Consecration to the Lord's Trustworthiness


	PSALM 125: Consecration to the Lord's Trustworthiness - Dealing with our Self-life The Lord is Trustworthy to Us for the Sake of His Testimony Psalm 125 begins, "Those who trust in Jehovah are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever" (v. 1). The psalmist doesn't say that those who trust in the Lord are "solid and immovable." Instead he says they are "like Mount Zion," which is the Lord's testimony. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. They are His testimony which cannot be moved. This shows us that the Lord doesn't care for our own individual spirituality. He doesn't care so much for our being solid or strong in ourselves. The Lord's care for us is a matter of His testimony. Our consecration to the Lord's trustworthiness follows the high realization of how much He cares for His testimony. When we are young in the Lord we may think, "The Lord is so trustworthy to me." But once we grow in the Lord we experience His trustworthiness for the sake of the church. In fact, it seems that as we grow the Lord stops being trustworthy to us individually and is instead only trustworthy to the church as His testimony. Concerning our own Christian life, we want to be so holy, yet we are so defeated. We want to be so victorious, yet we have so many failures. We want to read the Bible or pray all the time, yet we are constantly wasting our time. When it comes to ourselves, we are terrible. It seems that the Lord is not after our own personal spirituality. He may not even be so real to us as we pursue these things for ourselves. But when it comes to the church, He is so real! He is so trustworthy! Eventually we should have the realization, "The Lord is so trustworthy to the church! Why am I here? Because of the church! Why is the Lord so trustworthy to me? For the sake of the church!" None of us can say, "The Lord is so trustworthy to me because of who I am." The Lord is only so trustworthy because He cares for Mount Zion. It is foolish for anyone to desire to be an overcoming Christian by themselves. If we desire to grow to spiritual maturity by ourselves, and for the sake of ourselves, then we are foolish. Not only are we foolish, but it is impossible anyway. This psalm shows us the proper understanding of the Lord's trustworthiness. When we realize that the Lord doesn't care for our own spirituality, but instead He cares for His testimony, it should free us from our self-centered Christian life. We will have a deeper consecration which deals with our self-life. Then we will joyfully declare to the Lord, "I don't care how spiritual I am! I don't care what condition I'm in! I don't care whether I am victorious or defeated! But Lord, I want to tell You, I love You and I love Your church! I give myself to Your trustworthiness! I don't care for myself anymore! I only care for You and for Your testimony!" This is to consecrate ourselves to the Lord's trustworthiness. Then we are truly "like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever." The Lord Surrounds Us and Protects Us as His Testimony The psalmist continues, "Jerusalem - mountains surround her; and Jehovah surrounds His people from now and to eternity" (v. 2). The Lord is trustworthy first for Mount Zion's sake, and then for Jerusalem's sake. We have seen that Mount Zion is the Lord's testimony, but it is also the Lord's habitation. Strictly speaking the entire city of Jerusalem is the Lord's testimony. Mount Zion as the Lord's habitation gives Him satisfaction, while Jerusalem as the Lord's testimony declares and exalts His name. The Lord's trustworthiness is like the mountains that surround Jerusalem. When we studied Psalm 122 we saw that Jerusalem was built upon five hills. From the south, as you go up to Jerusalem, it seems that Jerusalem is the high point. But once you arrive at Jerusalem you see that there are mountains surrounding the city. To the north, east, and west there are higher mountains around Jerusalem. This is a picture of our own experience. When we first see the church, we think, "This is the highest point. The church life is so high!" But once we come into the church life we find out that the Lord is surrounding us as His testimony. The Lord is protecting the church life like the high mountains around Jerusalem. He is our protection. He protects us for Jerusalem's sake. The more we enjoy and partake of the church life, and the more we give ourselves to the church life, the more we realize that we have a marvelous Christ who is protecting the place of His testimony. The Church Life Affords Us the Highest Enjoyment of Christ It is in the church life, in the testimony of the Lord, that we begin to realize what a marvelous Christ we have. When we try to enjoy Christ on our own, for ourselves, we find out that He is very limited. It does not mean that He is not with us, but He can only be realized by our own small mentality. Because we have a small and selfish mind, we have a small Christ. But when we come into and enjoy the church life we realize, "He is not only my Christ, He is the Christ of all these dear brothers and sisters!" When we are in the church life we eventually come to know the Lord through the experiences of all the saints. Then the Christ of so many brothers and sisters becomes our Christ. We enjoy their Christ, and they enjoy our Christ. We enjoy the Christ of young people and old people, fine people and rough people. Christ becomes so great and so high in our experience. He becomes like the high mountains surrounding Jerusalem. This is a precious realization. We should love and appreciate the Christ we have in the church life. We should all declare, "Lord, we are so thankful that you have brought us here! We have such a rich, heavenly, bountiful, and glorious Christ, because we are in the church life!" In the Church Life We May Experience the "Scepter of Wickedness," but it Will Not Remain Then the psalmist continues, "For the scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the allotment of the righteous, that the righteous would not put forth their hands to iniquity" (v. 3). After showing us such a marvelous Christ in the church life the psalmist comes back to us. In the church life everything is wonderful, yet there is also something called "the scepter of wickedness." Other translations say "the rod of the wicked." Christ is marvelous, but people are wicked. We should apply this not only to people outside of the Lord's testimony, but also to ourselves. Even we ourselves can be "the wicked." For example, in the midst of such a joyful church life we often beat our fellow saints. We can treat the saints so unfairly. This is to wield "the scepter of wickedness." We all admit that we have shortcomings and limitations. We cause many problems in the church life, and to a certain degree we even damage the Lord's testimony. Sometimes when we are with certain saints we wield the scepter of wickedness. We don't even realize it, but it just happens. But although we have the scepter of wickedness we also have "the allotment of the righteous." In the church life the scepter may appear and even cause damage, but it doesn't remain. It "will not rest upon the allotment of the righteous." Hence, we should be comforted. The wickedness comes and goes, but the righteousness abides forever. The scepter is only temporary, but our allotment never changes. Do we realize this about the church life? We are all here enjoying the allotment of the righteous. At the same time we often wield the scepter of wickedness. Who is the source of all the problems in the church life? We are. We are the ones who are so wicked. We are the ones who use that scepter. Many times we don't even realize that we are hurting the saints and damaging the church life. Yet when we do realize this, we should not worry. Because of the righteousness in the church life, the offenses and damage we cause will not remain. "The scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the allotment of the righteous." The verse goes on to tell us the reason: "That the righteous would not put forth their hands to iniquity." If the scepter were to remain, if the offense were to continue, even the righteous would be driven to iniquity. But praise the Lord, the scepter will not "rest." When we offend a brother, or when a brother offends us, it will not last. The experience of the scepter is temporary, but the enjoyment of our allotment is eternal. We Should Trust the Lord to Grow what is of Him and Expose what is of Ourselves The next two verses show us more about who we are. First the psalmist says, "Do good, O Jehovah, to the good and those upright in their hearts" (v. 4). Within all of us there are two very different parts of our being. One part is "upright," because it is from Him. We can use this verse to tell the Lord, "Lord, whatever is from You, whatever is divine, whatever is eternal within me, do good to that part. May that part of me grow and come out more." Then the psalmist continues, "But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Jehovah will lead them off with the workers of iniquity" (v. 5a). This is a cry to the Lord. There is a second part of us that is crooked, that turns aside to crooked ways. When we see this we will say, "Lord, expose me more. All the things that are not so healthy, that are not upright, that are crooked in my heart, expose them more." We must remember that this psalm is one of consecration. The writer is a consecrated person. He knows that the Lord is trustworthy, so he is not afraid of being exposed. He would tell the Lord, "Lord, I trust You. Expose me more. Expose what is evil and terrible within me. Bring it to manifestation." When we are not fully given to the Lord we are always trying to hide ourselves. We often try to make ourselves appear good. But when we really touch the Lord, we would say to Him, "Lord, expose me more! Enlighten me more! Shine on me more! Let me know my self more! Expose all my shortcomings! Save me from appreciating myself!" Why would we pray this way? So that we have a chance to repent. If we don't trust the Lord we would never dare pray in this way. We would never dare ask the Lord to expose all our iniquities. It is only when we fully trust in the Lord that we can say, "Lord, I am ready. Whatever is of You within me, bring it out. Whatever is upright, let it grow and develop. But Lord, whatever is evil, whatever turns to crooked ways, let it be manifested so that I can repent and deal with myself." This is a precious prayer. Dealing with Ourselves Brings Peace to the Church Life After such a manifestation of what is upright and what is crooked within us, the psalm ends, "Peace be upon Israel" (v. 5b). Only when our self-life is exposed and dealt with can we have the reality of peace among us. The more we see who we are and deal with ourselves, the more peace there is in the church life. We all should pray this way. "Lord, whatever is of You, let it grow and develop. Whatever is of me, let it be exposed and dealt with." This prayer is not for ourselves, but for the church life as the Lord's testimony. "Peace be upon Israel." The feeling of this psalm is so single and pure. We are not here for ourselves, but for His testimony. We deal with our self-life so that the church can be built up in peace. Conclusion These three psalms show us a precious three-fold consecration. First, we consecrate to the Lord Himself. As those who love the Lord, we are as a servant looking to his master's hand. We tell the Lord, "I give myself to You. I wait upon Your hand. In Your discipline I look to You for mercy." Second, we consecrate to be separated from the world. We say to the Lord, "I love You so much. I reject the world. I reject the beast, the flood, and the snare. If I get caught in the world, Lord, help me to get out." Third, we consecrate ourselves to the Lord's trustworthiness. We pray, "Lord, You are so trustworthy. In the church life, You are so rich, so high, and so bountiful. You are just like the high mountains surrounding the hills of Jerusalem. Lord, I ask You to cause whatever is healthy and upright within me to grow and develop. At the same time, expose whatever is crooked and fleshly within me so that Your testimony can have peace." These psalms portray someone who has seen a clear vision and has fully given himself to the Lord for His testimony. This is truly precious. May the Lord have mercy upon us that we would all enjoy such a consecration. 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