Looking to God for Help Songs of Ascent: Practices of the Lifelong Journey Series [2] Psalm 121

RECAP: OVERVIEW OF “SONGS OF ASCENT” SERIES Songs of Ascent are the 15 psalms [Psalms120~134] which were sung by Hebrew pilgrims on the road ascending to Jerusalem (poetry & prayer). Songs of Ascent are consisted of 5 triads with the same pattern—the first in each triad deals with trouble, the second with trust, and the third with triumph [John Phillips]. We are on the first triad:  Psalm 120Starting with a U-turn [trouble]  Psalm 121Looking to God for Help [trust] –TODAY  Psalm 122Gathering to Worship God [triumph]

Psalm 121 [ESV] 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does 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 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

Psalm 121 [ESV] 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 forth and forevermore.

FACING “THE HILLS” IN OUR JOURNEY 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (vs. 1-2) Back in those days, the hills presented FOUR POTENTIAL HARMS to Hebrew pilgrims:  Foot-slips due to steep climb & slippery road (v.3).  Sunstroke [exposure to hot sun] by day (v.6).  Moonstroke [exposure to anxiety & fatigue] by night (v.6).  Evil thieves & bandits targeting pilgrims (v.7).

FACING “THE HILLS” IN OUR JOURNEY Life of faith—the Christian pilgrimage—does NOT exempt us from difficulties and challenges of life.  E ach of us faces “hills” in our journeys.  The hills present various troubles to us. Jesus said: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 A QUESTION TO REMEMBER when facing hills: “Where does my help come from?”

FACING “THE HILLS” IN OUR JOURNEY Back in those days, the hills also presented the offers of help for the anxious Hebrew travelers—the lures from the wrong places for help.  The hilltop shrines offered protection through pagan- worship and orgies for fearful travelers. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. Jeremiah 3:23 But, this psalmist makes a decisive DECLARATION OF TRUST in the true God: “My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth—and also hills!”

FACING “THE HILLS” IN OUR JOURNEY We look in all the wrong places for help, when we disregard the Creator GOD who is BIGGER than any hills or mountains:  Sometimes, we look to positive attitude & self-help.  Sometimes, we look to practical advices & quick-fixes.  Sometimes, we look to people (friends/spouse/others).  All these may be helpful to a certain degree and momentarily, but they all have limitations.

The Great Danger of Christian Discipleship The great danger of Christian discipleship is that we should have two religions: a glorious, biblical Sunday gospel that sets us free from the world, that in the cross and resurrection of Christ makes eternity alive in us, a magnificent gospel of Genesis and Romans and Revelation; and, then, an everyday religion that we make do with during the week between the time of leaving the world and arriving in heaven. We save the Sunday gospel for the big crises of existence. For the mundane trivialities…, we use the everyday religion of the Reader's Digest reprint, advice from a friend, an Ann Landers column, the huckstered wisdom of a talk-show celebrity. We practice patent-medicine religion. We know that God created the universe and has accomplished our eternal salvation. But we can't believe that he condescends to watch the soap opera of our daily trials and tribulations; so we purchase our own remedies for that. To ask him to deal with what troubles us each day is like asking a famous surgeon to put iodine on a scratch. - Eugene Peterson

WHY LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP? * “SHAMAR”: The key descriptive word for GOD in Psalm 121 In the original Hebrew text, the word “shamar” means to “watch over with great care.” It occurs six times in the next six verses (vs. 3-8)— translated in English Bibles as keep, guard, protect. The repetition of this word was obviously to emphasize why we ought to look GOD for help. If we insert the original Hebrew word, “shamar” into this psalm, it would read like this [Robert Morgan]:

3He will not let your foot be moved; he who shamar(s) you will not slumber. 4Behold, he who shamar(s) Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5The LORD is your shamar(er); the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7The LORD will shamar you from all evil; he will shamar your life. 8The LORD will shamar your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 121:3-8

WHY LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP? 1)GOD watches over us with his unending attentiveness. 3He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (vs. 3-4)  GOD watches over us 24/7 nonstop.  He has been capable to watch over the Israelites for 4000 years—so, he will keep our foot from slipping.  He needs no sleep—He never tires; he never loses his attentiveness (even when he appears to be asleep to us).

To the child of God, there is not such thing as accident. He travels an appointed way…. Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God’s hidden providence. A. W. Tozer

WHY LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP? 2)GOD watches over us with his unfailing care. 5The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. (vs. 5-6)  GOD watches over us as his beloved children, calling us “his own”—the LORD is OUR keeper.  He watches over our every need so closely in order to protect us.  There is no exception in what he watches over for us. So, no harm will befall us—even though we may be threatened by the harsh realities of life’s trials.

8 "But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, 9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:8-10

WHY LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP? 3)GOD watches over us with his unlimited power. 7The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (vs. 7-8)  He will keep us from ALL evil (no limit on degrees of evil).  He will keep us in ALL our activities (no limit on kinds of activities).  He will keep us in ALL time (no limit on time).  What is the promise? The promise is to keep us in God’s purpose/goodness for us.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose… 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:28, 31-32

Praying the Songs of Ascent #2 -- Psalm 121 [MSG] I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. 3-4 He won't let you stumble, your Guardian God won't fall asleep. Not on your life! Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep. 5-6 God's your Guardian, right at your side to protect you— Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke.

Praying the Songs of Ascent #2 -- Psalm 121 [MSG] 7-8 God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 1.Declare that YOUR HELP COMES FROM GOD—the creator and keeper of your life.  Face the current difficulties in your journey.  Relinquish all your wrong places for help.  Look to God for every-present help! 2.Hang on to GOD’S WATCH-CARE [SHAMAR] for all of your needs!  Knowing that God keeps you with his unceasing attentiveness.  Knowing that God keeps you with his unfailing care.  Knowing that God keeps you with his unlimited power.