Thoughts for the Day

* Mountains around Jerusalem.

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 sceptre 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!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 125 is one of the Songs of Ascent, sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for one of the major feasts. Like many other psalms it uses physical imagery, in this case, mountains and hills, to describe the way God steadfastly cares for His people. We tend to separate physical and spiritual things, but to the writers of the psalms mountains suggest agelessness and protection. For Christians too nature is "God-breathed", or as Gerard Manley Hopkins put it "charged with the grandeur of God". So for the psalmist as the mountains and hills surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds His people, as a stronghold like a ring of mountains. He is bold to add "from this time on and for evermore", but we know from looking at the Book of Ezra recently that when the people forget their side of their covenant promises to Yahweh things can go awry.

Seemingly written at a time of national emergency (he says 'the sceptre of the wicked will not remain') we should remember that when evil or injustice win it has consequences for everyone. It can tempt others to copy their actions and it infects society as a whole both morally and spiritually. But equally we can feel uncomfortable asking God to destroy the 'wicked' while saving those who are 'good'. We also tend to think of ourselves as the latter, though we, and our society, have the seeds of wickedness within us, and need to remember that in our prayers.

So what are we to do? Well we should always ask God's help when faced with any problem, but the real answer lies in the opening words of the Psalm - we are to trust in God for a solution. Finally we too should ask a blessing of peace on Israel, and on Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine etc!

Lord God You are a stronghold,
to all who trust in You:
a bulwark against danger;
a protection against night worries;
and a might arm against those who threaten us.
In a world that is threatening for many
we ask especially for Your peace
and Your blessing on the following places:
....................................................................................
and upon the following people
.....................................................................................
Amen.