TITLE: IF I HAD JUST LOOKED UP
SCRIPTURE: PSALM 121
This morning we’re going to look at a Psalm about looking up. Charles Spurgeon called this A Psalm Of The Eyes. Psalm 121 is written to speak to the heart, the simple, poetic formula is meant to hit home in a memorable way. The imagery of this Psalm is meant to give a sense of the comprehensive care of God for those who look to him. I must admit the most challenging times of my life, happened when I failed to “Just Look Up.”
I remember in the early 80’s, Sis. Lawson and I were married maybe two years. We went downtown Mannheim, Germany, I believe it was 4th of July. We checked into a little Bread and Breakfast, after receiving the keys we went upstairs and to our surprise, we could not find our room. We walked up and down the hall wondering how we were supposed to know which room was ours. We were too embarrassed to go back downstairs and ask and have them shake their head at us young Americans who don’t have sense enough to find their room. After Michelle and I walked up and down the hall trying to locate the room; you know here in our country the room number is on the door or side of the door at our hotels. Well…I or maybe it was Michelle, finally looked up above the door and there found the room numbers. Yes, “IF I HAD JUST LOOKED UP.”
I believe that is what the writer of this text would have us to understand. Look up — for this will keep --
• The head from swimming
• The heart from sinking
• The knees from trembling
• The feet from slipping
• The hands from hanging down!
It is impossible to say what will happen to us, or what will be required of us this year — but “Look Up!” This direction, if properly attended to, will -
• Procure for us all that we need
• Secure us against all that we dread
• Make us more than a match for all our foes and fears!
My brothers and sisters, if you are going through today, can I just tell you “Look up” and hear Jesus saying to you, “do not be afraid — I myself will help you!”
• Are you Discouraged? -- “Look up”
• Are you Despondent? -- “Look up”
• Are you Downtrodden -- “Look up”
• Are you Depressed -- “Look up”
This 121st Psalm has been one of my favorites for years. I suspect it has been for many of you, as well. It’s one of the staples of the faith we learn early on then repeat often, especially in times of trouble - “I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS, FROM WHENCH COMETH MY HELP.” The poetry rolls off the tongue, especially when you revert back to the Elizabethan English.
• But what does it mean?
• And how does it speak to us today?
• Where does your help come from?
When I first heard this Psalm in Sunday School as a boy, I pictured mountains symbolizing the Omnipotence Of God – Majestic - Imposing - Immovable.
• Mountains stand for STRENGTH - STABILITY - DOMINANCE - POWER
• To stand on top of a mountain is like standing on top of the world
• To stand at the base of a mountain and look up at the summit is to, well, stand in awe and wonder
• Mountains are so big and we, by comparison, are so small
So, naturally, when I heard the words, “I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS,” I thought of God’s dominion over all creation. As far as I can remember, that’s what we were taught - To lift up your eyes to the hills is to be reassured that God is all-powerful and in control. In the words of a song, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” That’s why, in the King James Version of the Bible, the opening words are translated –
• “I WILL LIFT UP MINE EYES UNTO THE HILLS, FROM WHENCE COMETH MY HELP”
• Hear the difference?
• It’s not a Question, but a statement of Fact
Where does your help come from when things go contrary in your life?
• When a relationship begins to sputter and fail?
• When your teenage son or daughter starts running with the wrong crowd?
• When your work becomes a greater drudgery than you can stand?
• When a loved one dies?
• When you suffer a crisis of faith and find it hard to pray?
• When you wonder to yourself -- Does God really care one way or the other?
Issues like these are all too common. Where does your help come from? The psalmist answers with a clear and certain voice - “MY HELP COMES FROM YAHWEH, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.” We cannot read this Psalm without thinking about the Author – King David. It appears that David wrote this psalm after he was king, which means it was after he had spent a lot of time in those hills, the ones to which he was lifting his eyes.
What had happened in those hills? For years, maybe as many as ten or fifteen years, he had hidden in those very hills, from a maniacal king who was dead-set on killing him. When David lifted his eyes up to the hills, he didn’t just see a beautiful view. He saw his life flash before his eyes.
• He remembered moving from one hill to another
• He remembered moving from one cave to another
• He remembered hiding in the back of a cave while the king slept in the front, working his way around one side of the mountain while the king and his army marched inexorably around the other side
• When David looked at those hills, he saw despair and grief and darkness and hopelessness
• But when he looked at those hills, he saw something more -
o He saw Protection
o He saw Deliverance
o He saw Safety in the cleft of the Rock
• In those hills, David knew the presence of God
When David became King, he wanted to remember that even in the darkest places, God was still there, leading him, protecting him, fulfilling the promise He had given him when he was a youth, even when it seemed impossible. He wanted to remember, even as he sat on a throne, that the same Lord who had helped him when he was hiding in the hills —even in the times when he couldn’t perceive God’s help — the Lord would be helping him still.
• Lift up your eyes to your own “hills”
• What are your own hills?
• They are your time of greatest darkness and despair, when it seemed that God had forgotten you, but when afterwards you could look back to see that He was really holding you
• He was there all the time
Kurt Carr eluded to this in his song -- “I ALMOST LET GO”
I almost let go.
I felt like I just couldn't take life anymore.
My problems held me bound
Depression weighed me down.
But God held me close, so I wouldn't let go.
God's mercy kept me, so I wouldn't let go.
I almost gave up.
I was right at the edge of a breakthrough but I couldn't see it
The devil really had me;
but Jesus came and grabbed me,
And He held me close,
So I wouldn't let go.
God's mercy kept me,
so I wouldn't let go.
Chorus:
So I'm here today because God kept me.
I'm alive today,
only because of His grace.
Oh, He Kept me,
God Kept me,
He kept me,
So I wouldn't let go.
What are your hills this morning? Are you in them now, crying out for God to be there with you in the darkness and hiding and fear?
• Are you feeling like He has abandoned you?
• Don’t lose Heart
• Hold on to Hope
• Trust Him to finish what He has started
There will come a day when you will lift your eyes to those hills and say, “See those hills right there? Those, right there. “They are the place of my greatest despair - grief - darkness - hopelessness. And then you’ll say, “But they are also the place of my greatest protection and deliverance. They are the place I was kept safe in the cleft of the Rock. They are the place I began to know the presence of God.”
• Yes, the pain was real – “If I Had Just Looked Up”
• I almost let go - “If I Had Just Looked Up”
• I was hurting and ready to throw in the towel - “If I Had Just Looked Up”
“I LIFT MY EYES TO THE HILLS” is the worshiper’s declaration of trust and dependence upon God for help. The true worshiper was going to meet with the Lord and offer sacrifices of praise because the Lord his God, Creator of the universe, was his singular source of help.
• From the elevated place of His Holy presence, God would grant assistance and deliverance
• PSALM 3:4 “I CALL OUT TO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERS ME FROM HIS HOLY MOUNTAIN”
• From His sacred dwelling place, the Lord would offer everlasting security
• PSALM 125:2 “AS THE MOUNTAINS SURROUND JERUSALEM, SO THE LORD SURROUNDS HIS PEOPLE BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE”
Hills are strong things -- They offer protection. They offer security
• Hills are high things -- They were often places of worship often of idols, false gods
• Hills are fallible things -- The hills don’t always protect us the way we want them to
• The hills are often not sufficient to meet our needs
We all have hills that we look to. In spite of hills, Jerusalem was often defeated. Hills are not the ultimate source of help. What are some of the “hills” that people look to today?
• There is the hill of MY OWN ABILITY and MY OWN SELF EFFORT -- I can make it on my own. I will be comforted by my own ability to control things
• There is the hill of FRIENDSHIP - I will depend on my friends to comfort, keep, and help me
• There are the hills of RELIGION including the hill of LAW KEEPING -- If I’m religious, attending church, being baptized, taking communion, doing religious things, then I am kept securely
• There is the hill of MORALITY -- If I live a good, clean, moral life, that will help through my problems and make me acceptable to God
• There is the hill of GOOD WORKS -- So I know I’m not perfect, but if I just do lots of good things for people, I will be kept and secure
• There is the hill of being BORN INTO THE RIGHT FAMILY -- If I have been born into and/or baptized into a Christian family, then I am kept by God and secure
• There are the hills of HOBBIES AND SPORTS -- I have lots of toys and play lots of games. I’ll just trust these for comfort and diversion when things are bad
• There is the hill of POPULARITY -- As long as I am loved and accepted by others, I’m okay
Are these hills where my help is coming from?
• The hill of FRIENDSHIP – friends often fail us, disappoint us, and even die
• The hill of RELIGION – there are many false religions out there, and just being religious never got anyone into Heaven
• The hill of my OWN ABILITY AND SELF EFFORT – I am human. I am fallible. I am a sinner. I have failed God
• The hill of MORALITY – Every person has broken the 10 commandments
• The hill of FAMILY – They will fail me too. And just being born into a Christian family doesn’t make me a Christian any more than being born in a garage would make me a car
• The hills of HOBBIES AND SPORTS – At the end of life, what will they be worth?
• The hill of POPULARITY – It is temporary, and fallible, just as soon as they lift you up they will pull you back down
If these things are my “hills,” I don’t have much help.
• VS. 2 – “MY HELP COMETH FROM THE LORD, WHICH MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH”
• What qualifies the Lord to help us?
• He has all the power needed as creator of the universe!
Make sure your help is coming from the Lord. Make Him your choice. VS. 5-6 “THE LORD IS THY KEEPER: THE LORD IS THY SHADE UPON THY RIGHT HAND. THE SUN SHALL NOT SMITE THEE BY DAY, NOR THE MOON BY NIGHT.”
• God is a great Keeper!
• He has all the resources of the universe at his disposal to meet my needs
• He has all the power of omnipotence to protect me, so that nothing under the Sun or under the moon can hurt me, unless it is in his perfect will for my life
If we had time this morning we could have testimonies of just how God has kept each one of us.
• He has kept us when finances were low – you have been broke before
• He has kept us when we were in danger – you had to hide out before
• He has kept us from the slander of others – you have been talked about before
• He has kept us during times of sickness and health – you have been sick before
• He has kept us during difficult and emotional times – you have cried all night before
• He has kept us alive during COVID, and even when we die, He will still keep us
I just want to encourage somebody today.
• Some of you are new believers in the Lord - You need to know that you are kept by God
• Some of you are facing work problems, family problems, friend problems, school problems, and/or other kinds of problems - You need to know that you are kept by God
• Some of you don't feel like you have any particular serious problem - You still need to know that you are kept by God, because problems will come!
God has promised His presence and help to the Christian who is going through something.
• No matter where you are – You are kept by God
• No matter what the obstacles in your life - You are kept by God
• No matter the hour of the day - You are kept by God
• No matter what the conditions - You are kept by God
• No matter how long it takes - You are kept by God
--For JOSEPH of the book of Genesis, the “hills” he looked to might have been a memory of his years in the dungeon, waiting for the purposes of God to be fulfilled - And they were, far beyond his imagination
--For the APOSTLE PETER, the “hills” he looked to might have been a memory of his faltering and failing when he followed Jesus as a disciple, knowing that Jesus loved him and protected him and eventually filled him with His Holy Spirit to do miracles and preach with power.
--For the APOSTLE PAUL, the “hills’ he looked to might have been all the Christians he killed and imprisoned thinking he was doing God’s bidding until he met Jesus for himself on the old dusty Damascus Road and changed the whole trajectory of his life
--For JESUS, the “hills” He looked to were the Hill and Cross of Calvary that He had to endure for the joy that He knew was set before Him on the other side
--Jesus said “AND I, IF I BE LIFTED UP FROM THE EARTH, I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME”
--Yes, IF, I HAD JUST LOOKED UP
--Just Look up This morning
