This psalm is entitled merely "A Song of Degrees." Its author, and the occasion on which it was composed, are unknown. The contents of the psalm accord well with the supposition that it may have been written after the return from the Babylonian captivity, and may have been designed to strengthen and comfort those who were engaged in rebuilding the city, and restoring the ancient worship, either against the Samaritans and those who opposed them Nehemiah 6:12-13, or against the lukewarmness of a part of the people themselves. There is nothing, however, so exclusively applicable to that time as to make it necessary to suppose that it was composed on that occasion. There is, indeed, evidence in the psalm Psalm 125:5, that there were some among the people who were disposed to turn away from the service of Yahweh, or who were perverse and rebellious; but such a state of things was not special to the time of the return from the captivity, nor was it special to the Jews, for it has occurred often; it exists still. The psalm is designed to encourage those who were disposed to trust in the Lord, by the assurance that they would be safe; that the blessing of God would be upon them; and that the church was firm and secure.

The safety of those who trust in God, Psalm 125:1, Psalm 125:2. God's protecting providence in behalf of his followers, Psalm 125:3. A prayer for the godly, Psalm 125:4. The evil lot of the wicked, Psalm 125:5.
This Psalm is without a title: it belongs most probably to the times after the captivity; and has been applied, with apparent propriety, to the opposition which Sanballat the Horonite, Geshem the Arabian, and Tobiah the Ammonite, gave to the Jews while employed in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and restoring the temple.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 125
A Song of degrees. Who was the penman of this psalm, and on what occasion written, is not certain. It describes the safety and security of the church and people of God; foretells the deliverance of them from the oppressions of their enemies; the blessings of goodness that should be bestowed upon them, and the vengeance that will be taken on the wicked. According to Aben Ezra, it belongs to the times of the Messiah, whom the Jews yet expect; when Israel, as they suppose, will be in safe and prosperous circumstances, and the wicked will be consumed; as Kimchi on it also observes: and, indeed, it may be very well thought to belong to the latter days of the kingdom of our Messiah; when the church will be in great safety and prosperity, and freed from the persecution and afflictions of wicked men.

(Psalm 125:1-3) The security of the righteous.
(Psalm 125:4, Psalm 125:5) Prayer for them, The ruin of the wicked.

Israel's Bulwark against Temptation to Apostasy
The favourite word Israel furnished the outward occasion for annexing this Psalm to the preceding. The situation is like that in Psalm 123:1-4 and Psalm 124:1-8. The people are under foreign dominion. In this lies the seductive inducement to apostasy. The pious and the apostate ones are already separated. Those who have remained faithful shall not, however, always remain enslaved. Round about Jerusalem are mountains, but more important still: Jahve, of rocks the firmest, Jahve encompasses His people.
That this Psalm is one of the latest, appears from the circumstantial expression "the upright in their hearts," instead of the old one, "the upright of heart," from פעלי האון instead of the former פעלי און, and also from למען לא (beside this passage occurring only in Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:80; Ezekiel 19:9; Ezekiel 26:20; Zac 12:7) instead of למען אשׁר לא or פּן.