Look to the hills. They are quiet. The storms sweep over them and are gone, and most of man’s troubles pass the same way. Whenever you feel that things are getting too much for you, go to the mountains or the desert—it smooths out the wrinkles in your mind.”
–Louis L’Amour (Brionne)
“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths….”
–Isaiah 2:3 (NKJV)
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Being raised in Colorado at the foothills of the Rockies, Psalm 121 was one of my favorite Psalms. This is a psalm of ascent, so perhaps the writer was looking upward at the mountain he was having to climb heading for the holy city.
1 — I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help?
2 — My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 — He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 — Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (NKJV)
There is some controversy over verse one. Some say, why look to the mountains, your help doesn’t come from them. F.B. Meyer wrote, “We are all tempted to look at the mountains, to the creature rather than the Creator, to things and people beneath the heavens, instead of to Him who dwells above the heavens, in His infinite majesty, and to whom all power is given in heaven and in earth.” However, in saying that, I want us to recognize the fact that in Scripture mountains often refer to the government of God. Does the Psalmist look up, and he is right in looking up, to the mountains waiting for God to swoop down and rescue him? Alexander Maclaren puts it this way, “I will look at the things I cannot see, and lift up my eyes above these lownesses about me, to the loftiness that sense cannot behold, but which I know to be lying serene and solid beyond the narrowing horizon before me.” Barnes says that the writer is most likely looking toward the mountain where Jerusalem was built since that was where he was headed. That was where God dwelled and therefore, that was where aid was expected.
Either way, the writer realizes that his help comes from the Lord. He knows that he is to lift up his eyes and not leave them downcast. He makes an effort in the toil of travel, the troubles of life to lift up his eyes. “Too often,” says Maclaren, “Christian men and women walk beneath the very peaks of the mountains of God, and rarely lift their vision there. I think of Isaiah 2:2, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it.” (HCSB)
The psalmist is assured of his faith–he know where his helps comes from. He openly declares it, as the writer of Hebrews says, “So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'” (13:6, NKJV) Do not look to the mountain as an answer, as an idol, but look to the God who created the mountain. He is the solution to your fears and problems.
In this dangerous trek, there was the fear of falling which could result in serious injury. I remember one time running down Green Mountain, my foot hit either a rock or root and I went sprawling off the path. I was bruised, scraped and had more than a few scratches, plus the fact that I was embarrassed for having fallen. The psalmist didn’t want to fall on his upward journey. A fall could mean a broken bone or even death. What is it on your path that could cause you to slip? Grief? Depression? Feelings of worthlessness? Habits? This writer had the assurance that God will not allow him to slip. Matthew Henry writes, “He is always near his people for their protection and refreshment… He will take care that his people shall not fall. Thou shalt not be hurt, neither by the open assaults, nor by the secret attempts of thine enemies.”
Rest assured my friend, God does not sleep. He is constantly watching over us and if need be He will send His angels to bring us to safety, plus on our journey we have the Word of God as a “lamp to our feet and a light on our path” as well as the Holy Spirit as our Guide, our Helper in any difficulty or circumstance.
“What God’s almighty power hath made, his gracious mercy keepeth;
By morning glow or evening shade, his watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
Within the kingdom of his might, lo! all is just and all is right:
To God all praise and glory.”
–J.J. Schutz