WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.839 So, having sung that psalm, we're now going to read it together. That's Psalm 125, 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:17.280 ! as we continue in the Song of Ascents. We're on page 623, thinking about the next of these pilgrim 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:24.400 ! songs for the journey of faith. This one, in a sense, is very much a keep on, keeping on 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:32.259 kind of a psalm. So, let's hear God's Word again. Psalm 125. Those who trust in the Lord 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:40.280 are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but endures forever. As the mountains surround 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:47.599 Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore. The scepter of the wicked will 00:00:47.599 --> 00:00:52.640 not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to 00:00:52.640 --> 00:01:01.200 do evil. Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart, but those who turn 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:11.219 to crooked ways, the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel. Amen. So, we're 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:18.719 thinking again about visitors arriving at Jerusalem for a religious festival, but we're going to begin 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:25.560 with a visit to another city. We're going to begin with a visit to the city of Paris. So, Paris is a 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:31.260 beautiful city. Lots of us have probably been there on holiday. It always comes near, you know, the top of 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:37.640 the list of the most desirable places to visit or beautiful places in the world. But, if we were to 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:48.060 have visited Paris in 1940, we would have been struck by a very different picture. If we went to the Eiffel 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:55.719 Tower, we would have seen the Nazi flags flying. Walking down the Champs-Élysées, we would have seen German 00:01:55.719 --> 00:02:05.159 soldiers marching, patrolling the streets. It was occupied. So, at the same time as seeing the beauty 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:14.980 of Paris, we'd also be aware of the brokenness of a world in which there is evil. Or, if you happen to be 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:22.019 there like we were in the summer of 2023, you would have arrived to rioting, filling the streets. 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:32.179 Go to the Eiffel Tower and there were armed guards and policemen walking. There was a curfew in place 00:02:32.179 --> 00:02:41.099 because the city was deemed no longer safe. And again, beauty and brokenness. As so often happens, 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:49.579 live side by side and visitors on those days would have something of that bittersweet feeling and a 00:02:49.579 --> 00:02:58.379 longing for better days. I introduced that because as we join the pilgrims here in Psalm 125, heading to 00:02:58.379 --> 00:03:04.199 Jerusalem, maybe around 700 BC, so a long time ago, as they were heading up for that religious festival, 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:09.359 they would have a sense of great joy. Because when you get to Jerusalem, you get to be with God's people 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:18.020 and you get to meet with God in his temple, the God of glory. But what often happened is they arrived 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:28.060 in Jerusalem and they discovered, oh, now a foreign emperor rules over us. Or the discovery that some 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:36.000 of their fellow citizens have turned from God's ways to wicked ways. And so, the worshiper would feel on 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:44.099 that day some of the same sadness, some of the same questions of a visitor in Paris. When we come to Psalm 125, 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:53.439 we might think of it as a yes and no Psalm. Or a keep on keeping on Psalm. So, yes, and we'll think about this, 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:02.120 God has made great promises. But those promises are not complete yet. So, that life comes with struggle for the 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:11.759 people of faith. Yes, God is with and for those who trust him. But no, that doesn't mean life is easy 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:18.540 and full of peace right now. And so, it invites us to ask the question, well, in that kind of context, 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:25.259 why keep on keeping on? How is it that we can keep trusting and worshiping Jesus? 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:34.480 When the Christian life brings with it struggle and when we face sadness, or maybe it's just that we 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:40.879 feel so separate from everybody else because our values are different. Or when we look around and 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:46.099 other people seem to have it really easy and they seem happy and they're prospering, but they never 00:04:46.099 --> 00:04:54.959 think about God. Why would we keep on keeping on? If you've had those questions, or maybe you're here 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:00.879 today and you feel weary in your faith, maybe if you were honest, you feel shaken in your faith. 00:05:01.799 --> 00:05:08.899 And I think Psalm 125 can help us because it's going to invite us ultimately to keep on trusting Jesus 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:19.219 who promises both present safety and future peace. So, let's get into our text and let's see it. 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:23.819 First of all, first couple of verses, verse 1 and 2, keep on keeping on 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:30.959 because the Lord Jesus surrounds you with the love of God. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:37.279 Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:44.519 surrounds his people both now and forevermore. The psalm begins with this truth, that God's true church 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:55.740 is as safe as God is strong. Because we are surrounded by him. We are kept by him. We are safe in Christ Jesus. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:04.620 The idea of being surrounded, and that's a source of security, that's a really powerful image. 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:11.220 Boys and girls, think about that. Think about times when being surrounded makes you feel safe. 00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:17.259 When I was thinking about that, I was thinking maybe a parent's hug. That can be something that 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:23.579 makes us feel safe. Or maybe we're going to a new experience. We're going to camp or we're going to a 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:29.959 new school. Think about the difference it makes if you are surrounded by a group of friends. 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:40.459 Or in stormy weather, the thunder and lightning this week, how much safer we feel if we are surrounded 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:48.279 by the security of our walls in our houses. Well, that's kind of the picture of Psalm 125. As the 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:55.939 visitors were trekking up towards Jerusalem, they would see around Jerusalem seven hills that surround 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:02.139 it. Edinburgh has seven hills, so does Jerusalem. And that would become for them an aid to help them 00:07:02.139 --> 00:07:10.079 in their faith. So just like the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds his people with his 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:17.779 never-ending love. And so they are being reminded, the one who created them, the one who is in covenant 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:25.920 relationship with them, he always loves the people who trust him. And so the song begins by saying, 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:32.560 if we trust in the Lord, if we trust in the Lord Jesus, spiritually we are unshakable. We're like 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:41.720 Mount Zion that's always there because we will always know God's strong protection and God's steadfast 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:49.439 love. That's how we can keep going, keep on keeping on in the journey of faith when we know this love. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:55.959 The Psalms love to use that image. We sing quite often Psalm 46. Psalm 46 says, 00:07:56.339 --> 00:08:04.259 God is our refuge and our strength. He's an ever-present help in a time of trouble. And even if the world turns 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:10.220 upside down, even if everything is shaken, the Lord of hosts is with us and he is our fortress. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:17.220 In the book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, there is this mention of the fact that there is a day 00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:24.500 coming when God will, as it were, shake the earth in judgment. But it says in that shaking, in that 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:31.800 judgment, those who trust Jesus, we stand firm because we are receiving an unshakable kingdom. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:40.379 And so we're invited to worship and to trust and to keep on keeping on as we are surrounded by 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:46.259 the love of God in Jesus. That's the message that Psalm 125 begins with. 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:54.439 Alec Moutier, who writes a lot on the Psalms, he talks about, here is the softest pillow you and I could 00:08:54.439 --> 00:09:02.019 ever rest our head on. The softest pillow we could ever enjoy is the knowledge that our God, the God of the 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:09.360 Bible is really and truly God is really and truly God. And that he really is on the throne. He really 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:18.419 is in control. And we really are in Jesus, surrounded by his loving, everlasting arms. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:27.519 So that we can trust that nothing that happens to us ever shakes us from God's grip on us. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:34.500 It was true for the pilgrims and it's true for us. When things go wrong, when sadness comes, 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:41.559 this is the foundation truth we need. In Jesus, we are surrounded by the love of God. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:47.759 Now, I think we know this to be true in everyday life, that who we surround ourselves matters. 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:55.279 There are times when we really need family to be there for us, or we really appreciate having 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:01.919 friends who stick by us. Or maybe it's the colleagues who go the extra mile when we are under pressure, 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:14.000 or the loving church family. In spiritual terms, have you and I surrounded ourselves with the love of Jesus? 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:19.120 Do you trust him as Lord? 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:26.759 Father, this Jesus who's presented to us in the Bible, who is the eternal son of God, 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:34.799 yet in the fullness of God's time, was born in a stable and placed in a manger. The son of God who 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:45.779 became one of us to identify with us, to walk in our shoes, to be a servant for us. Born in a manger, 00:10:45.779 --> 00:10:54.100 lived a perfect life, lived a perfect life, and then died on a cross. God the son, saving us from sin 00:10:54.100 --> 00:11:03.839 by dying in our place, both our representative and our substitute. In that great act of God's grace, 00:11:04.339 --> 00:11:10.759 having done nothing to deserve God's salvation, God freely sends his son to be our substitute. 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:19.059 Do we trust him as Lord? Do we trust him knowing that right now he rules as king, that he has been 00:11:19.059 --> 00:11:23.659 raised from the dead, he's returned to heaven, and one day he's coming back again? 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:33.700 And he will come back again to renew this world, to finally put everything right, to make everything 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:44.600 new. So that those who trust in the Lord can enjoy life with him forever. Do we trust him as he calls us 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:53.060 today to faith? As Christians, are we trusting in the Lord today? Are we trusting when he doesn't lead us 00:11:53.060 --> 00:12:02.240 along easy paths? Will we trust that he knows what he's doing? Can I rest even when life seems chaotic 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:10.860 knowing that God is on the throne? And that in the end, all things work for his glory and are good? 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:17.340 Do I trust today that the Lord Jesus, he surrounds me in his love? 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:26.200 Even if things don't necessarily seem that easy, when our relationships with our children or with our 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:33.860 parents is somewhat strained, or when it feels like our boss has it in for us, or when the hard knocks of 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:42.680 life just keep coming one after the other, when we meet with difficult news, or we're living with the 00:12:42.680 --> 00:12:51.780 weakness that comes with old age, will we trust this promise that the Lord Jesus surrounds us with 00:12:51.779 --> 00:13:00.199 God's covenant love? Promising never to leave and forsake his own, never to lose any who come to him in 00:13:00.199 --> 00:13:10.439 faith, that he will lead us to our eternal home. Do we trust in the Lord today? So we keep on keeping on 00:13:10.439 --> 00:13:16.559 because the Lord Jesus surrounds us with the love of God. Secondly, we can keep on keeping on because the 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:24.719 Lord Jesus is our sovereign king. Let me read verse three for us. The scepter of the wicked will not 00:13:24.719 --> 00:13:32.019 remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. 00:13:32.939 --> 00:13:39.319 Let me take you back to Paris in the early 1940s for a moment. And this is something that we know from 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:49.379 history. As they lived under Nazi occupation, some of the citizens of Paris, well they began to lose hope 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:55.280 and they began to lose heart. And some of them decided, well it's easier for us just to side with 00:13:55.280 --> 00:14:05.480 this wicked regime in order to save themselves. The same kind of thing happened back in 2023 as news of 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:15.379 mob violence hit social media. More and more Parisians took to the streets and were swept along in that tide of 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:23.759 violence. To understand the promise that we have in verse three, we need to get a sense of the weight 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:34.539 of what the worshippers might experience arriving in Jerusalem under the rule of evil. So this time isn't 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:39.379 tied to a specific moment in history and that's really helpful because there's lots of times in Israel's 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:45.360 history when a worshipper might arrive in the city and find any number of problems. Sometimes it was as 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:53.339 desperate as, wow enemies have come and the city is now lying in ruins. Sometimes they'd arrive in the 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:58.679 city only to discover that their king, well he's now become a puppet king and he's not really in charge. 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:05.519 They're controlled by foreign empires. In Jerusalem, sometimes its temple was robbed. 00:15:06.979 --> 00:15:10.799 Sometimes you would walk along the streets and there would be scenes of injustice 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:18.339 and false worship was going on right in the very place where the true God was supposed to be worshipped. 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:24.579 Sometimes the sector of the wicked ruled over the city. 00:15:24.580 --> 00:15:31.400 And when people are under the boot and under the thumb and under the influence of wickedness and evil, 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.920 sometimes the pressure comes and the temptation comes, well I'll just follow the crowd. 00:15:38.400 --> 00:15:43.160 And if it lasts for too long, well maybe I'll just give in and I'll use my hands for evil also. 00:15:43.280 --> 00:15:46.139 That's what Psalm 125 verse 3 is saying. 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:50.759 My favourite Japanese proverb is also the only Japanese proverb I have. 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:54.860 You might have heard it, the nail that sticks out will be hammered down. 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:01.659 That's what can happen when good people live under the rule of a wicked regime. 00:16:02.199 --> 00:16:06.100 The world will try to squeeze them into its mould. 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:13.759 And you know for Christians, we've probably had something of that pressure and something of that experience in different ways. 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:23.960 We have probably lived with the pressure to take the world's view of normal to be our view of normal. 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:32.000 So that might be how we think about habits to do with drinking alcohol or to do with habits of spending our money. 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:40.439 It may be that it seems normalised to us to pass on gossip or to use cruel words towards others. 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:47.080 We might be tempted to take the world's view of sex or marriage or gender. 00:16:48.160 --> 00:16:54.420 Or it might simply be that we come to believe what the world thinks is most important. 00:16:54.760 --> 00:16:57.700 Success and happiness and making it in the world. 00:16:57.800 --> 00:17:05.580 There are so many ways in which we can feel the pressure to take on a different set of values. 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:10.500 Again, we could turn to another famous psalm, Psalm 73. 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:17.539 And we find there that the writer of the psalm, he is surrounded by people who seem to have no thought of God. 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:20.099 And yet life is going really well for them. 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:21.679 They seem to have no bother. 00:17:21.939 --> 00:17:22.939 And they're always healthy. 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:24.500 And they've always got heaps of money. 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:26.359 And things are going brilliantly. 00:17:26.899 --> 00:17:28.480 And the psalmist is very honest. 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:29.119 He says, you know what? 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:32.619 I was almost tempted to give up worshipping God. 00:17:32.699 --> 00:17:35.279 I was almost tempted to just become like them. 00:17:37.219 --> 00:17:38.559 Until I went to the temple. 00:17:38.939 --> 00:17:39.959 Until I remembered God. 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:41.199 Until I remembered eternity. 00:17:42.919 --> 00:17:47.099 Jesus gave a warning to his disciples in Matthew 24. 00:17:47.219 --> 00:17:49.019 So not long before he would go to the cross. 00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:52.139 He was talking about how trouble would come for the church. 00:17:52.179 --> 00:17:52.779 And he said this. 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:58.399 He said, because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. 00:17:59.120 --> 00:18:06.720 So as there is more and more wickedness, Jesus is saying it's harder and harder to show love for God. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:12.640 And so Psalm 125 is written for the pressure cooker of faith. 00:18:14.259 --> 00:18:18.460 And what is it that we need in order to keep on keeping on? 00:18:19.820 --> 00:18:24.980 In that kind of environment, what we need is the promise that one day deliverance will come. 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:28.599 That one day the rule of evil will be broken. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.400 What we need is the good news of the gospel. 00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:35.059 That God sends Jesus and he comes as the true king. 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:40.339 And he has come to go to war and to defeat the powers of evil, sin and death. 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:44.259 So that by faith you and I can live set free from those powers. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.500 Set free from that tyranny. 00:18:46.699 --> 00:18:51.319 Set free to enjoy life under the good rule of Jesus as king. 00:18:52.699 --> 00:18:56.759 And so we can keep on keeping on knowing God rules. 00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:58.500 That God is for us. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:01.879 And that God is faithful to us. 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:04.460 Even in all the pressure. 00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:10.280 In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 there is a really important promise. 00:19:11.340 --> 00:19:11.780 It says, 00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:34.799 And so the good news for us as Christians is that we can keep on keeping on as we trust Jesus and his promises. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.160 And we can trust that he will not let us be tempted beyond our strength. 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:43.620 That he will provide strength so we can stand up under tempting. 00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:47.540 And so all our hope is placed on Jesus. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.019 Jesus was made like us in every way. 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:53.259 Except he never sinned. 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:56.160 The only person who never gave in to temptation. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.060 The one who is faithful all the way to the cross. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.580 He is the true king who loves and protects his people. 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:04.600 And we can keep on keeping on. 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:07.240 Because he is our strength and he gives us grace. 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:16.599 The third thing to see as we want to learn how we keep on keeping on following Jesus. 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:22.779 We keep on keeping on because the Lord Jesus is our shalom. 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:25.980 I'm cheating there for the sake of alliteration. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:27.160 He is our peace. 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:29.220 Look at verse 4 and 5. 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:45.440 So the psalm kind of changes its tone. 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:47.259 The psalm closes with a prayer. 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:54.559 It's as if the singers are now turning God's promises of safety and strength. 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:58.759 And of a scepter that's broken and a true king reigning. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.119 They're turning those promises into prayers. 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:05.740 That's a great way to think about prayer. 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:08.319 William Gurnall was a Puritan who said, 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:10.799 Prayer is nothing but God's promises reversed. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:12.619 We read the Bible. 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:14.899 We hear God's promises as God's people. 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:18.519 We claim those promises and we pray them back to him with trust. 00:21:18.899 --> 00:21:22.119 And the focus of the prayer is, 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:25.419 Lord God, save and protect your own people. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.419 And Lord God, judge your enemies. 00:21:30.899 --> 00:21:33.759 And we need to think about why that prayer is so important. 00:21:33.899 --> 00:21:35.379 Again, let's return to Paris. 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:38.000 Okay, so we've been to Paris in 1940. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.380 Let's think about Paris in 1945. 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:44.240 What's changed in those five years? 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:46.819 Well, the Nazis have fallen. 00:21:47.819 --> 00:21:50.019 So the banners have all been torn down. 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:51.180 The flags are all gone. 00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:53.000 The troops are no longer in the streets. 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:56.920 The city now enjoys peace. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:58.339 Yes, there is rebuilding. 00:21:58.819 --> 00:22:02.819 But there is the joy of peace that is broken out 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:04.359 because warfare is over. 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:07.000 Because enemies have been defeated. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.859 And the closing prayer of Psalm 125 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:13.220 follows some of that same trajectory. 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:18.480 That ultimately, there's good news for the people of God 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.380 in the hope that God will deal with all that opposes, 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:23.640 all that is wicked, 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:27.299 so that those who trust in him can live with peace and safety. 00:22:27.299 --> 00:22:32.240 And so that's why verse 4 is, in a sense, 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:33.539 a prayer for protection. 00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:35.279 Do good to those who are good, 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.839 to those who are upright in heart. 00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:40.559 Now, notice this isn't saying, 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.559 do good to those who are perfectly good, 00:22:43.899 --> 00:22:45.220 those who are perfectly upright, 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:46.440 those who never fail. 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:47.839 The idea is, 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:50.740 Lord, protect and do good to those who are trusting in you. 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:53.440 Those who, by God's grace, 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:55.140 want to follow the ways of Jesus. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:58.559 It's a prayer that God would be for his people 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:59.640 as he has promised, 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:01.980 to show goodness and love as he has promised. 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:05.940 But there's also the prayer for purifying and protection. 00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:06.799 In verse 5, 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:08.680 those who turn to crooked ways, 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:12.480 the Lord will banish with the evildoers. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:14.700 And do we see that reality? 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:19.740 A city can only have peace and justice and love 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:22.500 once those who oppose those things are removed. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.019 So the good news of the Bible always includes 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:29.319 salvation for God's people 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.039 and for God dealing with what is wicked. 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:37.259 Banish the evildoers 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:40.740 so that God and his people can dwell in peace. 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:43.620 And as we pray this psalm 00:23:43.620 --> 00:23:44.880 and as we sing this psalm, 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:46.039 we're reminding ourselves 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:49.059 that God is caring for his church in the present 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:52.539 and God will care for his church in the future. 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:54.220 That right now, 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:55.380 the church in the world, 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:58.180 the church is always this mixed group. 00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:59.339 There are some people with faith 00:23:59.339 --> 00:24:01.059 and there's some people who don't have faith 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:02.599 and the same is true in the world. 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:03.640 There are those who have faith 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:05.220 and there are those who don't have faith. 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:07.579 And there's always a sense of tension there 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:09.720 and there's always a sense of pressure 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:12.940 and opposition on those who do trust in the Lord. 00:24:13.860 --> 00:24:15.620 But there is this hope and this prayer 00:24:15.620 --> 00:24:17.380 that one day Jesus will return. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.620 And there'll be that final decisive judgment 00:24:22.620 --> 00:24:26.120 on those who steadfastly oppose Jesus. 00:24:26.600 --> 00:24:30.019 And there will be a decisive moment of salvation 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:32.920 for those who trusted in Jesus. 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:34.840 And on that day, 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.740 peace will be on Israel. 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:42.120 Peace will be for the people of God. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:43.680 True shalom, 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:46.560 true flourishing and wholeness in life 00:24:46.560 --> 00:24:49.180 will belong to God's people forever. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.300 And that's why God sent his son 00:24:51.300 --> 00:24:54.500 to answer the longing we often have 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:55.779 in our hearts for peace. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.259 Sometimes it's because we want peace in our conscience 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:01.319 because we know all's not well between us and God. 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:03.559 Sometimes it's peace 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:05.420 because just life seems so mixed up. 00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:09.000 That's why Jesus has given the title in the Bible, 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.019 Prince of Peace. 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:12.940 That's why when Jesus came, 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:14.019 he said to his disciples, 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:14.940 peace, 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:16.559 I leave with you. 00:25:17.259 --> 00:25:18.000 My peace, 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.460 I give to you. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:21.220 I do not give to you as the world gives. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:23.000 This is a peace that lasts. 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:25.379 This is a peace that passes understanding 00:25:25.379 --> 00:25:27.119 that goes deep down into our hearts. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.259 And this is why Jesus came to die. 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:32.399 It's the message of Ephesians 2. 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:35.779 Jesus died to secure our peace. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:37.719 So we read Paul say, 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:38.500 he himself, 00:25:38.659 --> 00:25:39.399 Jesus himself, 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:40.519 he is our peace. 00:25:41.479 --> 00:25:42.459 He has made the two one 00:25:42.459 --> 00:25:43.819 and has destroyed the barrier, 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:46.179 the dividing wall of hostility. 00:25:46.619 --> 00:25:47.959 And in this one body, 00:25:48.139 --> 00:25:48.939 Jesus' body, 00:25:49.439 --> 00:25:51.279 to reconcile both of them to God 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:52.359 through the cross 00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:55.359 by which he put to death their hostility. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:59.139 Jesus promises an end to hostility 00:25:59.139 --> 00:26:01.419 and the breaking out of peace. 00:26:01.479 --> 00:26:03.099 And the peace that Jesus offers 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:05.299 is peace with God. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.019 And the way that Jesus brings peace 00:26:07.019 --> 00:26:08.839 is by taking the sin, 00:26:09.139 --> 00:26:09.619 our sin, 00:26:09.679 --> 00:26:10.759 that creates a barrier 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:12.679 that makes us enemies of God. 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:13.919 He deals with that. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.279 He pays the price in full 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:16.859 there on the cross for us. 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:19.099 So that trusting in him, 00:26:19.379 --> 00:26:20.819 we are reconciled. 00:26:21.219 --> 00:26:23.000 We enjoy peace with God. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.019 We have the promise of eternal life, 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.180 an eternal life that will be marked by, 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:30.140 perfect peace. 00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:34.920 And so Psalm 125 says to us, 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:36.759 keep on keeping on 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:38.980 because that peace is real 00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:40.099 and that peace is coming 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:41.279 and that peace is for those 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:42.400 who trust in the Lord. 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:45.700 Maybe we're here today 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:46.980 and we feel the weight of the world 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:48.059 on our shoulders today. 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:50.000 Maybe we're weary 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.339 in the walk of faith today. 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:52.919 Maybe we wonder, 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.759 is it worth it? 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:54.559 Will we make it? 00:26:55.939 --> 00:26:56.899 Or maybe we're here 00:26:56.899 --> 00:26:57.819 looking to find out 00:26:57.819 --> 00:26:58.559 about Christianity 00:26:58.559 --> 00:26:59.480 and what it offers. 00:27:01.419 --> 00:27:02.679 Maybe as you hear this message, 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:02.859 you think, 00:27:02.919 --> 00:27:03.699 wow, peace is something 00:27:03.699 --> 00:27:04.740 I really need in my life. 00:27:05.899 --> 00:27:06.899 And the good news is 00:27:06.899 --> 00:27:07.759 that Jesus invites 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:08.759 each and every one of us 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:09.639 to come to him 00:27:09.639 --> 00:27:11.619 and to find peace in him 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:12.419 and from him. 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:14.859 To find that safety 00:27:14.859 --> 00:27:16.000 that brings peace 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:17.199 when we are surrounded 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.740 by the loving arms 00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:20.680 of the Lord Jesus. 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:23.799 Find peace 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:25.080 under the rule 00:27:25.080 --> 00:27:26.200 of Jesus, 00:27:26.340 --> 00:27:26.759 the King 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:27.779 who will never fail 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:28.220 his people, 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:29.019 who never breaks 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:30.080 any of his promises. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.360 Find peace 00:27:32.360 --> 00:27:33.000 from the one 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:34.819 who offers his shalom 00:27:34.819 --> 00:27:37.100 now and forever. 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:38.980 Let's pray 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:40.100 in his name now. 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:40.740 Let's pray. 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:43.299 Lord Jesus, 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:44.500 we thank you 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:45.980 that you came 00:27:45.980 --> 00:27:47.319 into this world 00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:49.079 that you might bring 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:50.339 the peace of God 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:51.559 into hearts 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:52.659 and lives. 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:54.339 We recognize 00:27:54.339 --> 00:27:55.639 that because 00:27:55.639 --> 00:27:57.519 of our own 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:58.180 sin 00:27:58.180 --> 00:27:59.399 and selfishness 00:27:59.399 --> 00:28:00.139 and pride 00:28:00.139 --> 00:28:00.740 and greed, 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:01.919 often we see 00:28:01.919 --> 00:28:02.919 warfare 00:28:02.919 --> 00:28:04.039 and fighting 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:05.180 and wickedness 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:05.960 and division. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:07.839 But we thank you 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.019 that Jesus came 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:10.899 to die on the cross 00:28:10.899 --> 00:28:12.079 to set us free 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.460 to enjoy 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:15.379 your peace. 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:17.059 And so we pray 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:18.099 that we would receive 00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:18.899 that peace 00:28:18.899 --> 00:28:20.419 and we would receive 00:28:20.419 --> 00:28:21.319 that rest 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:22.299 and security 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:23.220 that he offers. 00:28:24.179 --> 00:28:24.639 And we ask 00:28:24.639 --> 00:28:25.240 that you'd help us 00:28:25.240 --> 00:28:25.819 also 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:27.579 to be peacemakers 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:28.720 in our families 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:29.839 and our friendship groups 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:31.240 where we work 00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:32.119 and where we live. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:33.480 And help us 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:34.500 to live with hope 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:36.000 in this promise 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.480 of your peace 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:39.539 that will last forever 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:41.819 in the new Jerusalem. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.599 when Jesus comes back 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:44.659 to make everything new. 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:45.819 And so we pray 00:28:45.819 --> 00:28:46.859 these things in his name. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:47.659 Amen.