THE IMMOVABILITY OF THE BELIEVER – Charles Spurgeon

The Immovability of the Believer

“They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever.” Psalm 125:1.

This is the first verse of one of the Songs of Degrees. These songs were probably sung by the pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem, stopping at various stations or passing certain places of interest. It is very likely that this psalm burst forth from joyful lips when Zion first came into sight, and the worshippers gazed upon the city of their solemnities. Happy pilgrims! They had left behind them many a dreary glen and dangerous wood. Now, they saw in full view the end of their journey, and therefore they sang with all the gathered joy of days gone by. They could not have sung with such exultation if they had not previously sorrowed.

The same truth can be learned from the term “Song of Degrees.” It warns us that this psalm rises out of the one that preceded it, much like one step of a staircase rises above the one below it. David could not have sung the 125th psalm if he had not first learned to sing the 124th. If he had not been in a situation where men threatened to swallow him up quickly, and found that the Lord was on his side, he could not have been so sure that “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed.”

Our experiences are our instructors, even in the way they relate to one another. They shed light upon each other, and we learn enough from one trial to begin to understand the mysteries of another. We must first pass through the 124th psalm, to see that all our help comes from the Lord, or we will never reach the grand certainty of the 125th and sing, “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion.”

We have heard some brave expressions from Christian heroes and have thought, “I wish I could speak with that man’s faith.” Brothers and sisters, to possess such faith, you must also take on its owner’s trials. You can be sure that God never gave a penny’s worth of faith to any man to hoard it away in a cupboard. Faith is meant to be used. Moreover, great faith is not possessed by those untrained in its need and use. Faith is like a sword—it’s not put on a man until he is strong enough to wield it.

I greatly rejoice in Luther’s words when he was going to Worms. Some of his friends told him that he would be burned to powder, like Huss had been, but he laughed and said he had no fear. “If,” said he, “they shall build a fire between Wittenberg and Worms that should reach to heaven, in the Lord’s name, I would appear, step into Behemoth’s mouth, between his great teeth, and confess Christ, and let him do his pleasure.” His joy at that time seemed overflowing, despite the manifest danger.

Now, this holy boasting sounds well, but it’s not something to be imitated by every immature believer. This man had passed through a preparatory process that brought his mind to a triumphant state, in which he was a king of men, a lion among a pack of dogs. Let us not forget that there was a subsequent sinking of his soul, like Elijah’s, to prevent him from being exalted too much by his own courage. Those who would have a royal faith must be prepared for this.

Those who do business in great waters must sail in ships fit for stormy seas. You and I, perhaps, paddle around the shores of a quiet lake, where our little boat is sufficient for most purposes. We are not tested by great storms, nor do we have the great anchors that ships on larger seas need. Our needs are not the greatest, so our supplies are not as extensive as those of larger ships.

Still, we would like to be among the Lord’s most useful servants and would cheerfully accept the great risk. We don’t wish to remain babies in faith but desire to grow into full maturity. Surely, David, having drunk from the somewhat bitter cup of the 124th psalm, now feels he can dine on the 125th and rise to bless the Lord who makes His people to “be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever.”

The metaphor in this text is drawn from the hill before the pilgrims, or if the psalm is not specific to pilgrims but applies to all of Israel, they used the image of the mountain they knew best. Even if they couldn’t see Lebanon, which lay at the northern edge of the land, or the peaks of Carmel or Hermon, they could all look upon Zion once a year, “where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel.” The emblem of Mount Zion was therefore familiar, and I sometimes wish we were better at sanctifying the common objects around us—our streets, houses, country, and homes. It seems that we are quick to notice metaphors of sadness in any hedge or garden plot. But we should also look to our own homes when seeking metaphors of thanksgiving and security in the Lord.

To have a house at all is something. The wind may blow cold, but our own fireside is warm. In the same way, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” All who love their homes may see in them a representation of their dwelling in God in peace forever. Believing Englishmen may especially bless God, as their country provides an admirable picture of security. Our nation is separated by the sea from all other nations, and this is its security— “He bade the ocean round you flow, Not bars of brass could guard you so.”

They that trust in the Lord shall be like these blessed islands, which shall not know the rod of the oppressor, for the Lord has guarded them with a better defense than walls or bulwarks. Hebrew comparisons were most fitting for Hebrew believers, but let us make English figures out of our own circumstances. This will make it appear as though our faith is not just a tradition but a present-day reality. True religion, when seen through our own experiences, becomes real and powerful, striking others with greater force.

Faith, when active and observant, finds illustrations of its blessedness all around. Amid the cold and snow of this wintry day, it can say, “Did He not say that cold and heat, and summer and winter should never cease?” Has not His covenant with the earth been fulfilled before our eyes? And can we not rest assured that His covenant with His people will not fail? Are not these snowflakes tokens of His Word, which comes forth and does not return in vain? Does not this bitter chill assure us of His omnipotence, of whom we read, “He casts forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold?”

Open your eyes, brethren, and look around you. Just as the believing Israelites saw Zion and began to sing about it, you too shall “go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing.”

Now, to come to the text itself, I have only touched on its angles in this introduction. In the verse before us, we first read of a lowly people—“They that trust in the Lord.” While much is said about them, they have no reputation among men. Next, we see the singular stability in them—“they shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever.” Finally, we will consider the evident reason for their stability.

I. A Lowly People

What is said of them may seem insignificant from a human point of view. They are merely described as those who “trust in the Lord.” This is a simple thing to do. God gives promises, and they believe them. God is at work in providence, and they trust Him. God invites them to the mercy seat, and they approach it. God grants His Son as their salvation, and they believe in Him. God grants His Holy Spirit as their teacher, and they learn and obey Him. To sum it up, they “trust in the Lord.”

“Isn’t that a small matter?” some might cry. “Anyone can do that.” But perhaps more would trust in the Lord if more men were not foolishly wise. Anyone can trust, and more would trust in the Lord if more people were childlike. Trusting in the Lord requires no intellectual effort and no laborious education. It is simply depending on One who can be relied upon, believing what is assuredly true, and acting on it. It’s taking God at His word, knowing He cannot lie, change, or fail.

Certainly, it’s no great feat if we look at it from a worldly point of view. Those who trust in the Lord cannot boast of their feat, for trusting in the Lord seems like a natural thing to do. But is it not a sign of the depravity of our race that we not only find it difficult, but even impossible, to trust in the Lord? It is clear evidence of how much Satan has influenced human minds, making simple faith an impossibility for unrenewed hearts. Faith is the easiest exercise of the mind, but men cannot understand what it means to trust in the Lord until the Holy Spirit opens their hearts.

To trust in the Lord is very simple, yet it is right. In our foolishness, we can ask the wise ones of the earth to judge: should not a man trust his Creator? Is there any being more worthy of confidence than God? Has He ever played us false? Has any promise of His ever failed? When have thirsty souls come to His fountain and found it dry? If there is any reason to distrust God, let us hear it. But there is none.

We always trust the bridge that has carried us safely over. Has not God been faithful to those who have trusted in Him? No one can say, “I trusted in the Lord and was disappointed.” Such a claim would be absurd, and no one who has trusted in God can honestly make it.

Faith in God is not only right, but it is also wise. Those who have trusted in Him have never been disappointed, whereas those who have trusted in men have often been let down. To link ourselves to God, the Eternal, must be wise! It is a grand thing to be joined to the Lord God, and the link that connects us is simple confidence.

Blessed are those who, through the Holy Spirit, have been led to trust in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why Do They Turn Again and Rend Us?

Other simpletons they let alone, but those who trust in God become objects of scorn. The believer finds that a jest is made of his faith, and mirth is excited by his confidence. What he says is widely retold, often with distortion, and he is looked upon as little better than a natural fool. This has always been the case and will continue to be so until the Lord returns. He that is born after the flesh persecutes him that is born after the Spirit. The man who walks by sight cannot understand the man who walks by faith; how could he? If we trust in God and that trust becomes the great motive power of our life—something I hope it may be for each of us—then the worldly man will not know how to make heads or tails of our conduct. He will first ridicule, and then oppose. But care nothing for the opposition—he who is right has already conquered.

Before we proceed further, let us notice how the text includes all who truly trust in the Lord, both small and great. It says, “They that trust in the Lord.” It does not say, “They that trust in the Lord with a highly intelligent faith.” It is a good thing to understand much and to trust in the Lord with growing knowledge, but dear soul, even if you do not know much, yet if you trust in the Lord, you shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. The text does not limit the blessing to those who have great faith. The stronger your faith, the better; the more faith you can have, the richer and happier your life will be. But the assurance of our text is for those who have any faith, even a mustard seed of faith. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion.

And note, it does not say, “Those who have had faith for many years.” It is a great thing to have had faith for a long lifetime—faith ripens and sweetens with time—but this promise is made to the youngest as well as to the oldest, to those who have believed in the Master’s Word for a few years, months, or even days, as well as to the veterans. They that trust in the Lord, though it was only yesterday that they began to trust, shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed.

Neither does the text demand a loftiness or heroism of trust. It simply speaks of the trust itself. Your faith may not be like that of Samson, which slays a thousand men, but it may be a humble, teachable faith that sits like Mary at the Master’s feet at home. Well, you shall be as Mount Zion that cannot be removed. Only have real trust in God, and you shall have the steadfastness of the sacred hill of the Lord.

Some of you may have been so sweetly taught to trust in the Lord that you can say, “Yes, blessed be His name, I do trust Him altogether, unreservedly, and without a suspicion.” Be abundantly sure that the text is your portion today. I hope there are some of us who can now trust our Lord in any situation. If we see the Lord’s Word in any teaching, however mysterious or offensive to flesh and blood, our questions are at an end. We accept unhesitatingly the hard and deep things of God. If we see any attribute, promise, or even half a promise of our Lord on our side, we feel more than safe.

A good old saint who recently lay dying told her pastor that she was resting upon the justice of God. The good pastor thought that she had chosen a strange point of the divine character to rest on, but it was not at all so. She explained, “I rest in His justice to my great Surety and Substitute that He would not let Him die for me in vain.” Thus, hard, stern justice becomes a blessed pillow for our confidence, and none can be softer for a dying head. Though justice is as a stone, yet he who can use it as Jacob used the stone at Bethel shall see the ladder which reached to heaven, with angels trooping upon its rungs.

Awkward providences, too, like stern attributes, have been learned to be used as helps in our trusting. It happened that Rabbi Joshua was walking up Mount Zion one day with his brother, Rabbi Eliezer. As they walked along, they startled a fox that ran out from among the rubbish. “Alas, my brother,” said Joshua, “this is a sad sign. Does it not show us the anger of the Lord against Israel? He has given Zion to be desolate, and the foxes walk about her.” Eliezer replied, “True, my brother, but does it not also prove the faithfulness of Jehovah toward Zion? For inasmuch as He said that the foxes should go about her when she sinned, has He not also said that He will build her walls again? If He is thus faithful to His threats, will He not in due time fulfill His promise?”

Brethren, you must trust the Lord wholly and entirely—in everything and concerning everything. “Trust in Him at all times.” You must trust the dark side of Him. You must trust in the shadow of His wings as well as in the light of His countenance. Some of you have only learned to trust in the smile of His face; you must learn to trust in the blows of His fists. God bring us to that! “No,” you say, “we can never come to that.” Surely we can, for did not one of old say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him”? That is precisely what we mean.

II. The Security of Believers

Under our second head, we consider the grand privilege of the text: the security of believers—“They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever.” Mount Zion had, in David’s day, undergone many changes, and it has seen many more since, but it has never been removed. There it was when the Jebusite defied David, there it was when Araunah threshed his wheat, there it was when the temple gleamed in the sun, and there it was when the Roman soldier cast the firebrand into the holy place. And it is there now. It has never been removed, and it never will be.

God’s children undergo a variety of experiences. Today their hearts are a place of sacrifice, and tomorrow a battlefield. By turns, their soul is a temple and a threshing floor. But whatever their ups and downs may be, they shall never be removed from their ordained and appointed place. By the grace of God, they are where they are, and where they shall be. They shall never be effectively removed from that place before the Lord, in which infinite love has fixed them.

Where, then, are believers? We answer first, they are in the place of justification. As soon as they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, they were justified by faith. How many years have passed since then? Never mind—“there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” They have not fallen into the place of condemnation. They have not been driven from the honorable position of justified men, for “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” The Lord has covered them with the righteousness of Christ and cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Therefore, they must and shall stand in His favor as long as Zion’s famous rock abides in its place.

“He that believes on the Son has everlasting life.” “He that believes on Him is not condemned.” The sheep of Christ shall never perish; neither shall any pluck them out of His hand.

The believer is also in the place of regeneration, and out of that condition, he shall never be removed. He was born again; prove that fact, and there is no reversing it. He that is born again is born again. You cannot take away a man’s first birth; neither can you take away his second birth. The thought is ridiculous, the fact is impossible. Are you a child of God? You are a child of God, and you can never be anything other than a child of God, either in time or in eternity. Have you a child? You may disown him, but he is yours nonetheless. Your child may be rebellious, and his character may make you sorrowful, but he is still your child. You cannot “unchild” him. Even so, if God is my Father, which I know He is, since He has taught me to trust in Him, then I may not question the perpetuity of my sonship, since it is an abiding thing, and I shall no more be removed from it than Mount Zion from its ancient seat.

Where is the believer? He is in the place of the gracious purpose—“for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Being called, my brothers and sisters, you are a believer, for that is the mark of the heavenly calling. Therefore, you can be sure that you were foreknown and predestinated, and you can be equally certain that from this predestination, you shall no more be removed than the mountains shall be torn from their sockets and thrown into the depths of the sea.

You are also in the place of divine love, dear to the heart of God. The Father Himself loves you, and nothing shall make Him cease to love you. He did not love you because of anything good in you. When He chose you, He knew what you would be; you will never surprise Him, whatever evil you may fall into, for He has foreseen and provided for it all. And He has said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness, have I drawn you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,” says the Lord who has mercy on you.

Beloved, if you are indeed trusting in God, you are in the stronghold of the covenant. God has entered into bonds with you to bless you. By oath and promise, by two immutable things in which it is impossible for Him to lie, He has given you strong consolation concerning everlasting salvation in Christ Jesus. And you are like Mount Zion; you shall never be removed from your place in the covenant.

Although your house may not be so with God as you would desire, yet He has made with you an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. What is your position? Why, you are in Christ, one with your Lord and Head, a living member of His body. You are part of the mystical Christ, and none shall dismember the Only-begotten, or rend in pieces the Lord of all. It can never be that He shall lose a single limb of His own august body. Till Mount Zion shall be torn from its eternal base, none who are in Christ shall ever be torn away from Him.

In this truth, there is something to feed upon. Here is a downy couch of precious consolation to lie upon when you are sick, and a garden of delights to walk in when health returns. Here is meat for men, in the strength of which we may do, and dare, and die for our Lord. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can never be removed, but which abides forever.”

This shall not only be a matter of fact as to the believer’s actual position with God, but to a large extent, this shall be true in his own consciousness as he advances in the life and walk of faith. Believers are often tossed about in their minds, suffering great shakings and movements of heart because they do not trust in the Lord as they should. These things ought not to be, for we ought to be steadfast and immovable. But by reason of infirmity and immaturity, many are tossed to and fro like ships in a tempest. Still, even in these, deep in their soul, their faith is earnestly keeping hold, not allowing them to drift altogether.

I remember another story of Martin Luther, which may fitly be told here. Great-souled Martin Luther could believe and doubt like any man of his time. In believing, he could excel the angels, and in horrible fits of doubt, he could almost match the devils. Great-hearted men are subject to horrible fits of faintness and despair, unknown to minds of smaller caliber. One day, Luther fell so low in spirit that his friends were frightened by what he might say or do. Things were going badly with the great cause, and the Reformer might have upset everything. His friends got him out of the way, saying, “The man must be alone; his brain is overworked. He must be quiet.” After resting, he returned, still looking sour and gloomy. Rest and seclusion had not calmed the storm.

I will now give you my own version of the method adopted for the great man’s cure. He went home, but when he came to the door, nobody welcomed him. He entered their best room, and there sat Catherine, his wife, dressed in black, weeping as if there had been a death in the house. By her side lay a mourning cloak, the kind women wear at funerals.

“Ah,” says he, “Kate, what is the matter? Is the child dead?” She shook her head and said the little ones were alive, but something much worse than that had happened. Luther cried, “Oh, what has befallen us? Tell me quick! I am sad enough as it is. Tell me quick!”

“Good man,” said she, “have you not heard? Is it possible that the terrible news has not reached you?”

This made the Reformer all the more curious and eager, and he pressed to know immediately what had caused the sorrow.

“Why,” said Kate, “have you not been told that our heavenly Father is dead, and His cause in the world is therefore overturned?”

Martin stood and looked at her. Then he burst into such a laugh that he could not contain himself, crying, “Kate, I read your riddle—what a fool I am! God is not dead, He always lives, but I have acted as if He were. You have taught me a good lesson.”

It is only by realizing the everlasting, abiding love of God that those who trust in the Lord shall come to feel steadfast as Mount Zion, which can never be removed. The man of God may know that he is safe, and yet there may be such a rush and tumult in his experience that he may not understand himself or realize his true position. This may happen even to more advanced believers. But as we grow in grace, the tendency is to reach a more even and equable condition. Experienced believers are not shaken by every puff of wind. No, they come at last to hold their way in the teeth of all ill weather, and like hardy mariners, make light of the lesser storms of life.

It is grand to gaze into the face of a patriarch who wears on his placid brow the words, “He shall not be moved forever. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” Such men are the pillars of society, and help poor, trembling, doubting hearts to hope that there is yet something stable. Let it be our objective and desire to grow into such confirmed and established believers.

The promise of God deserves unwavering faith, and why should we not render it, thus becoming fixed in our repose of soul? Once more, while it is delightful to consider the actual immovability of the believer, and most profitable to seek after a growing establishment of faith, there is one point of permanence we already have, and can never allow a question to be raised about: the gospel which we believe and teach.

We are once and for all fixed and settled about it. Our creed is not a variable quantity, or a shifting cloud. We know whom we have believed, and are as fixed as Mount Zion as to the eternal verities upon which our hopes are built. Since we have trusted in the Lord, we have at times felt that we did not just then derive the support and comfort we expected from it. But what then? Shall we leave it and look elsewhere? God forbid! We stand firm with all the world of doubters, thinkers, philosophers, and scientific dreamers. We know enough of the truth of the gospel to be resolved to hold it against legions of their kind. We defy both the council of infidels and the hell of devils. We never will depart from the grand old gospel we have received. No, my brethren, even at its worst, our gospel is better than their best modern thought. I would rather drink the dregs of the wine vat of Christ when the berries are sour than quaff the sweetest wines of unbelief.

We are sure and positive in our faith in God and His infallible Word. O unbelievers, we are in no degree moved from the certainty of our confidence by the depression of our spirits. You may catch us sometimes in the dumps and say, “Now you find the gospel does not cheer you as you thought it would.” But our answer is ready for you: we believe the gospel whether it yields us present comfort or not. We would sooner be God’s dogs than the devil’s darlings. And we would sooner feed on the husks of the gospel, if such there are, than on the finest of your wheat.

Having learned to trust in the Lord, we are as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but which abides forever. As to the essential truth of the gospel, we defy the world in arms.

III. The Evident Reason for All This

Now, in the third place, let us consider the evident reason for all this: Why is it that those who trust in the Lord shall not be moved?

First, because they are trusting in the truth. They have not believed a lie, and therefore, they shall not be swept from their foundation. They are trusting in One who will not deceive them and cannot fail them. They have laid their foundation on a rock. If they had trusted man, man would fail or change, but they trust in One who is truth, power, immutability, holiness, and justice. Why, then, should they be moved? I cannot imagine a reason. Why should they be moved? They are trusting in One whose reliance is observed and welcomed.

God loves to have many dependents about Him. It is His way of revealing Himself and manifesting His glory. In these later ages, do you not know what the Lord has been doing? He dwelt, self-contained, as God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—within His own supreme Person. He needed nothing more, but if He willed anything beyond, it was to have creatures who could trust Him, love Him, hang upon Him, and depend upon Him. He went about in creation, providence, and grace to make dependents.

A great nobleman with a big house in a wide country is not content to be alone. He needs servants and tenants, and if he is generous, he seeks the poor. He says, “This Christmas time, I must give something away. Is there anybody needing a round of beef? Is there anybody needing their chimney set alight with a slab of beef?” In the same way, God must have dependents. He seeks those who will worship Him, trust that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Why, then, would He reject those who depend on Him? It is not the nature of God to cast away anyone who relies upon Him. On the contrary, He is very careful that faith should never have less than she has expected. He respects the courage of faith; He never confounds her. If you open your back door and a robin bravely comes in out of the cold, do you drive it out? No, you are pleased with its assurance and give it a hearty welcome. Even so does God deal with trembling souls when they come to Him.

We read of Charles V, the German Emperor, that when a pair of birds had built their nest among the poles and lines of his pavilion, he would not allow it to be removed, even though the time had come for the camp to march. The birds had trusted him, and they would not be disappointed. The same zealous care does the Lord exhibit toward the trembling hopes and feeble confidences of those who trust in Him.

Therefore, there is no reason why they should be removed, since it is not in the nature of the Lord to cast them away.