Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
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 Israel
will 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 going
both now and forevermore.
So what?
Last week, our Psalm started with a cry of exasperation: Out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord. We were in a tough spot. We turned to the Lord. And to be fair, to his credit, the Lord answered with mercy and forgiveness and unfailing love and full redemption. And after preaching that sermon, I felt good. I felt like a weight had been lifted. I enjoyed the peace and calm that comes from having a clean conscience before God.
A week is a long time, so I don’t remember exactly when that feeling finally faded fully away. But there must have been a specific moment in time when that spiritual high got dragged back down into the depths of a discouraging and depressing world. It’s great to know God’s grace, but let’s be practical for a minute. What good does God’s grace do in our day to day? So things are resolved between me and God; my sin doesn’t separate me from him anymore. His forgiveness has brought me close to him. But what good does forgiveness do when there are also very real dangers around me on all sides?
Our Psalm tonight starts with a similar cry, maybe with a little less exasperation but a little more desperation: I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?
There are so many things in this world I need help with. There are so many things that cause problems. I need help with them. And don’t get me wrong, it is good to know God’s grace and love and redemption and forgiveness. But that just resolves this (points vertically). What about all this (points horizontally)?
Where do you look for help? Do you go to your spouse? Your boss? Your teacher? A friend? Do you scour the manual for a procedure that’ll solve your problem? Do you rely on the government, the medical system, the legal system to sort it all out? I wouldn’t blame you if you do. I think you should. Those are all wonderful gifts God has given us to lean on. But none of them on their own – or even all of them altogether – will never be enough. There will always be more than they can handle.
Which is why the psalmist doesn’t stop at the mountaintops when he lifts up his eyes. He looks even higher: My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
What is it that troubles you? What is it that is causing you fear, doubt, dread, or worry? Your God is bigger. Your Lord is stronger. He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
The devil is not God’s equal. He’s his subordinate – a rebellious and powerful one, but still subject to God in everything. The devil doesn’t have free range to do whatever he wants. He’s a dog on a chain, limited in his reach by God’s love for you.
We may not have a cure for cancer yet. Its diagnosis can be devastating and even feel like a death sentence. But God is the Lord of life and health. We are his creatures. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He knows every part of you better than the most comprehensive battery of tests any doctor could do. And he takes care of you.
There is nothing in this world that is greater or stronger than your God – not poverty or homelessness, not conflict or complications, not disappointment or depression. God is greater than them all. And he uses his almighty power for you:
He will not let your foot slip.
It makes me think of walking with my boys in an icy parking lot. The first thing I do is put my hand out for them to grab. And they often do, which is very helpful, but if, when they inevitably slip, I relied on them holding onto my hand to keep them safe, we’d have way more accidents on the ice. I don’t rely on them or their strength to keep them safe. I use mine. I hold onto them, so that even when they do slip, they don’t fall.
That’s what God does for you. And he’s way stronger than your dad. He’s your Father in heaven. And he doesn’t get distracted like your dad might; he’s always paying attention:
He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
It’s hard for us even to imagine. We don’t have a frame of reference. How many times have you lost focus since I started talking? God never does. He doesn’t space out. He doesn’t nod off. He doesn’t need to take time off to recharge. He’s always watching over you. Tirelessly. Vigilantly.
The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
Day or night you need not fear because your watchful God is always near.
The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
There is never a time when your God is not watching. There can be days and times when we are too practical for our own good. When we can hear about the grace and mercy of our God and say, “So what? What about this? And what about that? I need more than your grace, God. I need your help.”
But that’s who he is. He is our help, and he’s the best kind we could ask for. He’s powerful and he’s present. There is nothing he can’t help you with. There is never a time when he is not near. He is always, tirelessly, vigilantly watching over you, and with more than binoculars from a distance. He’s there with you, holding your hand, keeping you from harm, watching over your life every step of the way.
So what? God showed his mercy. He shows us his power and presence too. What more could we ask for? Come back next week, to see how it gets even better when we remember his faithfulness too. Amen.