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1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. (Psalm 121 NRSV)
Good day, dear Friend.
This is my second favorite psalm of all of the 150. I have several that are very close to this one, but this was my go-to psalm. As a young pastor, I would read this before prayer at almost all my hospital visits because of its powerful message. Later, as I studied this psalm it was made clear to me that David, to whom we attribute this psalm, more than likely wrote it when at war. David was a warrior king as much as he was a shepherd king. And the image in the first verse is a reference to the hills surrounding his camp being filled with enemy soldiers. That would explain the end of that first verse. To see his camp surrounded by enemy soldiers would make a person ask, "Where will my help come from?" It is a distressful thought. If one is surrounded by enemies, bills, hurts, insults, pain, worry, and the list goes on and on, one could ask oneself, "How will I ever get out of this jam?" Thankfully, David's faith answers it; "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." The Creator of all things stands ready to defend the king, God stands ready to defend you. We are talking absolute power. God made all things out of nothing and just with His words; all of that power stands at your side as you face your enemies. "He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." Many a watchman has been known to doze off and may have been a common problem with many an army, but David says, God will never doze off nor start snoring, we can depend on Him.
David continues affirming his faith. "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night." One, God keeps us. The Lord provides shade. If you've been to the Holy Land you're aware that it is important to have shade from a scorching sun that does strike daily and hard. The moon also provides bright light at certain times and in certain places; God's got you covered and protected! As David closes his psalm he says, "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 on and forevermore." Such was the faith of the shepherd boy who killed a giant in battle. Strong was the faith of the boy shepherd as he protected his flock from bears and lions. David trusted in God and because of that trust wrote what he wrote: God will keep us from "all evil." God will keep our lives; and as far as our going out and our coming in? God's got us! Right now and forever.
This psalm has blessed many a person in need of such a strong word as it has blessed me, and I pray you as well. Again, we may be surrounded by many "enemies," but our God is stronger, wiser, bolder, and ready to save us from all evil, all harm, and all that may come against us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we pray, we pray in faith, the same faith as the Shepherd King, David. We pray with thankful hearts for the faith of David who shared his faith in this beautiful psalm. I pray that those who needed to hear it have heard it and it has blessed their lives. Make us worthy of your blessings. Bless us we pray, in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a bearer of faith to those who lack it.
Receive my blessings of love and faith,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
