Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Ro 1:7). Amen.
We use comparisons to make concepts clear. Take life, for example. How do you define it or how do describe it? Life is …? There is more to it than inhaling and exhaling—breathing air in and blowing it out (although certainly part of it as well as essential to it).
So we use a picture. Life is a marathon. That makes sense as we make our way from our earthly home to our eternal one. It is not a short burst like a sprint, but a long haul like a 26.2 mile race. And how often don’t we feel out of shape and out of breath? So we call, “Lord, save me!” (Mt 14:30). And he stretches out his hand. Or we cry, “Lord, help me!” (Mt 15:25). And he sends us healing. We turn to the Lord for our strength and support.
Or we could take a cue from the psalmist. Life is a pilgrimage. That may not be as common and might require some explanation. A pilgrimage is a trip that a pilgrim undertakes.
That fits with Psalm 121. It has the heading “A song of ascents” (Ps 121). It is one of a collection of songs that carries that title (Ps 120-134). The Israelites may have used these hymns as they journeyed to Jerusalem for one of the great festivals on their calendar—Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles (Ex 34:24; Dt 16:16). That city was significant as they went there to worship. The temple was there—the visible presence of God among his people.
Obviously in the days before planes, trains, and automobiles, they did a lot of walking. And that could be hazardous. As they chanted, they were cheered. The Lord protects the pilgrim. That is true for us as we make our trek through life.
You go up to Jerusalem because it is like Denver, the mile high city. It is set on a high slope. It is not so strange that the psalmist starts by directing us to an elevation. “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?” (Ps 121:1). But that question is ambiguous as far as assistance is concerned. We might take that in two ways:
Mountains could be a source of danger—the home of wild animals or cruel robbers.
Mountains could be a symbol of security. Think of a fortress standing tall on a peak. That sounds like the assurance that the Lord extended to his struggling prophet: “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the LORD” (Je 15:20).
Which is it—concern or comfort?
We are not left guessing. “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). He supplies what is needed. And note who he is.
He is “the LORD” (Ps 121:2) [5x in these verses]. His power does not crumble. His love does not erode. He does not change.
He is “the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). He brought the world into existence. If he can create it, he can care for it. That goes for all he has made. You. Me.
That is helpful to remember on our pilgrimage. He is present. And he is not just willing, but able to provide and protect. I might want to fix your car, but I don’t have the capability. There is nothing above and beyond “the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). Not even our sin as he sends the guilt away.
The rest of the verses are an ascending promise of protection for the pilgrim.
“He will not let your foot slip” (Ps 121:3). We have all tripped. That can be embarrassing. Especially when it is on a smooth surface like the living room carpet. That does not mean that the Lord has tripped up. How can we be so confident? “He who watches over you will not slumber” (Ps 121:3). Sleep is a blessing for us. It refreshes us and restores us. We require it, even request it. But not God. There is no power nap. There is no nodding off. He never stops watching. (That verb comes up 6x in this section. [It is translated either “watch” or “keep.”]) The Lord has his attention on us always and in all ways. And not as a casual spectator like when you watch a TV like a person getting supper ready, but as a concerned protector like a mother bending over the crib of her newborn to see if he is hungry or why he is hurting. And he is not some internet hacker trying to get your personal information or tracker who wants to extend your customer loyalty with pop up ads. But he is an intense guardian and guide.
The psalmist emphasizes that. It is almost as if he says, “Hey, look at this:” “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps 121:4). There is no quick siesta. There are no eyes closing for the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night. He is taking care of us carefully, intently, and diligently.
“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” (Ps 121:5,6). Israel is hot and sunny (kind of like Minnesota the second week of September this year). Cover is crucial when that fiery orb is in the sky. Exposure to the UV waves is not safe. Those who struggle with skin cancer because of pasty white skin instead of golden brown thus keeping dermatologists in business are very aware of that. So they put on sunscreen that is the consistency of mud. All to be sheltered from the harmful rays from the sun. But there is something worse—sin cancer. And it is deadly. But Jesus put himself between us and God to spare us the fatal reality our offences. That is why Jesus was so specific about his work as the Christ. “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Mt 16:21). The Father caused our sin to strike his Son in our place. He endured the intense heat of punishment for us on the cross. Jesus has taken the awful affects away. He came out of the grave to prove it. Through Jesus we are protected from more than the real damage of sunburn or imagined threat from moonbeams.
“The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life” (Ps 121:7). Maybe we have a question about that, specifically when we consider the recent natural disasters in the form of hurricanes. There has been devastation, if not death. What about that?, we wonder. But just because we don’t see the truth of that doesn’t mean it is not true. I may not understand that it is September 17th today. That doesn’t change the reality of the calendar. It is important for us to recall that the Lord can hold off evil or hold us up in evil (Ps 91: 9,10; Ro 8:28). But keep in mind that when we frequently pray, “Deliver us from evil,” he will ultimately answer that as he welcomes us to the place prepared at his side in heaven.
In the meantime, we now use our moments and our days as the apostle Paul encouraged us to serve him. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Ro 12:1).
And he is by us to bless us. “The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Ps 121:8). The Jew had come to Jerusalem and now was returning home. How special that thought was as he left the capital behind. Only one day to revisit. The Lord observes every step we take, perhaps going back all the way to our baptism when he adopted us into his family through baptism like he did with Stetson this morning, until we step into the perfect dwelling in paradise. The Lord watches over our coming and going both now and forevermore. That is because the Lord protects the pilgrim, even if life is a marathon.
We read from Psalm 121:1-8:
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—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.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you (Ro 16:20). Amen.
September 17, 2017
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