Psalm 121
Notes
Transcript
The Lord Our Protector
A song of ascents.
Psalm 120-134 – “Psalms of Ascent” = “to go up”
Also called, “Pilgrim Songs”
· Used as a “pilgrim’s hymnal” as Hebrew people would literally “go up” to Jerusalem to worship
· 3 major festivals:
o Passover in spring
o Pentecost in summer
o Tabernacles in fall
Psalm 121:1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
I look up and I see mountains. Everywhere.
Now, I love the mountains. Mountains are beautiful, majesty, solid, breath-taking, fun!
But the psalmist isn’t talking about a mountain vacation.
He understands that mountains can…
· make you feel small next to them
o bills you can’t pay, the mountain of debt growing
o powerless to do anything about a devastating diagnosis/illness
o overwhelming depression or anxiety that you have no control over.
o a world that is increasingly hostile against everything you believe.
· be scary if you can't see what's hiding in them.
Parable of the Good Samaritan was set in a mountainous area where robbers hid and attacked.
Ever been broad-sided by an attack you didn’t see coming?
Character, reputation, or motives attacked? It can be terror-inducing. When is the next one coming
· be uncertain when you can’t see what’s on other side.
o As you get older, you wonder what life will be like when you can’t take care of yourself anymore.
o You wonder how long you’ll be able to work and provide for your family.
o You want to go to college but have no idea how you’ll pay for it.
o The cost of food, gas, and other necessities are right at the top or even over what you’re able to pay right now – what if it keeps going up?
o The relationship with your spouse, parents, or kids is so bad, you wonder how those relationships can possibly survive.
· be exhausting if you have to climb over them.
o If you’ve ever hiked the mountains, you know how tiring it can be!
o You are already working every waking hour but can’t afford to rest.
o You have been struggling in a relationship that is taking all of your energy.
o You have a loved one that is sick or in decline and caring for them is wearing you down, but the alternative is unimaginable.
These are some of the mountains we face – and some of us might be dealing with an entire range of mountains; a range of problems/challenges that can lead anyone to the point of despair. They leave us asking where our help will come from? Who can get me through this.
At that point, you are at a crisis of belief. Where are you going turn for help?
There are a lot of options.
Bible scholars tell us that as the pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem, they would have encountered any number of idols along the way.
We also encounter them all the time on our journey of life, trying to make our way to our heavenly home. Temptations to depend on what we can see in light of what we face:
· Bank accounts/jobs
· Modern medicine
· Experts
· Politics/Government
· Friends, family
· Ourselves
Though none of these are intrinsically bad, they can become our source of comfort or strength.
None of these things can be depended on to overcome a mountain.
There will always be another mountain.
To even consider that fact can itself create another mountain as you feel overwhelmed at the prospect of more mountains after you make it over this one!
So, a crisis of belief: what are you going to do? You, like the psalmist, have a choice to make.
Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the Lord [Yahweh – mentioned 5 times in this psalm]
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
The psalmist chooses to trust the God he knows.
He raised his head and saw mountains…but he chose to look higher and He saw God!
When you see God for who He is, you get a new perspective on your mountains!
ILLUS: Kristina Manley left yesterday for Japan to climb Mt. Fuji.
Mt. Fuji = 12,395 ft.
Lookout Mountain = 2392 ft. (5x smaller)
Klingman’s Dome = 6643 ft (2x smaller)
Mount Elbert (Rockies) = 14,400 (approx. 2k ft taller)
From about 20 miles away:
📷
From approx. 30,000 ft:
📷
From ISS:
📷
Now, here’s the thing: you get to choose your view.
You can choose to look at the mountains from street level or you can choose to look at them from space level.
And space level doesn’t start to do God justice. By the time you get to the edge of our solar system.
The light from Earth becomes too faint to see with the eye alone at about 9 billion miles away, around the outer limit of our solar system.
That’s nowhere near as far as even the next-nearest star (Alpha Centauri at ~4.25 light years away) – and the Milky Way Galaxy is estimated to contain 100-400 BILLION stars. It would take 250 million years for the Sun to orbit the entire galaxy -- The Milky Way is considered only an average size galaxy. Only one in the the estimated to 2 Trillion+ galaxies in the observable universe is. We really have no idea how big it actually is.
Take that into consideration when the psalmist says, My help comes from Yahweh, maker of heaven and earth!
This God did not re-arrange matter to form the heavens and earth, He created matter. Creatio Ex Nihilo.
If this God is powerful enough to create the universe, is there really anything too powerful for Him? If He tells you He will provide for you, care for you, protect you, is there anything that can prevent that?
And He has said He would.
The rest of this psalm builds on Verse 2, telling us how this BIG powerful God is our refuge:
Psalm 121:3 Your Protector will not allow your foot to slip. (Hebrew: “moved” or “shaken”)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
Literally, these pilgrims going to Jerusalem would be walking on rocky, uneven paths.
I often find it hard to walk on even pathways covered with rocks. Worse on mountainous terrain. It’s so easy to sprain or even break your ankle if you take a wrong step. It will stop you in your tracks and prevent you from moving forward. It can even prevent you from completing the journey.
I have made many missteps in my life that threatened to end my life, literally and figuratively, and I’ve had to deal with circumstance, but the Lord has never let me fail.
He has taught me that it really isn’t about my ability to walk, but His ability to keep me walking, and, in walking, to remember I am going somewhere – I’m on my way HOME.
We are pilgrims and we need a pilgrim mindset:
Warren Wiersbe: “Under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites were a nomadic people for 40 years. But after they settled in Canaan, the Lord required them to go to Jerusalem 3 times a year. This reminded them that, spiritually speaking, they were still a Pilgrim people and needed to depend on the Lord.”
David stated as much in 1 Chronicles 29:15 - “for we are aliens and pilgrims before you”
15 For we are aliens and temporary residents in your presence as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
We are strangers in a strange land and it can be a very scary place and when the dangers of the mountains begin to come out, we are tempted to run in fear, but that’s like trying to run from a lion or a bear in the mountains. You will get mauled by the wild beasts that attack. But God reminds us in this psalm, why the safest thing to do while we’re walking through life is to continue on trusting in Him.
Psalm 121:3-4 (3b-4) 3 byour Protector will not slumber. 4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
Psalm 121:3–4 (CSB)
3b …your Protector will not slumber.
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.
This is really important! Consider 1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Question: If he’s ALWAYS prowling around, how can you ALWAYS be alert?
Illus: Safari movies – there is always someone staying awake throughout the night because that’s when the lion attacks are easiest.
God says He’s the One on watch. Never sleeps. Notice the emphasis sleep/slumber repeated 3x in one verse.
This is one aspect of His protection.
Psalm 121:5-6 Your Protector will never leave
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.
5 The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[a] 6 The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night.
So this second aspect builds on the what was said in (3-4) that God never sleeps or slumbers
Shelter = shelter or shadow (shade).
Shade speaks of His protective presence.
2 passages that illustrate:
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust:
3 He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,
from the destructive plague.
4 He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
the arrow that flies by day,
6 the plague that stalks in darkness,
or the pestilence that ravages at noon.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
This is what Jesus meant when He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
I will be with you in the good times and in the bad…
Psalm 121:7-8 Your Protector will keep your soul
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going (ie “totality of life”)
both now and forever.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t be harmed physically or that you cannot be killed (this psalmist certainly knew you could be) – this is a God perspective on life; an eternal one. It means that regardless of what happens to you on this earthly pilgrimage, your soul/eternal life is secure if you’ve trusted in His salvation in Christ
Conclusion:
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.