Those Who Trust in God

 

 

 

 

[Psalm 125]

 

 

One time, I meditated on the passage from Romans 4:1-8, reflecting on who the happiest people in the world are. The Bible teaches that the happiest person in the world is the sinner who, without doing anything and with no merit of their own, is justified by God's complete grace by believing in Jesus Christ. Truly, what is our happiness, as we are justified before God without any merit of our own? Let us look at Romans 4:7-8: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin." In other words, our happiness comes from the fact that all our sins have been forgiven. What sins have we been forgiven of in Christ Jesus? All the public, rebellious sins we committed [“lawlessness” (v. 7)], all the sins we committed out of weakness, when we did not align our actions with God's will [“sin” (v. 7)], and all the ethical and moral transgressions that deviate from the right path in life [“sin” (v. 8)] (Park Yun-seon). All of these sins have been forgiven in Christ Jesus. We have been forgiven, and all of our sins have been removed [“forgiven” (v. 7)], covered [“covered” (v. 7)], and God no longer considers them as sins and has wiped them away [“does not impute sin” (v. 8)]. Through the precious blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross, all our sins have been wiped away. All our sins have been covered. God has wiped away all our sins. Therefore, the Bible says that those who, by God's complete grace, believe in Jesus Christ and are forgiven through the precious blood He shed on the cross are the happiest people in the world.

Are you happy? One of the characteristics of the happy person is, as the chorus of hymn 342 says, "As the years go by, I will trust in Him alone, and in whatever comes, I will trust in Jesus." Generally, as children grow, they try to become independent from their parents and do everything on their own. But as believers in Jesus, the more we grow in faith, the less we become independent of God and the more we depend on Him. Especially the happy ones, when they face difficult times, realize how weak and small their faith is, and in that realization, they depend even more on God. Therefore, happy people seek God's help in dark and dangerous times in their lives. As the years pass, are you experiencing greater happiness as you depend more on God?

In today's Bible reading, Psalm 125:1, the psalmist says: "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever." In other words, those who trust in God will not be shaken, just as Mount Zion stands firm and will endure forever. The "mountain" symbolizes "immovability and rest" (Park Yun-seon). Those who trust in God will be like a mountain, unwavering and strong in the midst of any trials or difficulties. Moreover, they will enjoy peace and rest that God gives them forever. How is this possible? How can we enjoy peace and rest, remaining unshaken like a mountain, in this world filled with worry, hardship, and death? The answer is that God protects those who trust in Him. Look at verse 2: "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever." Geographically, Jerusalem is surrounded by many mountains (Park Yun-seon). Just as these mountains surround Jerusalem, God surrounds those who trust in Him. Just as the mountains, immovable and firm, encircle Jerusalem, God firmly protects and guards those who trust in Him. Therefore, those who trust in God will remain with Him forever, and they will be protected by God forever.

However, there is one thing we must remember here.
Even those who trust in God and live under His protection may still face difficulties. Let’s look at Psalm 125:3: "The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil." Sometimes, God allows the wicked to have power over the righteous, causing them to suffer in order to keep them alert (Park Yun-seon). In other words, even those who trust in God may face difficulties caused by evil people. We may ask, why does God allow such things in the lives of those who trust in Him? The answer is that He wants to keep us alert. Some may say that God allows such suffering to refine us. I believe the reason is that God's good and perfect will is to make us depend more on Him. In other words, as we live trusting in God, when we face suffering and difficulties caused by evil people, we end up depending on God even more. Therefore, the harder the situation becomes, the more we cry out to God.

So, what are the prayer requests of those who trust in God?
The psalmist mentions two prayer requests in verses 4 and 5 of today’s passage.

First prayer request:
Verse 4 of Psalm 125 says:
"O Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart."
The terms "good" and "upright in heart" refer to those who are "genuine and truthful in trusting God, striving for righteousness," that is, the saints (Park Yun-seon). In other words, this passage teaches us that, as saints, we must sincerely trust in God and pursue righteousness. If we are truly believers, we will live trusting in God. And if we are truly living in trust, we will do so with an honest heart, striving for righteousness. How could God ignore the prayers offered by such a righteous life? What we need to realize is that while the content of our prayers is important, the life of the one who prays is even more important. If someone says they trust in God and pray to Him, yet lives in a way that is not pleasing to God, how could God answer their prayers? Those who trust in God and ask Him to do good are people with honest hearts, who are sincere. They understand God’s good will and strive to fulfill it. When such people pray, "Do good to us," they pray with firm faith in Romans 8:28:
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Second prayer request:
In verse 5 of today’s passage, we read:
"Let the Lord lead those who turn to crooked ways to walk with the wicked. May peace be upon Israel."

 

Here, “those who turn aside to their own crooked ways” refers to “apostates who depart from the truth of God” (Park Yun-seon). God will treat these apostates like the unbelievers who do not repent and continue to sin (“those who commit iniquity”). This ultimately leads to destruction. The psalmist, while praying and trusting in God, asks God to do good to those who are upright in heart, and he also prays that those who depart from God’s truth and refuse to repent will be treated the same as those who continue to sin. In this context, he also prays to God for peace for Israel.

In the current economic recession, where life has become even harder and more difficult, you and I must depend more on God. If we have, at any time, violated what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24—that we cannot serve both God and money—and have worked harder for wealth than for God, we must confess our sins and repent before God. We must not trust in material things, but depend more and more on God. We must be sincere in our hearts. We must be truthful. And we must discern God’s good will and strive to fulfill it. In this, we must pray to God, asking Him to do good to us. When we do this, we will stand firm and not be shaken. God will protect and preserve those who trust in Him.

 

 

 

Those who, as time passes, find themselves depending more and more on God,

 

 

Pastor James Kim
(In the experience of tasting God’s goodness)