Help in gaining Confidence for What Lies Ahead

Introduction

Sometimes we need a good pep talk don’t we. As I’ve thought back over the last year, 2020, there’s a lot to think about! I wonder if, years from now, we’ll be sitting around the campfire telling stories about the things that happened, the things we remember from 2020. I mean, think back to February of this year, could you have imagined what the next ten months were going to be like? (Pause) I’m sure most of you will know that the main thing a good pep talk does is it instills confidence in the people it’s given to. If you think about it you’ll probably recall any number of movies you’ve watched in the past that might have had some memorable pep talks in them. The first one that comes to my mind is the speech given in the movie Braveheart by Robert the Bruce who was the then king of Scotland. (Pause) On the field at Bannockburn in 1314 the Scottish army was severely outnumbered by the English, but after a fiery speech by the Bruce the cold, outnumbered, and out matched Scottish army finally pushed its way to victory. Now, I’m sure that in the movie Braveheart the speech was embellished, but the fact is that Robert the Bruce really did make a speech at Bannockburn in 1314 and it did ultimately push the Scottish army to win a battle that would ultimately win them their freedom from the English, although it would come through intense negotiations over a year later. That said, the point of correlation I want to get across to you is that what happened on that day on a battlefield in Scotland over 700 years ago, that brief speech given by Robert the Bruce, worked to instill confidence in the people it was given to. (Pause) Did you know that your Bible is chock full of Scriptures that are meant to bring confidence to those who read and trust in them? One of those portions of Scripture can be found in Psalm 121, and it’s here you read about how believers have help in gaining confidence for whatever lies ahead. Let’s read this Psalm.

Psalm 121 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. 1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Prayer

Divisions in the Psalm

Before we take a look at this Psalm, I’d like to tell you how I’m going to divide it up. First, in vv.1 and 2, I want to ask and answer the question, “Where does my help/confidence come from?” Second, in vv.3-8, I’m going to expand on the answer to the question of where help/confidence comes from by asking a second question, “How are we helped to gain confidence?” We’ll answer that question by focusing our attention on the repetition of one particular word in vv.3-8. It’s my hope is that in looking at this Psalm I’ll be able to give you a little pep talk, so to speak, for the coming year, as next week we’ll be crossing over the threshold into 2021.

Where does my help come from?

Psalm 121:1–2 NKJV

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

-Let’s first look at vv.1 and 2 and ask the question, “Where does my help come from?”

I’m going to be fairly frank in what I’m about to say, but I believe it can be and often is a true statement, even when it comes to those of us who are believers. (Pause) Sometimes we look for confidence, especially in the ultimate sense, in the wrong places. Now, that’s not to say that the places we turn to aren’t useful places to look, or that they’re totally unbiblical. It’s simply to say that, in the big scheme of things, these places we turn to for confidence cannot ultimately fulfill what we need.

Illustration: Take for instance the story in the Gospels of the rich young ruler who came and spoke to Jesus. You’ve probably heard it many times but let me give you a quick refresher. There was a young man who approached our Lord to ask about what he might do in order to inherit eternal life. In answering his question Jesus began to list off the commandments telling the him that he needed to obey them, only to hear the young man say that he’d done all of this! To the young man’s surprise Jesus told him that he needed to sell all that he had and give to the poor, and then follow him. When the young man heard those last words from Jesus, he was stunned because, as we’re told, he was very wealthy! Now, much could be said about what’s taught in this portion of Scripture, but I think it’s pretty easy to pick out the fact that this young man was putting his confidence in a place other than where he should have been. Ultimately, he was placing his confidence in himself. How often are you and I just like that? When we’re going into something new, or turning the page on a new chapter in life, where do we look for the help we need to gain the confidence to push through?

Take a look at the first line of Psalm 121, it begins with the line, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills …” Most commentators tend to think that this Psalm was intended to be sung as a person made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a journey that could be fraught with serious danger! As the person went on their way they would look toward the mountains and hills, places where robbers and thieves often hid, not to mention the fact that these “high places” were also known to be sights where pagan deities were worshipped, and ask the question, “From whence (where) comes my help?” Now, let me ask you, from where does your help, your confidence come from? Are you like the rich young ruler I mentioned a minute ago; are you placing your confidence in your financial standing or your place in society? Maybe you’re like those who lived under the mighty Roman empire who placed their confidence in its ability to supply and bring safety along with personal gain. Certainly, the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) prevailed for a time, but God’s Word clearly tells us that governmental systems will come and go in due time (Dan. 2:44). (Pause) The answer to the question asked by the psalmist, “From whence comes my help?”, is unequivocally answered in v.2 when he says, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

(Appeal) Church, you and I can look high and low, we can look to our finances, our government, we can even look within ourselves to find help in gaining confidence, but all of these will, in the end, fail. As you turn the page from 2020 to 2021, do yourself a favor and look to the one place where true confidence can be found, look to your Father in heaven because I promise you, he will never fail you!

How are we helped to gain confidence?

Psalm 121:3–8 NKJV

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Since we’ve got the answer to the question concerning where our help in gaining confidence comes from, let’s take a look at vv.3-8 ask a second question, “How are we helped to gain confidence?”

Illustration: Do you remember how you felt when you got scared as a child? (Pause) The first thing I always started doing was looking for an adult, particularly one of my parents or grandparents to see if they were nearby. I can remember one instance where this stands out clearly. When I was about eight years old, I decided that I wanted to go deer hunting with my dad, my grandfather, and my uncle. The night before it had snowed and I’d spent the night with my grandparents, so I wasn’t having any of this stuff about me staying at home with grandma. So, I put on my boots and coveralls and we all headed off. We walked way off up through the woods and somewhere along the way my dad left to walk to the place where he was going to hunt. Then finally, we came to a clear spot in the middle of a bunch of pine trees and my grandfather told me to go sit down under one of them. He handed me a twenty-gauge shotgun and three buckshot and told me not to leave that spot until he came back to get me. (Pause) I was absolutely terrified as I watched my grandfather and my uncle walk out of sight around the bend! (Pause) Now, do you know what my grandfather did? He put me under that pine tree, walked out of sight around the bend with my uncle, and then he walked right up on the hill above me and sat down where he could see me. I wasn’t sure why he did that until I asked several years later. (Pause) He said that it was so he could “keep” a good watch over me because he knew that I was afraid, and he thought that it would help me gain confidence to overcome my fear. (Pause) Did you know that the God we as believers serve keeps watch over us at all times? In fact, not only does he keep watch over us, but he also “keeps” us in and through any and all situations we find ourselves in. If there’s anything that should help you and I with the confidence we need in any situation it’s that!

Take a look at your text, vv.3-8, the psalmist begins by saying that “He [that is God] will not allow your foot to be moved [lit. “to slip”]. He who keeps you will not slumber.” When it comes to God, you can rest assured of the fact that you are on sure footing. Your Heavenly Father never takes a break; he does not sleep! In v.4 through the first part of v.5 for we’re told, “4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper …” I want you to notice, that here in these verses, the psalmist is bringing out two dimensions of God’s protection concerning his people, both the corporate as well as the individual. You see, the people of God can be spoken of as a corporate entity and as individuals in the same breath. Every single individual believer that makes up the corporate body is of the utmost importance, and God doesn’t miss a single one of them! In the last part of v.5 on through v.6 we’re given a poetic picture of the expanse of God’s protection of those who are his. “5b … the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” The point is that by including both day and night here the psalmist means for the reader to understand that there isn’t a second that goes by where he or she isn’t completely taken care of by the Father who is in heaven. In fact, in v.7, it’s brought out even more when the writer says, “The LORD shall preserve [lit. keep] you from all evil; He shall preserve [lit. keep] your soul.” “These verses could be translated as a “bidding prayer” (“May the Lord protect”). They can also be translated as a promise for the future, “The Lord will protect you from all harm” (most Bibles have a similar rendering).”[1] That’s an amazing promise when you think about isn’t it, and it should certainly give you and I as believers both hope and confidence! (Pause) Finally, in v.8, “The LORD shall preserve [lit. keep] your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” The Septuagint (LXX), the Greek OT, translates v.8 like this, “The Lord will guard your entering in and your going out from now and until forever.” The point is that if you’re a believer there’s never an instance, a millisecond, when you’re not under God’s protection! (Pause) Now, here’s the major takeaway I want you to see in these verses, 3-8. Notice, if you will, how many times the psalmist uses that little word “keep”. When you keep something, you guard or protect it; you retain possession of it; you cause it to continue in a specified or a certain condition.[2] (Pause) How are we helped to gain confidence? (Pause) It’s through the knowledge that our Heavenly Father, because of his sovereign and unending love for us, keeps us in and through all situations, no matter what! That’s how loving and big he is!

(Appeal) So, if you’re listening to me today, and you’re a believer, you have this hope. If you’re not a believer this hope is available to you, and I’m calling you to it. From our perspective on this side of the cross all you have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, it’s really that simple.

[1] Ted Cabal et al., The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 898.

[2] Websters Dictionary

Conclusion

In conclusion, where does our hope, our confidence, as believers come from? It comes from our Father in heaven. How do we have this confidence/hope? It’s because he, in his sovereign love for us keeps those who are his for all eternity. As we turn the page from 2020 to 2021, it’s my hope that, no matter how bad 2020 has been, you will rest in hope of what’s said here in Psalm 121 and have confidence in whatever lies ahead.

Invitation

Prayer