Psalm Steps> Psalm 121 “Powerful Protection” -Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
We’re studying the “Songs of Ascent”, sung by Jews traveling to Jerusalem for the high holy days. We read in the Gospels how Jesus as a boy of twelve made the pilgrimage with his parents. He likely sang these psalms, and later sang them with His disciples. Today many people continue to recite Psalm 121 at the beginning of a journey. Its’ been called the “Traveler’s Psalm” and is an affirmation of God’s powerful and providential protection.
Isaac Bashevis Singer once confessed, “I only pray when I’m in trouble…but I’m in trouble all the time, and so I pray all the time.” Where do we turn when we’re in trouble, when life hits us hard? Where does our help come from? There’ve been times in our lives when we can look back at an instance and say, “If it weren’t for God’s protection, I’d have been killed.” What sustains us in our darkest hours? The reassurance of Psalm 121 brings us from fear to faith.
Many people have been blindsided by the beauty of the opening statement, and have misunderstood the author’s intent. We picture someone being inspired by a mountain range, finding strength in the rugged, hilly landscape. Part of the problem is the King James rendering: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Yet the hills are exactly where the psalmist does NOT find strength. He looks higher than the hills. The NIV correctly puts it in the form of a question, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?” -Then gives the answer: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” One name for God is El-Shaddai, “the most high God”. He is above all others; He is our “higher power”.
The Jewish composer of this Psalm considered his options. Back in Bible times, pagan shrines were built on hilltops, called “high places”; groves of trees were planted and people were lured to these places by the false promise of spells, magic, and the immoral practices of cultic prostitution. There is no help or protection from Baal or Asherah, or any of the false gods. Don’t look to the hills—accept no substitutes.
Heathen/Gentile nations worshipped and feared the sun and the moon, and people today continue to trust in the stars (astrology/horoscopes). The psalmist looks beyond the hills, beyond the sun, moon, and stars to the One who stood on the edge of nothing and spoke the universe into existence. We’re assured, “the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night” (vs 4). Wicca, Native American, and New Age religions continue to worship nature instead of its Creator (pantheism). The prophet Jeremiah declares, “Truly the hills are a delusion—the idolatrous commotion on the mountains” (3:23). Jesus assures us, “I am with you always.” We don’t need any “supplemental help” from the sun or the moon.
We may not be worshipping nature or bowing down to idols, yet we’re still susceptible to idolatry, which is trusting in anything other than God. An idol is anything we love, rely on, and obey more than God.
Our help is heavenward, not earthbound. When we lived at the Presidio of San Francisco we were made aware of just how fragile life can be. We moved there only a few years after the devastating earthquake of 1987. I was assigned to Letterman Army Medical Center. While I was there, I saw the Army Corps of Engineers began repairing the earthquake damage, sealing all the cracks in the walls, giving us a false sense of security! We had few illusions about terra firma! We were there during the Oakland fires, which missed my cousin Jane’s home by a few blocks. You who experienced the “Perfect Storm” of 1991 know how dangerous this world can be. This instability causes us to realize how we need to look beyond ourselves for refuge.
We cry out for help, and our help comes “from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (vs 2). To look anywhere else ends in futility and disappointment. Vs 3 declares that God “will not let your foot slip.” We find in God our security. Roads in ancient Israel were strewn with dangerous rocks and stones, and robbers were a constant threat. This was before the New Testament time of protected Roman roads which made travel safe. The brief book of Jude says that God is “able to keep us from stumbling” (vs 24). Peter assures us that we are “kept by the power of God” (I Pet 1:5). Though the paths of life are often difficult and perilous, God will not allow our feet to slip.
Psalm 121 helps us meet straight-on the issue of how to deal with fears and insecurities in a dangerous world. When the Israelites made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem their homes were unprotected. But we’re assured in vs 3 that God “will not slumber nor sleep”. He watches over us every step of the way. He is with us. Soldiers can rest from battle because guards are placed along the perimeter. In the same way, we are garrisoned by the eyes of God’s Providence night and day.
Verse 5 says that God is our “shade”. The desert is an unforgiving place; the sun burns and the unrelenting heat can sap our strength. In the Middle East it can get up to 120 degrees in the Summer months. Soldiers assigned there complain of boots and tires melting and the tarmac turning to mush. Heat injuries are a common threat. Yet God shades us, the shadow of His protection covers us.
Next, the moon won’t harm us by night(?). People feared the power of the moon to affect their minds. People still say all sorts of craziness can happen during a full moon. Being “moonstruck” is to become unstable, to lose one’s reason. The word “lunacy” comes from the word Luna, another name for the moon. If we walk with God, He will guard and renew our minds (Rom 12:1-2). He changes us from the inside-out.
An executive was getting ready for a month-long business trip. He prayed with his wife before departing: “Lord, please protect Sharon and the children while I’m gone.” His wife looked up at him when he finished and said, “Who do you think protects us while you’re here?” I’ve been away from my family as well. I’ve told worried soldiers during deployments, “God can help your family more in your absence than you can in your presence.” When we rely on any help other than God, we’re not getting enough protection. Looking to the hills ends in disappointment.
Verse 7 says that God will keep us from “harm”. This could be translated “evil” (RSV). I read a lot of British Naval fiction. The tall ships of the line would have crews working night and day to pump out water after a fierce battle. A ship won’t sink unless water gets inside and weighs it down. And the evil of this fallen world cannot harm us unless it gets within us. We often let sin in, by the places we go, the books, movies and music we choose, even the friends we keep. Some things we can’t avoid, and we’re not expected to cloister ourselves from the world. The Christian life isn’t a quiet escape to a garden where we can walk and talk with our Lord; it’s finding strength in the midst of trying circumstances in a difficult world. Phillips Brooks, renowned pastor of Boston’s Trinity Church, stated: “Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger people. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”
Sometimes we don’t get the help we need because we don’t ask. I know people who will pray for anyone but themselves. They don’t want to “trouble” God, Who “has enough to do”. They think praying about personal issues is like asking a famous surgeon to put a bandage on a scratch. God isn’t too busy for us—we’re often too busy for Him.
What does it mean when we get hurt? Sometimes it’s a natural consequence of our own behavior. Will God protect us from lung cancer or emphysema if we smoke? Someone asked the speaker at a church conference, “Can you smoke and still go to heaven?” The speaker answered, “Yes—you might even get there quicker.” Sometimes God protects us even when we make dumb decisions. Some of our guardian angels have ulcers! Yet there are times when we seem to be doing most things right, and bad things happen. God hasn’t lost interest in us, He hasn’t deserted or forgotten us, and He isn’t sleeping. He has a purpose in all things, though often we’re unable to grasp the reason(s). We may stumble a bit along the way, but those who walk with God always reach their destination.
Prayer: God most high, help us to trust in Your power to deliver us from unseen dangers and unanticipated threats to our security. Help us to live openly, without fear. Deliver us from evil, and cause us to choose Your pathway. You are our refuge. We offer You our lives in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
