The sixth song of ascents begins with two very positive verses. The first of these refers to Mount Zion, which is a way of speaking of Jerusalem and especially of the Temple there. The second goes on to speak of the mountains that surround Jerusalem. In each case the psalmist draws a lesson about trusting in the Lord. Verse 3 is more negative and declares that the sceptre of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous the reason being for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. The psalm ends with a prayer that the Lord will do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart, a statement that those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers and a final simple prayer Peace be upon Israel. Disregarding for the moment verse 2, then and its picture of God protecting his people, we focus just on verse 1 (Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures for ever). We may say that the psalmist uses the very stability and solidarity of Zion, the mountain and its Temple, as a metaphor for the result that trusting in the Lord is likely to bring about. To trust in the Lord is not to put your trust in something hollow and ephemeral, it is to put your trust in something solid and lasting like Mount Zion itself. Living as we do in a time when the Temple has gone perhaps we need to further underline that it is not faith itself that saves but God himself.
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