Well, we’ve made it to the end of the summer holidays. We’re at the August Bank Holiday weekend. Now whether you’ve been all over the place, or never made it anywhere, this morning, I want to invite you to come with me on a journey. I hope you’ve got some suitable footwear, because there’ll be some walking and climbing involved, and at times the journey won’t be easy.
But don’t worry if you’re in your heels, or if you’re not feeling particularly energetic this morning. We’re going on a journey, but we’re not going to leave our seats. You see, today’s Psalm 121 is one of the Psalms written and sung on a journey. If you look at the title, the superscription, in tiny capital letters, you’ll see ‘A song of ascents.’ A song of going up - going up to Jerusalem for the great festivals. All together, there are fifteen of them - 120 through to 134.
The pilgrims are on a journey. They’re excited to be going up to Jerusalem, and yet, they know that the way isn’t easy. The journey can be a struggle. If you’re ascending, then you’ve got hills - mentioned in verse 1. Now, some people think that this is Zion’s hill, the hill that Jerusalem sits on - as we sang in our last hymn. If that’s the case, then there’s excitement and enthusiasm as the goal appears in sight.
But I think the hills are seen in a different light. Just think for a moment. If you’re making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, you’re walking along, and up in front you see some hills. And you think, well, how am I going to manage that? It’s not like walking along a lovely smooth, level path. The way will get steep, it takes more effort, you’ll probably slow down. How am I going to get over those hills? And you never know the dangers that may lie ahead. Who could be watching, lying in wait? Will I make it to my journey’s end? How will I get through?
That’s why the question comes in the second half of verse 1. The two statements are connected. Looking to the hills raises the question, a big question, the important question. And it might well be the question that you’re asking yourself today. In this journey of life, what are the hills that lie ahead? What are the difficulties you can see rising before you, and you think, how am I going to get through this? Perhaps it’s exam results and a change of prospects. Maybe it’s a letter from the hospital, a diagnosis you weren’t expecting, and suddenly the hills rise before you. Maybe it’s a betrayal in your marriage, words of hate from someone you loved. The road ahead becomes rocky and rough; the hills rise before you, and you’re left asking the question:
‘I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?’ From where does my help come? Where can I find help?
How would you answer your question? How have you answered your question in the past? You see, people try to find help in all sorts of places, from all sorts of people. There is only one answer to the question. There is only one real source of help, for whatever hills we are facing. Look with me at verse 2:
‘My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.’
In this answer, we’re told two things about the one who is our helper. The first is that he is the LORD - the capital letter Lord, that is, the covenant making, promise-keeping God. The God who has bound himself to his people by his promises - the God we can depend on. And as if that wasn’t enough, he is also the Lord ‘who made heaven and earth.’ This is a reminder that God made everything - that the particular hills that lay in front of the pilgrim were put there, formed and shaped by the Lord. He’s in control. What a comfort to know that the one we depend on made everything, knows everything, and keeps his promise to us.
In the rest of the Psalm, the ways in which the Lord helps us are spelled out in greater detail. And they’re summed up in one word, the word that’s repeated in nearly every verse. The word is...? Keep, or keeper.
Now we might think of a goalkeeper, someone who keeps the goal, who tries to keep the ball out of the net. Another picture is of the people standing outside Buckingham Palace with the red coats and the bearskin helmets - the guards. So let’s see how the Lord helps us by keeping us:
Firstly, in verse 3-4, by keeping your feet. ‘He will not let your foot be moved.’ That is, your steps will be firm and secure, not slipping and falling as you walk over the hills. And this is a 24-7 keeping - ‘he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.’ God watches over us and keeps us morning, noon and night. He never dozes, he never drifts off, he’s constantly caring for us.
That was one of the ways Elijah mocked the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel. Do you remember, when Elijah set up the confrontation with the priests of Baal - two sacrifices, and the God who answered by fire was really God? So the priests of Baal cry out from morning to noon, they cut themselves, they dance around, and nothing, no answer, no fire. So Elijah encourages them to shout a little louder - maybe your god is sleeping and needs to be wakened! Our God never sleeps.
What a great verse to remember during those long hours at night. Granny used to have a wee picture frame with the inscription ‘Give your worries to God each night, he’ll be up all night anyway’. The Lord is your helper, and will guard you through the night. Whatever time of the day or night we pray, or cry out to him, he hears, and answers.
But there’s more - he is also with us always. ‘The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.’
God isn’t distant, like a CCTV operator watching from a distance to keep you safe. Rather, the closeness is right there - on your right hand. Think of a personal bodyguard, someone right beside you, casting their shadow over you. There’ll be no harm from sunstroke or moonstroke - fears real or imagined.
The last two verses sum up the scope of the protection. You see, it’s not just for a moment or two - like Superman who hears a cry for help, comes to your aid, then has to fly off to the next crisis. No, the Lord’s keeping is forever, for all time and all eternity.
‘The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.’
What a promise to hold onto! Guarded and kept from now and for ever. So where does your help come from? How do your other options stack up against the Lord, who made heaven and earth? As the hymn Abide With Me puts it, ‘When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.’
This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 28th August 2016.
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