like Psalm 23 in many ways — in particular, the psalm as a testimony to G-d’s providence in the life of believers through Jesus Christ. We just need to live lives where we worship the Lord often, we pray daily, and we live in the confident trust of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Let us Pray:

Helper and defender of Israel, rescue the peoples of the world from destructive anger, and set us free to love and serve each other in the peace of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.