A man went ahead doing the best he could, but it always seemed there was more trouble lurking just around the bend in the road.”
–Louis L’Amour (Hanging Woman Creek)
“These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.”
–2 Corinthians 4:17 (Phillips)
—————————————
This morning we look at the second part of Psalm 121. This is one of my favorite psalms and much can be gained by contemplating this short psalm. If you use the NIV for your reading you’ll notice that the word “watch” is used five times. That means, as George Wood says, “far more than the Lord looking at you. He’s looking out for you, guarding and protecting you from the hardships and terrors of the trail, including exposure to sun and moon.”
5 — The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 — The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 — The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
8 — The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. (NKJV)
Notice that the Lord watches, He is your shade, He keeps, He stands beside, He preserves, He never sleeps or slumbers — do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something? “He knows when the sun, the heat of circumstances, is too much for you. He will give you shade. But, He also knows when the moon tears at your viscera–when it brings you haunting memories of an action which caused you great injury… He won’t let that ‘moon by night’ harm you.” (Wood)
Along the journey there are potential dangers and disasters that may come our way. Jesus told us that we are not immune from trials; He said, “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer…” (John 16:33, NKJV) We are not immune to trouble, just look at the life of Paul, or maybe better, take a glance at your own life. No matter what, “we can never be separated from God’s love or God’s purposes. He promises to preserve us from evil but not to pave over every pothole in life’s road.” (William J. Petersen) Eugene Peterson explains further, “Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water…The difference is that each step we walk, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God, and therefore no matter what accidents we experience, the Lord will preserve us from evil.”
We are continually “going out” and “coming in.” Every morning there is the getting up and going out to work, school, or some activity, and every evening there is the coming in. Guess what? The Lord was with you. There is the going out to the workforce with all its complexities, stresses, temptations, and difficulties that may make the body weary and the heart sick. Guess what? The Lord is with you. There is the peril of going out; there are dangers all around from terror, to threatenings, to shootings, to pestilence (remember COVID?) There is the danger of being around those with “warped judgments, confused reckoning, and narrowed outlooks” (Percy Ainsworth) Guess what? The Lord is beside you.
One of the real battles of life, says Ainsworth, is “not the toil for bread. It is fought by all who would keep alive and fresh in their hearts the truth that man doth not live by bread alone.” It is thus with all the other things that might affect. There is also the coming in. Ainsworth continues, “No home is safe unless faith be the doorkeeper… Peace and safety were not of his making, but of God’s giving.” There may be the coming of pain, of sickness, of death, but the Lord is there. Even in the seasons of life there is the going out and the coming in. Life moves on from one time in life to another; it cannot be stopped. Once there was youth, now there is the graying of hair. Once there was strength and vitality, now there is frailty and feebleness. Guess what? The Lord is there. When troubles, doubts, pain, hardship, heartache, etc., approach, think of Jesus and remember — “it wasn’t until Easter morning that the preceding Friday was called good.” (Wood)
“From God the Lord does come your certain aid;
From God the Lord who heaven and earth has made.
Above you watching, He whom you adore
Shall keep you henceforth, yes, for evermore.”
–John Campbell
“These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.”
–2 Corinthians 4:17 (Phillips)
—————————————
This morning we look at the second part of Psalm 121. This is one of my favorite psalms and much can be gained by contemplating this short psalm. If you use the NIV for your reading you’ll notice that the word “watch” is used five times. That means, as George Wood says, “far more than the Lord looking at you. He’s looking out for you, guarding and protecting you from the hardships and terrors of the trail, including exposure to sun and moon.”
5 — The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 — The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 — The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
8 — The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. (NKJV)
Notice that the Lord watches, He is your shade, He keeps, He stands beside, He preserves, He never sleeps or slumbers — do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something? “He knows when the sun, the heat of circumstances, is too much for you. He will give you shade. But, He also knows when the moon tears at your viscera–when it brings you haunting memories of an action which caused you great injury… He won’t let that ‘moon by night’ harm you.” (Wood)
Along the journey there are potential dangers and disasters that may come our way. Jesus told us that we are not immune from trials; He said, “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer…” (John 16:33, NKJV) We are not immune to trouble, just look at the life of Paul, or maybe better, take a glance at your own life. No matter what, “we can never be separated from God’s love or God’s purposes. He promises to preserve us from evil but not to pave over every pothole in life’s road.” (William J. Petersen) Eugene Peterson explains further, “Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water…The difference is that each step we walk, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God, and therefore no matter what accidents we experience, the Lord will preserve us from evil.”
We are continually “going out” and “coming in.” Every morning there is the getting up and going out to work, school, or some activity, and every evening there is the coming in. Guess what? The Lord was with you. There is the going out to the workforce with all its complexities, stresses, temptations, and difficulties that may make the body weary and the heart sick. Guess what? The Lord is with you. There is the peril of going out; there are dangers all around from terror, to threatenings, to shootings, to pestilence (remember COVID?) There is the danger of being around those with “warped judgments, confused reckoning, and narrowed outlooks” (Percy Ainsworth) Guess what? The Lord is beside you.
One of the real battles of life, says Ainsworth, is “not the toil for bread. It is fought by all who would keep alive and fresh in their hearts the truth that man doth not live by bread alone.” It is thus with all the other things that might affect. There is also the coming in. Ainsworth continues, “No home is safe unless faith be the doorkeeper… Peace and safety were not of his making, but of God’s giving.” There may be the coming of pain, of sickness, of death, but the Lord is there. Even in the seasons of life there is the going out and the coming in. Life moves on from one time in life to another; it cannot be stopped. Once there was youth, now there is the graying of hair. Once there was strength and vitality, now there is frailty and feebleness. Guess what? The Lord is there. When troubles, doubts, pain, hardship, heartache, etc., approach, think of Jesus and remember — “it wasn’t until Easter morning that the preceding Friday was called good.” (Wood)
“From God the Lord does come your certain aid;
From God the Lord who heaven and earth has made.
Above you watching, He whom you adore
Shall keep you henceforth, yes, for evermore.”
–John Campbell