Psalm 125:5 Set Apart for Peace

“As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.” (v.5)

As is frequent in Scripture, we are presented with a contrast between the Lord’s dealings with the righteous who trust in Him and the wicked, who trust themselves. This is a common contrast, and this verse is fairly straightforward, but notice the emphasis: the psalmist doesn’t just say “the unrighteous” or “the wicked,” he says, “such as turn aside unto their crooked ways.”

Those highlighted in this first group are those who turn aside, or go a different direction from God. Whenever someone turns away from God, they invariably turn towards their own way, and that is what has happened with these people. They have done the opposite of Proverbs 3:5.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on thy own understanding.

Instead of trusting in the Lord, they have turned away, and are trusting their own understanding to determine their path. And what is the result? “The Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.” Can you think of a time when God leads the workers of iniquity forth? How about the great white throne judgement in Revelation 20?

“And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead which were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (vv.11-15)

Notice the dead are judged according to their works, but only those not found written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. Those who are actively trusting themselves and going their own way will not yield to God’s way of salvation, and thus will one day be cast into the lake of fire.

But even this draws us back to God’s love and protection. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, but wants all to come to repentance.

That is the love of God: He does not make the wicked so that He can vengefully pour out His wrath on them for all eternity: He makes them, so that they will have the opportunity to repent, whether or not they decide to do so. And yet see His protection in the fact of His perfect justice: He cannot allow sin into His presence, nor into the presence of His justified children.

Revelation 21 gives us a description of the new heaven and the new earth, but notice what is excluded:

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (v.8)

And again in Revelation 22, we are told,

“Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (v.14)

The Bible is clear from cover to cover: no one can follow God’s commandments perfectly, (see Romans 3:23 and the book of Galatians, just to start with,) and perfection is the standard.

We will all one day come to the place of either being welcomed into heaven on the basis of our acceptance of Christ’s payment for our sin, or being cast into hell on the basis of the penalty our sin has justly earned.

Those who trust in themselves will find themselves woefully inadequate when it comes to defending their sin before the perfect, holy Judge of all. They will be cast out with the other workers of iniquity, led forth into the lake of fire and eternal separation from God.

 But notice the contrast with those who trust in God:

“But peace shall be upon Israel.”

Now, I know someone out there will be thinking, but that’s written about Israel. I know that the church is not Israel: the book of Revelation is quite clear about God’s plan for eternity including Israel as a distinct nation still, but if we take into account the context of this whole psalm, it is equally clear that Israel is used here to denote God’s people in the sense of those who trust in Him. And what is their reward?

Peace.

This matter of trust and peace going together is found several places in Scripture, but the one that comes to my mind most readily is Isaiah 26:3

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

We who put our trust in the Lord have access to the peace of God “Which passeth all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)

As we trust in Him, we know we are secure in our relationship to God, kept by His power, protected by His all-encircling arms, and smiled upon as His heart delights in our obedience. His love and protection keep us from being coerced into sin, and will expel the wicked, lest the perfection of our inheritance in heaven be marred by sin.

And He does all this, not because we are worthy, but because He is!

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)