Lift Up Your Eyes

Today we are looking at Psalm 121. This psalm is one of the 15 traditional psalms that pilgrims to Jerusalem would sing on their way to Jerusalem. We are not certain who wrote this particular Psalm.

This Psalm was meant to be a comfort as they sang it on the way to Jerusalem, and I believe it is a comfort to us today as well.

Let’s read this Psalm and study it together.

Psalm 121:1 NIV

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?

Jerusalem is set in the mountainous region in the center of the country of Israel. As the travelers to the city would walk the roads, they would travel through the mountain passes.

Some of these roads were dangerous with thieves waiting for lonely travelers that they could rob. When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, he was taking a real-life scenario as the back drop of a story to teach a lesson.

Walking through the mountains, I wonder if this Psalmist was worried about thieves? I wonder if he was worried about losing his money and possessions? I wonder if he was worried for his well-being and physical health?

Many of us today have those same fears and thoughts. Especially this week with the governor closing non-essential businesses. Many people are facing the fear of how they will provide for their families.

With the virus spreading, many are also facing fear regarding their physical well-being.

We are facing the same fears as the Psalmist as he travelled to Jerusalem.

As he felt the fear coming on him he look up.

Unfortunately, what he saw, was not encouraging.

What might he have seen as he looked up?

Unfortunately, he likely saw shrines and altars to other gods.

Please, look at 1 Kings 11:7 with me.

1 Kings 11:7 NIV

On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.

I lift my eyes to the mountains - to the high places

The practice actually predates Israel conquering the land. The people before them worshipped false gods, and did so at high places—the tops of hills and mountains, because they were considered sacred places.

When Solomon married a lot of foreign women that he should not have, he started worshipping their gods, and set up the high places, the places to worship these false gods on hill tops and mountain tops.

This was a great problem through the reigns of the other kings of Judah.

I suspect that the Psalmist was walking the mountain passes, and fear was wanting to grab his heart—fear for his finances, fear for his health.

He looks up, but there he sees the high places, the places to worship the false gods in whom others were putting their trust. False gods others were trusting to provide help.

And he wonders…

Psalm 121:1 NIV

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?

Who do I truly trust?

Do you wonder where your help comes from?

Often, we say we trust the Lord. But now that things are running out at the stores… was I really trusting in Walmart?

I say I trust the Lord, but now that the governor has closed non-essential businesses… was I really trusting my job?

I say I trust the Lord, but with the spread of the virus, am I really trusting my good hygiene and isolation?

What do I trust in? Am I trusting some other god? Do I look to some other high place for help?

Where does my help come from?

Psalm 121:2 NIV

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

The Psalmist knew in his heart, his help comes from the Lord.

Yes, we use wisdom to know what is true, and to act responsibly. We do what we can to provide for our families. We are responsible to work. That is pleasing to the Lord.

However, our help truly comes from the Lord who gives us the ability to work. Our help truly comes from the Lord who truly opens the doors for our jobs.

Our Lord is the maker of the heavens and the earth. Is there anything he cannot do? He spoke and these amazingly complex heavens and earth came to be. He is the Almighty, the All-Powerful One.

He made them perfectly. He knew all of the intricate details, and put them all in place so it would work!! He is all-knowing, and all wise!

He made them to sustain life.

Isaiah 45:18 NIV

For this is what the Lord says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

The Lord in both this verse and in Psalm 121:2 is in all caps. That means the Psalmist is refering to God by his revealed, name, “I AM”.

The LORD, the Creator, who Cares!

The LORD is the self-existing One. He does not need anything, nor anyone to exist. He is completely self-sufficient. There was not need for Him to create this world, nor the rest of the universe?

So, why did He do it? Because He wanted to have a relationship with you!

The Psalmist realized his help came from the LORD, who being self-sufficient did not need to Create. But He did Create! He created all of this to be inhabited. He created the world, the universe to sustain our lives. He is the one who truly cared for us before we were even created! And he is the sustainer of this universe, of us now!

He is the LORD, the Creator, who cares for us, His creation!

Psalm 121:3 NIV

He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;

Have you ever walked on a mountainous path? I have. There are places where the path gets narrow, and if you slip, you will be going down the ravine! Again, physical safety would be a concern.

However, I wonder if the Psalmist, thinking of slipping on the path, thought of other Psalms, like Psalm 37?

Psalm 37:23–24 NIV

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Stumbling in the scriptures, is often a metaphor for slipping spiritually. Maybe the hope was misplaced for a time. Maybe temptation came, and you gave in. You slipped...

The LORD holds our hand!

I remember walking with my son on the father son camping trip last spring. We were blazing a trail through the state forest doing orienteering. Being off-trail, we were walking on rocks, fallen trees, and uneven ground as we went down the mountain. Some of them were slippery.

I remember Matthew slipping on a rock, but he didn’t fall all the way. He fell almost to his knees, but he didn’t fall headlong and bash his head on a rock. Why? Because I was holding his hand.

As fear comes, we may slip. We may realize we have been truly trusting in our job security. We may realize we are truly trusting in our hygiene. We may slip.

But for those who trust in the Lord, he keeps us from stumbling and falling headlong.

The Lord is holding us by our hand. He will be with us, caring for us all the way as we walk this path of life.

The second part of this verse is that he will not slumber.

Verse 4 continues that thought.

Psalm 121:4 NIV

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Why does the Psalmist go to God not sleeping?

When the people worshipped false gods, often their prayers would go unanswered. When that happened, they would think that their gods were asleep, and unable to hear them or care for them.

Archeologists have found writings from Babylon about the gods sleeping.

We see it in the scriptures in 1 Kings 18:27, when Elijah challenged the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel. When they had been calling on Baal for hours to no avail, Elijah taunted them.

1 Kings 18:27 NIV

At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

God does not sleep - He is always attentive

The Psalmist saw the high places, and realized that unlike other people’s gods, his was fully attentive. God was always listening. God was always present with him. God is truly our ever present help, even in times of trouble.

Psalm 121:5 NIV

The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

Being always attentive, God is watching over us.

This word for watch occurs 4 times in this passage. Psalm 121.3, 4, 5, 7

The LORD is my protector!

This is the main theme of the Psalm. God is keeping watch, He is our constant protector. Nothing can happen to us, unless He allows it.

He does allow trials in our lives to prove our faith, to help us trust Him, instead of ourselves. But nothing comes unless He allows it. And what He allows, He will use for our good. We may not understand now how it could be for our good, but one day, God will reward us for trusting Him!

He is our protector.

Psalm 121:6 NIV

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

This is an interesting verse.

During the day, the sun is intense in the area around Jerusalem. One has to keep drinking water because you are perspiring and not realizing it as the sweat literally evaporates from your skin. I experienced this in the high desert of Mexico. Everyone kept telling us to drink.

Also, to keep in the shade when possible. This is protection from the hot sun.

Too much time in the sun and you might start seeing things, like the proverbial traveller in the desert who sees an oasis.

The moon is interesting. How could the moon harm us?

Well, up until a few decades ago, people believed that the moon could harm people. Epilepsy was thought to be caused by the moon.

Have you heard the term, ‘lunatic’? It is from the moon. They thought the moon caused mental issues.

The Psalmist is realizing that his mind wants to play tricks on him. But...

The LORD guards our hearts and minds.

This is important in troubling times. Fear wants to play tricks on us. Fear is truly in our heads! Fear makes us want to dwell on what might be (worst case scenario), and consider it as truly happening! It will happen!

Fear wants to grip our hearts and minds. But the Lord is the One who can guard our hearts and minds.

That reminds me of Philippians 4:6-7.

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We need to take those anxious thoughts to God in prayer. We need to be honest with Him and talk through what we are thinking. We need to ask Him what we will, and thank Him for always being attentive and watching over us. We need to give those thoughts to Him, and leave them there, trusting that He will do what is best for us.

Then, we will have peace, and He will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!

Psalm 121:7 NIV

The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;

If the LORD will keep us from all harm, then why do Christians suffer and die? Why do some Christians get sick?

The word here for harm, is an adjective that means, ‘evil’. God will keep the evil from harming us, and watch over our lives.

This is what we find in the lives of so many in the scriptures.

Joseph’s brothers did wicked evil things to him, selling him into slavery. However, Joseph found that what they meant for harm, God used for good!

Genesis 50:20 NIV

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

The LORD will cause all things to work for the good of those who love Him.

Bad things happen in this world. All of them are the result of sin. Either the sin of humankind rebelling against God in general, or specific sins of specific people.

However, God can use even the most wicked acts to bring about good for those who love him. For example, imagine a wicked mob putting an innocent man to death after first brutalizing him. Oh, don’t imagine. That is what happened to Jesus. Did God use that for good? Absolutely!

God can use trials, even sickness for good.

This pandemic is certainly gripping our nation in fear. What good can come of that?

As we trust in the LORD in the face of fear, it gives us an opportunity to share the Hope of eternal life like no other time before! The LORD can use even this pandemic for good, if just one person is saved for eternity!

And that is what the last verse is about.

Psalm 121:8 NIV

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

The Psalmist, facing his fears, and realizing that the LORD, the Creator who Cares, who Holds his hand, being ever present, always attentive, his Protector, who guards his heart and mind, and works all things for good, will continue watching over him, continue protecting him for all eternity!

Too often, we are so focused on the immediate, that we forget that this world is not our home. This life on this broken earth is not the goal.

God has much better in store for us. He has a much better goal.

He is perfecting us through the trials of this life, so that He can take us home to be with Him for all eternity.

He will never leave us nor forsake us in this life, and He will dwell with us for all eternity!

Our LORD is with us for eternity!

That is truly something to look forward to! No one can imagine the glories that are to come as we dwell with our Lord in the new earth for all eternity, where there will be no more pandemics, no more fear, no more sickness nor death!

Jesus has conquered death, showing us that there is life after the grave! Let’s take some time to meditate on where He is taking us this week. He told us a little about it! Read Revelation 20 and 21. See what He has revealed.

When you begin to worry about the future, take time know the future He revealed, and to worship Him for giving us hope and a future!