Psalm 121: Our Journey of Faith

Songs of Ascent

Psalms 120-134 are known and self-identified as the “Psalms of Ascent”

It isn’t entirely clear why these are labeled that way, but the most popular opinion is that these were selected as songs those who were making a pilgrimage to Jersualem for one of the 3 annual festivals held there in the Jewish calendar.

That journey was not an easy journey due to the terrain (steep and rocky), the climate (harsh sun and heat at times), and threat of thieves and criminals.

They would sing these songs as the trekked through the wilderness, as the climbed over rocks, as the fought the blinding sun, and as they watch over the passes for threats.

Psalm 121 seems to be inspired, at least in part, by that journey to Jerusalem, but there is a strong and important parallel in this Psalm to the life of faith that we are on.

In truth, the whole idea of “ascent” is a parallel I think grasps the nature of our walk of faith potentially better than any analogy we can make.

We are first going to read Psalm 121, and then examine what we can learn about our Faith Journeys from this Psalm.

Psalm 121 ESV

A Song of Ascents. 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 Lord is 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 Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

1) The NATURE of our Journey of Faith.

It is a journey not a destination.

I think many people have mistakenly viewed the Christian like as a destination that you arrive at when you get saved/make a profession of faith.

Of course there are things to do once you become a Christian, but that moment we receive Christ/become a Christian is the destination and where we wait until we get to go to the final destination.

In reality, the Bible presents the life of faith as a journey.

The moment one becomes a Christian is the beginning of the journey, and in that moment we are forgiven of our sin, justified before God by the blood of Jesus, and saved from the penalty of our sin.

But the Journey of faith is just beginning and that journey is not an easy one.

I spent the summer of 2007 in the Himalayan mountains in Nepal, teaching English in order to find avenues to share the Gospel.

One morning our team decided to get up and trek from our home at 13,000 feet, up a hill (only a hill in the Himalayas) to a small peak at 15000 feet where we could see the sun rise over Mt Everest.

It was not an easy walk to say the least. It was dark, chilly at first, but then became hot as the sun came out, I was tired, oxygen deprived, out of shape, hunger, and had not drank coffee yet.

The trail was steep, less traveled than many of the trails we walked every day, and it was narrow (barely wide enough for 2 people to stand close by.

It took a while for all of us to make it up and you really didn’t see much as you walked (mostly the ground since you didn’t want to slip on the steep path).

The question did cross my mind more than once, “is this really worth it?” We could have been sleeping, eating breakfast, walking DOWN HILL, instead of killing ourselves for a good picture.

We reached the top just as the sun was rising, and my question was answered pretty much immediately as the highest point in the world was revealed and the other mountains and valley all around were visible in a way I had yet to experience.

The pain, tiredness, hunger, and lack of oxygen quickly faded away as we looked around.

I think about that morning when I read this Psalm.

The Psalmist is looking at the hills/mountains in front of him and the risks and dangers he faces on the journey and asks the question “How am I going to do this?”

Implicit in that question is also the question “is it worth it?”

This isn’t how we like to think of the Christian life.

We like to think the Christian life is an easier road, with less struggle, less pain, and a bit more blessings.

Don’t misunderstand what I am saying: freedom, joy, hope, and peace are all perfect descriptors of the life of faith.

But they aren’t promises that road we are on is easy, painless, and comfortable.

Just like the road to Jerusalem, the journey of faith is riddled with temptations, with struggles, with pain and mourning, and with evil people who desire to tear us down.

Jesus described 2 gates in Matthew 7:13-14, a wide gate that leads to destruction, that many will enter through.

And then there is the narrow gate. A gate that leads to life, that only a few ultimately find.

An artist put that image into a painting back in the late 1800’s.

Show Painting

A print of this came through the thrift store I used to manage.

It isn’t perfect theology, but I am struck by the way the artist captures the life of faith compared with the life of unbelief.

The road is wide, easy, and full of thrills of all shapes and kinds.

And the road of faith, though peaceful and beautiful, is full of stairs and steep mountains.

But the destinations are also quite different.

This faith journey we are on might seem daunting at times.

But the view at the top is so worth the effort.

2) The NEEDINESS of our Journey of Faith.

The Psalmist’s question “Where does my help come from?” is directed at the daunting and scary path he is on.

As we have said, the Christian life is not meant to be an easy life, or a safe life, or a comfortable life.

When we consider all the potential struggles and trial, temptations and evil that we will likely face, the question he asks is one that resonates in our hearts, and it is one he quickly and decisively answers.

Psalm 121:2 ESV

2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The is an admission of neediness in his questions isn’t there? — “WHERE does my HELP come from?”

He doesn’t ask “Will I need help?” or “Will there be any help?”.

He ask “WHERE is the HELP, because I really do need it?”

My favorite movies, and I know I am going to sound nerdy here, is the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In the second movie, Two Towers, there is a big battle at Helms Deep between the Uruk-hai (the bad guys) and a combination of Rohan people and Elves.

At first is seems the good guys are going to hold off the large army of Uruk-hai, until they begin to breech the walls and take over the fortress.

A few days earlier, Gandalf (the powerful wizard/leader) had told Aragorn to look to the east on the dawn of the 5th day.

As the sun broke over the hill, Aragorn looks up an sees Gandalf on a white horse at the top of the hill with an army of reinforcements behind him.

Right when the battle seemed to be lost, help had come from the hills.

It is a goofy analogy, but I can’t help but let my mind go there as I read the Psalmist’s answer to his own question.

Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the one who made the hills and all that there is to fear in them. All that threats and struggles they possess are no match for the Lord.

His help comes in giving us sure footing when the road we are on is uneven, crumbling under foot, or too steep for us to climb on our own.

When we are prone to wander off the path, His help keeps us and restores us.

His help is ever-present since he does not slumber or sleep.

God never takes a day off or even a play off.

He is listening, acting, and working in us, around us, and through us always.

He is our shield when the heat of the sun or the fear of the night strike us.

There is no self-sufficiency in this journey of faith we are on.

We cannot keep ourselves from sin.

We cannot avoid the trials and temptations this world throws at us.

We cannot stand in our own power when the struggles come our way.

He is the maker of Heaven and Earth and the creator knows his creation better than anyone ever could.

So to have the Creator of the world as Guide and Protector on our journeys means that they will inevitably be successful.

No crisis or circumstance can overwhelm him. He is never surprised or shaken. He made all things, sustains all things, and rules all things, including every detail of our lives, even on the most difficult days. No hill is too high, or night too dark for him. When what you can see only screams anxiety, see the strength of his power in all he has made. Surely the God who made the mountains “is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24).

3) The PERSEVERANCE of our Journey of Faith.

The Psalmist uses the Hebrew word שׁמר (sha-marr) 6 times in these few verses.

It means “to keep, to watch over, or to guard.”

Psalm 121:7–8 ESV

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

It is impossible to read these verses and not see embedded in them a clear and powerful description of the power of God to preserve those who have trusted in Him to the end.

The historical theological term used to summarize this doctrine is “the perseverance of the saints”

"The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God's power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again." — Wayne Grudem “Systematic Theology”

The perseverance isn't us persevering, it is god persevering with us, preserving us to the end.

He keeps us. We don't keep ourselves

The work of saving us cost the life of his son

The work of birthing new life in us is not thrown away to the shifting sand of our emotions and allegiances.

there is security here- as people who are prone to wander from the God we love, He keeps us.

there is assurance here- even when we mess up, fall on our face, or get lazy, God does not sleep and does not slumber.

there is peace here- as we can rest in the confidence of His promises, not on whether or not we have done enough.

But there is a warning here.

True faith perseveres.

True faith produces lasting fruit (evidence of the Holy Spirit working in us.)

True faith, even when it stumbles and, even, wanders, always finds it’s way back home.

The Christian life is not an easy journey, there are temptations, struggles, and doubts that will threaten to knock us off course.

We are needy people, and by God’s grace He meets us right in our need and provides us with a sure footing, a shield from the harsh environment, and a steadfast watch even in the darkest of season.

So when we get to the top of the mountain, we can enjoy the glorious view, and praise and honor the one who loved us enough to save us, lead us, guard us, and keep us until He welcomes us home.