Stunned Silence

References to “mountains” and “hills” abound in the psalter. Psalms 15 and 24 ask the question “who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” Hills and mountains are commanded to praise their creator in Psalms 98 and 148. A mountain is built up in Psalm 65, while mountains and hills are thrown down and made to “skip like rams” in Psalm 114. You’ll find some of this same imagery in He Who Trusts In The Lord—Psalm 125, the setting we’ve been singing over the past few weeks. In opening verse of this psalm, which serves as the chorus in this version, believers are comforted with the promise that they will be like “Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1). In the very next verse, God is also said to be like “the mountains surrounding Jerusalem” (Psalm 125:2) in the way in which He protects His people. The final words of the psalm, “Peace be upon Israel” (Psalm 125:5) are sung antiphonally between the men and women of the congregation. This versification of the text echoes Paul’s language in Galatians 6:16, calling all who place their trust in God’s ways the “Israel of God”—even those of us with far-flung gentile origins. The tune is named Clingman’s Dome, the former name of the mountain which is the highest point in both the state of Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. —Henry C. Haffner