God Keeps Us

Psalm 121

“God Keeps Us”

Prayer

Introduction

We all go through difficult times in our lives – Also times when we sin - INEVITABLE

Have you ever felt like – Had these thought:

· Does this all-powerful God who sustains all of creation really care about me, love me, protect me?

· And if this is true, why am I going through this painful situation?

· I don’t think God hears me or answers my prayers?

· I have sinned so bad that I think God has turned His back from me – I may have even lost my salvation

It is very natural to have these doubts

Look at Psalm 121 to see what it says

Context

Jews traveling to Jerusalem to worship God who resides on Mount Zion

Many dangers on way – enemies, weather

Text

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lordis your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The Lordwill keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

8 The Lordwill keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

Exegesis

· As we study – Important word is “Keep” – 6 times

· “Keep” = “Shamar”

o To guard

o Protect

o Watch over

o Attends to

· Also keep in mind that everything in this Psalm applies to all believers

VS 1

· “Look to” - Hills of Jerusalem

· Knowing dangers he asks who will keep us safe

· Answer to question is what the rest of Psalm is based on

Psalm shows us how God keeps us and when He keeps us starting with VS 2

VS 2

· All powerful God of creation will keep us

· We learn:

o God is our keeper

o God is our shade covering us with His protection

o A good example of this is when Israelites traveled in the desert with Moses, God traveled with them as a cloud by day and fire by night

o I would venture to say we have that same shade – Only from the inside out through the Holy Spirit

So let’s look at

How God keep us?

VS 3 – “He will not let your foot be moved”

· Our feet will not be moved from the path of God

· This path is the path of obedience and doing His will

· As we look to God – He empowers us to stay on the path of righteousness

· He guides us on the way we should go

· Not left – not right

VS 7 – “The Lord will keep you from all evil

· We face evil every day in our world

Ephesians 5:15-16

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

· We also face many temptations to sin

o If we look to God every day – And rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, He will not let our feet be moved toward sin

VS 7 – “He will keep our life”

· Not only our day to day life but:

· He preserves and sustains our lives for eternity – He keeps a room in Heaven for us

When does God keeps us?

VS 6 - The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

· Every hour, minute, second of every day

· God never tires from keeping us

· VS 3-4 tells us God never sleeps or slumbers

VS 8a

The Lordwill keep your going out and your coming in

· This phrase refers to God keeping us in all we do – Every aspect of our day to day activities

VS 8b

· Sums it all up

· From this time forth and forevermore

The promises in this Psalm belong to us – We can claim them as our own

Bridge the gap

· Like the Jews journey to Jerusalem – We too are on a journey but it encompasses the entirety of our life

· And we are traveling to eternal life

· But unlike Jews who were going to a place to worship God because He dwelled on Mount Zion – We can worship God wherever we are

· But how? – The Gospel

o Because Jesus ascended to Heaven He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us

o Holy Spirit given to us is God’s dwelling place

John 4:19-21, 23

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

23 The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Conclusion/Application

We began today saying that we all go through difficult times in our lives – Also times when we sin - INEVITABLE

· I believe the way we handle these times are determined by 2 perspectives as we read this Psalm

o We can read it saying this Psalm doesn’t apply to me – I wish it did

o Or we can say I can’t believe that God loves and keeps me

o I am so grateful for God’s grace when I know I don’t deserve it

What to do

· Take time and study this Psalm on your own

· Determine which perspective you have

· Then determine to internalize and own these truths

· Start your day reflecting on how God will keep you throughout that day

· Trust in our great Shepherd Jesus Christ to keep us and walk in confidence in this truth

· Go a step further

· Will you be so grateful that God keeps us that you will share this with non-believers by sharing the Gospel

Prayer

Next Week Psalm 130