Sunday Afternoon Reflections: Psalm 121 and Courage Driven Worship

We all need help (some of us are more willing to admit this than others).  And, there are more than few people out there who are willing to offer a helping hand of sorts.  Unfortunately, much of that help comes with a price tag, or the help isn’t much help at all.

This weekend, I was scanning through the meager few channels we get with our rabbit ears.  Now, I’m not a basketball, golf, or baseball fan so my options were even more limited.  It seemed like all the rest of the channels were airing infomercials.  One by one the infomercials offered pricy help for every possible problem (real or invented) one could have.

“I needed help getting my acne under control until I found . . .”

“I had to get help with my credit card bills; that’s why I called . . .”

“After my accident I needed help fighting the insurance company so I called . . .”

“I couldn’t get my floors as clean as I wanted until I got the help of a . . .”

“I wasn’t happy with the wrinkles under my neck, and nothing helped until I got . . .”

“My teeth just weren’t as white as I wanted, and the only thing that helped was . . .”

Celebrities, experts, and ordinary people are quick to tell us about all sorts of things that can be of help.  But, all too often these helpful things are costly, or worthless (how many of us have unused exercise videos and kitchen gadgets we wish we never bought).

What makes Psalm 121 any different than the many boy-do-I-have-a-deal-for-you offers out there? 

Given that the Psalms of Ascent were prayers sung by Jewish pilgrims preparing them for worship as the journeyed to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; Psalm 121 picks up where Psalm 120 left off.  Psalm 120 describes a sojourner in a hostile land.  Psalm 121 describes a pilgrim looking ahead at the beginning of a journey. 

Psalm 121 begins with one person (the “I” of the text) fixing his eyes and bolstering his and another person’s (the “your” & “you” of the text) confidence for the pilgrimage ahead:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?” (v. 1)

If you have ever seen the Judean Hills surrounding Jerusalem it’s not too hard to imagine the dangers of foot travel over narrow rugged paths up to Jerusalem upon Mount Zion.  In several places, one could easily slip on loose unstable gravel and fall into a deep wadi or ravine.  There is little shelter and water could be difficult to find.  If the natural elements aren’t enough to wary a traveler, there would have been no shortage of wild beast to increase the danger of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  Then, add to these dangers bandits and outlaws lying in wait to mug and murder unsuspecting travelers.  But, as much as these dangers would lead one to ask the rhetorical question, “From where does my help come?”  The pilgrim in this Psalm may well have a different more insidious danger in mind: idolatry. Hills in the ancient Near East were places of idol worship; it would not have been uncommon for a person to look up to the hills and see cult shrines scattered here and there (Jer. 3:23).  So, the pilgrim looks to the hills as he anticipates his journey to the House of the Lord, and recognizes the dangers of the journey.  Having recognized the dangers of the journey, he sees the many places of idol worship begging for his devotion in order to gain false protection, and he is provoked to ask his rhetorical question, “I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?”  With deep desire and confident expectation the speaker in Psalm 121 proclaims, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”  With the full cultural context in mind, we can almost hear the speaker’s scorn and contempt for the idols, which tempt pilgrims to abandon their trust in the LORD.  “My help comes for the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” 

Now, you and I don’t face a treacherous journey up rugged arid mountain paths as we anticipate gathering for worship.  We don’t wind our way past cultic shrines or centers of idol worship as we prepare for worship.  Or do we?  We may not face the same perils that the pilgrim in Psalm 121 faced, but we do face perils every day or our lives (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).  It would be impossible to enumerate all the ways our lives can be hurt, wrecked, or ruined with each passing day.  And, we may not be tempted to seek protection against these perils from a cult shrine, but, if we are honest with ourselves, we do get a false sense of wellbeing and protection from all sorts of people, things, and stuff we idolize.  We fear aging and death, so we put our hope in diet and health fads.  We worry about our financial security, so we put our hope in investments.  We agonize over fitting in, so we put our hope in gossip and fashions.  We are plagued by insecurity, so we put our hope in our careers, education, and social circles.  We have a tendency to gaze out over the terrain or our lives, and seeing perils (real or imagined), we too quickly run to our favorite modern day idols for help, hope, and happiness. 

At this point, we are challenged with an implied question in the Psalm, “What could possibly give us the confidence to affirm that our help comes from the Lord?”  How do we come to have the same deep desire and confident trust that compelled the Psalmist to proclaim, “My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth”? 

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus is credited with saying, “It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confident knowledge that they will help us.”  Before Epicurus spoke these words, the speaker in Psalm 121 tries to convince his traveling companion that the Lord is a sure and certain help in any and every situation.  And, this confidence, trust, or faith heightens the pilgrims’ anticipation for worship.  The Psalmist bolsters his fellow pilgrim with three points in three pairs of verses.

First:

“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  (vv. 3—4)

God protects his people despite their weakness.  The perilous journey to Jerusalem exposes the pilgrims’ weakness.  Weary travelers slip and fall.  Tired pilgrims fall fast asleep with bandits lurking in darkness of night.  Despite the individual pilgrims’ weakness, he can trust that the Lord won’t fail to keep watch over him.  And, just in case there is any doubt, the Psalmist directs his pilgrim companion’s attention to the history or Israel.  In effect, the Psalmist says,

“If you doubt that the Lord will protect you, just look at how the Lord has protected his people Israel.  He delivered Israel from the land of bondage, out of the land of Egypt.  He led Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land, a land filled with cities, homes, vineyards, orchards, fields, and wells.  He established his people in the Promised Land, and secured them from all oppressors.  If the Lord can keep and protect his chosen nation, how could you think that he would fail to keep you, a single pilgrim?”

How many of us let our weaknesses drag us down, and, then turn our weaknesses into a long list of excuses that keep us from worship?  At these moments, we need to be reminded that God protects us and keeps us despite our weaknesses.  If we need proof, we just have to look at the masses of feeble, frail, fragile, fallen Christians throughout history who have been kept by God. 

Second:

“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” (vv. 5—6)

God protects his people in the midst of real danger.  The heat of the Middle Eastern sun is enough to cause a weak pilgrim heat stroke.  And, when the sun goes down, there is no respite from danger; the shadowy moon lit night conceals its own stalking dangers.  In the midst of this dangerous treck, the Lord is not only with the pilgrim, the Lord is at the pilgrim’s right hand.  In the ancient Near East, the phrase “on your right hand” is used to refer to the place of a king’s closest servant, advisor, or officer.  This word picture in this Psalm is astounding; God almighty avails himself for the protection of a lowly pilgrim.  Could you imagine calling God your right hand man?  If this sound ridiculous, just remember the Jesus took on the form of servant in order to save us from sin and death (Phil 2:6—7).  He wasn’t just any ordinary servant; he was a suffering servant who humbled himself to the point of dying upon a cross for our salvation (Phil 2:8—10; Isa. 53).  

Life is full of very real perils; and, these perils all too often hold us back from worship.  Financial troubles, family difficulties, work issues, health problems, and the death of loves ones can weigh the heart down so much that worship is unfathomable.  Yet, in the midst of all such situations, Christ promises to be with us, and no situation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Matt. 28:20b; Rom. 8:37—39).  Let’s take an all too common example in the current economic climate.  As much as a job loss can weigh on a man’s spirit and threaten his future well being, that job loss can’t keep that man out of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Third:

“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 forth and forevermore.”   (vv. 7—8)

These last two verses press the reality of the human condition to the core.  It’s not just our personal weakness that God protects us from.  It’s not just the perils and dangers of life that God protects us from.  Ultimately, it is evil that God protects us from.  Since the sin and evil entered the world at the fall, perilous dangers have become common place in daily life.  We live in a world that is filled with ravishing poverty, terminal illness, tragic accidents, violent wars, devious crooks, and dishonest politicians.  We could survey the world around us and come to the conclusion that we are poor innocent prey in world of predatory evil.  However, the Bible is clear that we are fallen, sinful, evil creatures; and, it is the sin of humanity that unleashed sin and evil upon creation.  Following the fall, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).  When confronting the Pharisees, Jesus was very clear that evil flows from heart of fallen human beings (Matt. 12:34; 15:19; Mk. 7:21).  We need deliverance; but, we need deliverance from more than just the perils of this fallen world, we need deliverance from ourselves.  The Lord delivers us from evil by giving us a spiritual heart transplant; the Lord removes our sinful hearts and gives us a new heart – a Christ-like heart (Ezek. 36:25—27; Eph. 3:17; Heb. 10:22).  A renewed, living, vital heart is the greatest evidence we have that God keeps and preserves us.  When we have a new heart we have eternal life; we are kept by God for all time.  Nothing bolsters our confidence in Christ and moves to worship more than a transformed heart – a renewed spiritually alive heart. 

“Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, les us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscious and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promises is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:19—25)

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