PSALM 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?2 My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber;4 indeed, He who watches over Israelwill neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;6 the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life;8 the Lord will watch over your coming and goingboth now and forevermore.
Psalm 121 THE LORD WATCHES OVER US
Springford Baptist Church: November 12, 2023.
There is that saying that reflects feeling rather overwhelmed by life, “I don’t know if I am coming or going”.
I am so grateful for the assurance that the LORD our God watches over both our coming and our going. (Psalm 121:8)
Imagine with me having a conversation with God where God asks, “Where are you coming from”?
What would you answer?
Where are you coming from this morning? What experiences have been part of your life this past week?
What encounters have you had with other people?
What has been satisfying?
What has been frustrating?
What have been your times of sitting alone and reflecting on what you will do?
What appointments have you had?
What plans did you see unfold?
What things did not work out as you had planned?
We can come to today knowing that God has been with us in everything that has brought us to this point and He has been watching over us.
I think of a loving parent watching over a child who is sick. That parent hovers nearby to listen for any signs of distress and to reassure. God does that for us when He is watching over us.
This Psalm 121 is a Psalm of personal testimony that we can trust God to watch over us and to help us.
It is a Psalm of pilgrimage that the Jewish people would have sung as they approached Jerusalem to worship God together.
The words of this Psalm begin with a description of lifting up eyes to the mountains, to the hills surrounding Jerusalem.
And the question is asked, “where does my help come from”? (Psalm 121:1)
This is such an important question. In other words, “Who can I rely on? Who in my life is dependable no matter what”?
The answer is immediate and without hesitation: “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” This tells us that calling for help and receiving help from the LORD is a common experience for the one who wrote these words. Is this your common experience that your help comes from the LORD? When we know where we can turn for help, this is where confidence comes from, whatever we are coming from.
And notice why God is a reliable source of help.
3 He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber;4 indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Jobs that involve working a night shift can be challenging. I remember one summer when I was on a midnight to 8 am shift helping to care for an elderly man at home. If someone is a caregiver or a security guard then staying awake to carry out responsibilities is key.
God is a completely reliable caregiver and security guard. God ensures our safety. He doesn’t drift off to sleep. He is always available to watch over us.
For those making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem the LORD was accompanying them each step of the way.
This Psalm affirms:
5 The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;6 the sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.
Whatever time of day or night they are travelling, God is watching over them.
If God was only available to us at certain hours, what help would that be? We can call out to God for help at any time!
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; It is good that God is protecting us and keeping us from all harm. We may be unaware of certain dangers and we do not know what threatens us on the path ahead, but God knows.
God is doing the careful “watching over” that does ensure our safety.
As the Psalm concludes,
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
This may refer to coming up to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to worship God and then going back home again.
God’s watch care extends far beyond this.
We can trust God’s care for us because His attention is constant and all inclusive.
We are familiar with insurance polices that have several exceptions regarding what is covered and what is not.
The LORD our God covers everything in His loving care as He watches over us.
Remember, we were earlier contemplating a conversation with God where we could hear God asking us, “Where are you coming from”?
This same God Who watches over all of our comings also watches over all of our goings. If God asks us, “Where are you going”, how will we respond?
We cannot predict or know exactly where we are going from here.
We may have some intentions and plans in place, but only God knows how things will actually turn out.
The One who watches over all of our coming and going both now and forever more loves us and wants us to be kept safe.
This is the LORD our God to Whom we turn for help.
We become more and more keenly aware that we cannot manage all of our coming and going by ourselves. We do lift up our eyes to see Who is available to help us and we find that God is watching over us. He has a viewpoint that is all encompassing so nothing escapes His notice.
Today we rest in the security that God is watching over us now and will never go off duty.
We need this assurance of God available to help us.
Today we can welcome fresh experiences of our loving God watching over us. This can provide courage for wherever we are going and whatever is to come.
We may well feel that we do not know if we are coming or going.
GOD KNOWS AND GOD CARES!!
We can affirm our trust in Him now and always!