Saturday, February 19, 2011

Psalms 121

Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

 1 I look up to the mountains—
      does my help come from there?
 2 My help comes from the Lord,
      who made heaven and earth!
 3 He will not let you stumble;
      the one who watches over you will not slumber.
 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
      never slumbers or sleeps.
 5 The Lord himself watches over you!
      The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
 6 The sun will not harm you by day,
      nor the moon at night.
 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
      and watches over your life.
 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
      both now and forever.

This is a Psalm that all Christians are familiar with. It's one of those psalms we are taught in Sunday schools and at homes, to memorize, next to Psalms 23. I remember my parents and my grandparents would read it and pray over us prior to going to take school exams, travelling, job interviews, etc. I have continued that practice and quite often when struggling with issues in life, this Psalm has been a source of comfort.

Recently one night, February 12th, as I was sitting praying and meditating on this Psalm, it started opening up in a way that I had never understood it previously. Verses 1 & 2 when compared to the rest of the chapter, the pronouns caught my attention. The Holy Spirit bracketed out that it went from "My & Lord" to "He & you."  It appeared to be a Psalm written by some one as a testimony of what God had done in their life for others to know and draw strength from.

Verses 1 & 2,
" I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth!"
This was a confident declaration by someone who knew of God's mercy and goodness from firsthand specific experiences in his/her life.

As I read vs. 3,
"He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep."
the thought that came to mind (from God's Holy Spirit) was, "ask any one of the folks named in Hebrews chapter 11, if this is true, and they will unanimously say, "Yes indeed!" Ask, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel, and they will all attest to the truth in that verse."

As I read vs. 4,
"Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps."
the thought came, "ask Moses who led the people of Israel for 40 years through the desert and he will tell you that, I their God, never got tired of my people's grumbling, and never slept as I led them! I went ahead of them in a pillar of fire at night and a cloud cover during the daytime."

As I read vs. 5 & 6,
"The LORD himself watches over you! the LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night."
the thought came, "ask David and he will remind you that it is indeed true. From the time he was a little boy watching after his father's sheep and after I anointed him as the next king of Judah and Israel, there had been many attempts on his life by wild animals and men. Not once have I had his enemies be victorious over him. David will indeed tell you that there were many a days and nights that he had ran from Saul's burning jealousy, slept in the open wilderness, but I did not let the sun hurt him during the day nor the moon at night."

As I read vs. 7,
"The LORD keeps you from all evil and preserve your life."
the thought came, "ask Mordecai and he will tell you how I sprang into action the night before he was to be hung and rescued him from Haman's gallow. (Esther 5:14-Esther 6:3) Ask Daniel, ask Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego, how I saved their lives from their enemies evil plans for their destruction. They will tell you "Yes indeed our LORD kept us from all evil and preserved our lives."

As I read vs. 8,
"The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."
the thought came, "ask Joshua and he will tell you that as he approached the city of Jericho, he met the commander of my army standing with his sword drawn in hand who asked that Joshua take off his sandals as he was standing on holy ground. Why do you think the ground he was standing on was holy? My presence went ahead of Joshua and my people to fight their battles."

Halleluiah, this chapter of the Psalms does not have an author such as "David, Asaph, Korah, or sons of Korah, etc." This could be your testimony, my testimony to our children, our brothers and sisters, our neighbors. As they face challenges in their lives, let it be our testimony, "my God will help you; my God will not let you stumble and fall; my God will not tire nor sleep as he watches over you; my God will stand beside you in your struggles; my God will not let any harm come over you; my God will keep you from all evil; my God will preserve your life; my God will fight your battles and lead you victoriously.

God bless you!

Matisyahu - King without a crown

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