The LORD Surrounds His People

Sunday, July 19th 2026

Psalm 125

Main Point:  The God who surrounds you will carry you through.

1. Stability Through Trusting in Him (vv. 1–2)

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.”

The temple fell. The people were overrun. But leaning into the Lord — trusting Him when nothing else makes sense — makes you an immovable object. Moments like these are when we LEAN into the Lord and ABIDE — to sit, remain, dwell, inhabit.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7

God's peace does not mean our world will be at peace. We trust in the Lord — the foundation — and peace is the result.

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” (v. 2)

These mountains are a picture of how God feels about us. For those in the new covenant Jesus established, He surrounds us in this life and when we meet Him again — just as the mountains of Judea surround Jerusalem. God uses pictures throughout His word to make truth personal; Jesus does the same: a mustard seed becomes faith, a vine becomes union with Christ, bread becomes the Bread of Life.

Don't admire God's promise from afar. Those who TRUST abide forever — surrounded by the Lord in this time and for eternity.

1. Trials WILL Come (v. 3)

“For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.”

Across generations, God's people's unfaithfulness cost them their land — lost, captured, persecuted, and murdered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Philistines, Moabites, and others.

God WILL give you more than you can handle — that's the point. When He puts us in an impossible situation, He strips us of self-reliance so we can lean into His grace and trust in the Lord like Mount Zion that cannot be moved.

The gospel isn't a message of self-sufficiency. It's a message of self-insufficiency — reliance on Jesus for ALL sufficiency. We need Jesus to rescue us from our impossible situations, but more importantly, to rescue us from our sin.

III. Christ Fulfills God's Ask for His People (vv. 4–5)

“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 crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!”

A new covenant was established between God and His people — Jew and Gentile.

God did good for those who are not good.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

The real Jesus died for the real you, and He doesn't want you to live a fake “Christian life.” There's a distinction within the new Israel: those who trust God, and those who play the religion game. He knows your heart, but He wants a relationship with the genuine you.

Conclusion:

We gather because we are broken people. Leave the fake you at home. Pour your heart out to the Lord — we gather to worship, repent, and let Him prune our hearts to remain upright. If we reject Jesus, rely on self, and remain movable with no firm foundation, He will lead us away with the evildoers. That is not His plan for you.

We serve a God who surrounds us like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. He will walk you through your trials. He will not leave you.