“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forevermore.”
– Psalm 125:2
Would you just get that picture here in Psalm 125:2? Would you just let this picture soak into your heart today? “As the mountains surround Jerusalem…” So picture the city of Jerusalem just surrounded by mountains, “So the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forevermore.” Would you just see your life today surrounded by the Lord on all sides? What a powerful picture? We are never alone. The Lord, the God of all the universe surrounds us. And from every angle of our lives, every angle from which the adversary might want to attack us, we are always surrounded by the Lord.
The Lord Surrounds His People Forevermore
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore.
As I read this verse and I think about how we’re praying for each other during this pandemic, I encourage you to continue to send in prayer requests at radical.net/prayerrequests. I want to lead us to pray particular today for a family of a friend of mine and of many who died a few days ago. His name is Darrin Patrick. Darrin and I first met years ago when he was pastoring a church in St. Louis and I was pastoring a church in Birmingham. Over the years since then, he has always been a source of encouragement in my life. A few days ago, Darrin died unexpectedly and he leaves his wife, Amy, and their four kids, Glory, Grace, Drew, and Delaney.
Even as I read their names, I think about all the times he talked about them, all the different times he posted pictures with them with such joy. I want to lead us amidst this pandemic, we’ve prayed for different families who’ve gone through really difficult times on top of everything else going on in this pandemic. As soon as I heard this news, my heart just sunk and Heather and I with tears just began praying for Amy and for these kids. I want to lead us to do the same as they are grieving. God, we pray for Amy Patrick. We pray for Glory Patrick, we pray for Grace Patrick, we pray for Drew Patrick, we pray for Delaney Patrick.
Psalm 125:2 Prays for Your Comfort and Protection
So God, right now we lift up this family before you and we pray that they would know that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, you surround them. God, we pray that they would know they’re not alone, that you love them, that you love them, that you are with them. Oh God, we pray that as the adversary surely wants to use this from all sorts of angles to pull them away from you, God, we pray that you would not let it up and we pray that you would protect them. God, we pray that you would protect their hearts and their minds, that they might know your love in deeper ways during these days, they would know your mercy and your kindness and your strength, your help just as we have seen over and over and over in the Psalms.
So God, we pray that Amy and her children would feel your surrounding presence with them now and tomorrow and the next day and the next day. God, we hate death, and yet we praise you as the one who sent your son to die for our sin and to conquer death on our behalf, to rise from the dead. We praise you that sin and death do not have the last word for all who trust in you. And so God, we pray that amidst all the thoughts and all the emotions on a day by day basis now and in the days to come, God, we pray that your hope would rainout in Amy’s heart, in Glory’s heart, in Grace’s heart, in Drew’s heart, in Delaney’s heart. God, that they would know your hope, your joy, your strength, your help.
Psalm 125:2 Prays for All Who are Hurting
That they would know you surround them at all times, at every moment when everything else in the world is falling apart, that you surround them from this time forth and forevermore, forevermore. That you will never leave them or forsake them. So, God, we pray over them and for all who are hurting in similar ways during this time, and just think about others who might be listening to this right now who’ve lost dads or moms or husbands or wives, children. God, I just pray over every hurting person right now that if they don’t know you and your love and your grace, that you would draw them to know you and your love and your grace during this time that they might know the one who has conquered death, the one who gives eternal life from this time forth and forevermore.
And God, I pray for all who do know you, that they would know Psalm 125:2 right now. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forevermore.” In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
