Psalm 125:3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to iniquity. The power of the oppressors, the enemies of God's people, shall not abide upon the land. The trial is to prove faith, not to endanger it by a too sharp pressure; lest, overcome by this, even the faithful put forth a hand (as in Genesis 3:22) to forbidden pleasure, or (as in Exodus 22:8) to contamination; through force of custom gradually persuading to sinful compliance, or through despair of good, as the psalmist (Psalm 73:13, 14; see, too, Psalm 37.; Numbers 13:30) describes some in his day who witnessed the prosperity of wicked men. Observe what is the supreme anxiety of the psalmist: "That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity." Israel had been redeemed from the Captivity, that it might be a "righteous nation," and its supreme anxiety ought to be keeping righteous. I. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS NOT REMOVAL OF PERIL. Not entirely. This is not the main purpose. It is incidental. It is necessary as preparation. The great redemption has been much misapprehended, because its relation to the removal of penalty has been exaggerated. Save for its moral influence upon him, to lie under a penalty is not one of the worst things that can happen to a man. II. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS NOT SAFETY. It involves and secures safety, but this again is only incidental. It is not only a mistake, but an enfeebling mistake, to be resting in an assurance that we "are saved, and safe." That, after all, is no more than a comfortable circumstance, which only too readily nourishes self-confidence and pride. III. THE PURPOSE OF DIVINE REDEMPTION IS RIGHTEOUSNESS. That is the absolute purpose, within which all others are embraced. Israel was redeemed from Egypt, to be a people holy unto the Lord. Israel was restored from Babylon, to be a righteous nation. God's thought, in undertaking a redemptive work in any man, is the witness that man will make by his righteousness. No profession, and no works, can ever take the place of this one thing. If called, we are called to be "saints." IV. WHAT GOD'S REDEMPTION MAKES US WE OUGHT TO KEEP. It is the fear of Israel's falling from its high ideal that distresses the psalmist. He dreads "the righteous putting forth his hand unto iniquity." "He that is righteous must be righteous still." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. |
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