Songs from the Heart Day 21 Psalms 124 & 125

Meditate on the Psalms

Reread Psalms 124-125.

In the middle of a hard weekend last February, I stood among other believers at my church and sang at the top of my lungs—with tears in my eyes. My family and I had been dealt a hard, hurtful blow and that Sunday, my heart and my hope felt a little tender and tenuous. Again and again, I lifted my tearful voice to sing with my church family and proclaim the words I knew were true—even if I didn’t quite believe them at the time: “God, you are faithful.” 

As I pore over the two psalms we studied this week, that’s the refrain that keeps echoing in my mind. Psalm 124 is a psalm of testimony in which David called the Jews to remember and praise God for how he’d been on their side throughout their long history with him. Attacks, anger, raging waters and torrents—enemies had come against the Jews time and time again and the only way they could stand victorious was because of God, their protector, pursuer and helper. 

In other words: God, you are faithful. 

While Psalm 124 is a call to testify to what God has done, Psalm 125 is a psalm of confidence. “Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as the highest mountains,” the psalmist declared in verse 1. The people could rest in safety and peace not because they’d done anything to make it possible, but because God had. They were rooted and firm, protected and surrounded by the goodness of God, and, as beloved children, had nothing to fear. God will pour out his goodness on the godly, the psalmist declared, and that’s as sure as the mountains surrounding the holy city. 

In other words: God, you are faithful. 

In our world, it can be easy to despair. Disappointments, struggles, fears and failures abound—but where would we be if the Lord had not been on our side? 

On my darkest days, it’s so easy for me to look at all the mess and hurt that characterizes our world and despair, but then, like the Jews glimpsing the mountains surrounding Jerusalem as they made their journey to the temple, I remember all the ways God has worked in and through my life, all the times he has been faithful in the midst of my doubt and fear. Answered (and unanswered) prayers. Pivotal conversations. Open doors and opportunities he closed. He has been faithful in every season, so why should I doubt he will do so again? 

Rest today as a beloved child, knowing that in the midst of the day’s doubts, fears and circumstances, you are rooted and firm, protected and surrounded by a loving God who is ready to pour out his goodness upon the godly. Lift your eyes from the circumstances and remember who God is and what he’s already done in your life. Above the doubts and fears, remember and testify. Then, confidently rest in the goodness of God. 

He is faithful.