A Journey Through The Psalms Psalm 121 – The Lord Our Keeper Wisdom From God A Journey Through The Psalms Psalm 121 – The Lord Our Keeper

Psalm 121: In Celebration Of God’s Keeping Second of the Psalms of Ascents. This one more comforting and consoling than the first. Yet still sees the psalmist in need of God’s help. “Where Could I Go But To The Lord” for last week’s lesson. “You Are My Hiding Place” for today’s.

How Secure Is God’s Hold On Us? Illustration: Manager speaking to his sales representative about doing a poor job. Illustration: Small boy held up by his father in a deep swimming pool. Do we fully appreciate the security we can enjoy when we trust fully upon our God?

The Lord Our Keeper Psalm 121:1-4 – I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

From Where Does Our Help Come? The psalmist knows for certain: Our Help comes from Heaven. Genesis 49:25 – “From the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” From Israel’s blessing of Joseph

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 From Moses’ blessing of the nation of Israel, the tribe of Asher “There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!”

Our God Never Sleeps Or Gets Tired “He who keeps you will not slumber…will neither slumber nor sleep.” 1 Kings 18:27 – “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.’”

Though, we might THINK He is asleep Psalm 44:23-24 – “Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever. Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression?” We should never confuse God’s timing with slumber. He acts in His own time.

A Psalm About KEEPING In this psalm, the word translated KEEP is found six times, in five different verses. Vs 3, 4, 5, twice in 7, 8 Word means “to hedge about”, to “protect”, to “serve” We need to be aware that God places a protective hedge around His faithful children.

What If God Removes His Hedge? Isaiah 5:5 – “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.” Pray that God will never remove His hedge from around us.

The Lord Our Protector Psalm 121:5-8 – “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.”

Dwelling In The Shade Of God We can all appreciate the value of good shade. UT/OU game yesterday: UT in the shade, OU in the sun: 10-degree difference on the sidelines. Did it make a difference? Dwelling in God’s shade most definitely makes a difference.

Think About Jonah’s Predicament Jonah 4:5-8 – “Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

God’s Shade And Compassion Matthew 23:37 – “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” If we are unprotected, it is because we choose to be. God is a God of great compassion.

Isaiah 25:4-5 “For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade form the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a rain storm against a wall.” God is our defense, our protection, our shade.

In What Ways Does God Protect Us? Protection from sun and moon? We understand the sun. But why the moon? Generic statement of protection from all evils of the night? Or – literally from the ills of the moon?

In What Ways Does God Protect Us? Moonstruck? Matthew 4:24 – “The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering from various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.”

Protection From ALL Evil Psalm 91:1-4 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!’ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

God Is Guardian Of My Soul 1 Peter 2:25 – “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” Have you strayed? Isn’t it time to come home to the Guardian of your soul?