THE LORD IS THE GUARDIAN OF HIS PEOPLE (Ps 121)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2015
Most people want to be helpful, but sometimes they go beyond what is really necessary.
Whenever we read the psalms, it is good to bear in mind that they were written for various occasions. This morning I would like to examine one psalm from a collection that was used to help prepare people for worship. God said to Moses,
The festivals celebrate some of the most important periods in Israel's history, when God intervened on behalf of the nation. It should not surprise us, then, to find in this collection a special focus on His vigilance for Israel, but Ps 121 makes no specific reference to any of these holidays. Instead, it speaks in more general terms with frequent allusion to natural features (e.g., mountains, earth, sun, moon), as if writer wants to remind those who actually chant this Psalm...
I. The necessity of security (Ps 121:1-2)
The writer of Ps 121 uses another common phrase: The pilgrim's God is also "maker of heaven and earth" (v. 2), which includes mountains on the way to Jerusalem. The "maker of Heaven and earth" is a particularly important title in this psalm for two reasons.
II. The immediacy of security (Ps 121:3)
Although the concept of God's future care is not new, we sometimes generalize about it to such an extent that we forget He is concerned also with our present needs. The psalmist chooses his words carefully, so the traveler will realize that God will, indeed, take care of him on this journey. Here is a small but important nuance in this psalm: English has one word for "not"; Hebrew has two. The word in v. 3 has a sense of immediacy: "not now" (Gesenius 1980:107p). The pilgrim's guardian will guide him, helping him make this present journey. Furthermore...
The writer is not suggesting that whoever obeys God will never suffer. He is rather using the physical dangers of travel to illustrate a spiritual point. The Bible often links this word "stumble" with God's response to those who support or oppose His purpose (Kaiser 1980 1:493f).
Still, there are two aspects to the security God provides. Having spoken about its immediacy, the psalmist turns to...
III. The durability of security (Ps 121:4)
The final verses detail some specific implications of God's commitment to the individual, that it is evident in every facet of a believer's life...
IV. The ubiquity of security (Ps 121:5-8)
In a similar way, Ps 121 is applicable today. Take a moment to reflect on the many ways you see God at work in your life. By adhering to the instructions in His word, you not only define for yourself an orderly existence, you avoid many destructive influences that plague the lives of people who ignore God's word. You should also be aware of the gentle, almost imperceptible hand of God, protecting you and enabling you to navigate safely through many kinds of potentially adverse situations (e.g., driving in bad weather).
The LORD is as much the guardian of His people today as He was when Ps 121 was written. Your life may not seem different from your neighbors', because you...(Peterson 1980:40-41)
Jim walked into the lobby of his apartment building and was greeted by this notice: "To whoever is watering these plants, please stop. They are the property of the building, and our maintenance staff will take care of them. They may already have been watered, in which case you will be over watering them. Besides...these plants are fake."Most people want to be helpful, but sometimes they go beyond what is really necessary. God wants to be helpful, and he never goes beyond what is necessary. In fact, He provides much-needed help, because The LORD Is the Guardian of His People.
Whenever we read the psalms, it is good to bear in mind that they were written for various occasions. This morning I would like to examine one psalm from a collection that was used to help prepare people for worship. God said to Moses,
Deut 16:16a Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover], the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost] and the Feast of Tabernacles [Booths].As these pilgrims made the journey up to Jerusalem, they probably sang about the God they were going to worship. The Bible preserves a collection of 15 ascent songs in Pss 120-134. This morning, I would like to examine my favorite Ascent Psalm. Please turn to Ps 121.
The festivals celebrate some of the most important periods in Israel's history, when God intervened on behalf of the nation. It should not surprise us, then, to find in this collection a special focus on His vigilance for Israel, but Ps 121 makes no specific reference to any of these holidays. Instead, it speaks in more general terms with frequent allusion to natural features (e.g., mountains, earth, sun, moon), as if writer wants to remind those who actually chant this Psalm...
- That the LORD whose temple they are visiting, is also the God of creation,
- That the natural dangers a traveler may face are well within the ability of his God to overcome.
I. The necessity of security (Ps 121:1-2)
I shall lift up my eyes unto the mountains.The psalmist may have to travel for several days, perhaps through dangerous territory, and he begins his composition with a...
Whence does my help come?
My help [comes] from the LORD
Who made heaven and earth.
A. Question: Who shall help me?It is rhetorical in that he does not expect a response because he already knows it. He has faced this problem before, in previous pilgrimages to Jerusalem. His concern is that the mountains lie between him and the city, and he knows that much can go wrong traveling over them (Morgenstern 1939:316; Pollock 1940:411). The solution to this problem he gives in the...
B. Answer: The LORD will help me!The God we worship has several titles, but only one name, the one used here and rendered LORD (with capital letters in many English translations). Unlike titles, a name by itself usually does not tell us much about the person, but throughout the Old Testament God invests His name with meaning by linking it to His character or His deeds.
Exod 6:7b ...I am the LORD...who brought you out [of Egypt].These extra phrases mark the LORD as a God who is...
Exod 15:26b I am the LORD, who heals you."
Exod 16:12c I am the LORD your God.
Exod 31:13b I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
- Committed to a people,
- Involved in their lives, and
- Faithful to His promises.
The writer of Ps 121 uses another common phrase: The pilgrim's God is also "maker of heaven and earth" (v. 2), which includes mountains on the way to Jerusalem. The "maker of Heaven and earth" is a particularly important title in this psalm for two reasons.
- First, there are many references to natural dangers, so it is comforting to know that these dangers are not outside the LORD's control.
- Second, the name marks the distinction between Israel's God and idols:1 The pagan worships gods he has made from the earth (wood/stone), but the Israelite worships the God who made the earth.
II. The immediacy of security (Ps 121:3)
He [the LORD] shall not allow your foot to stumble;Here the focus is on the journey itself and on what your guardian will do.
Your guardian shall not grow drowsy.
A. He shall guide you.When Linda and I were in Israel, we experienced foot travel in the wilderness, with its steep inclines, rocky soil, narrow goat trails, and (for me) destabilizing camera equipment. Traveling in a land with no shortage of loose rocks, the pilgrim would find slipping and stumbling a frequent and dangerous possibility, but he can take comfort in the assurance that God will take care of him.
Although the concept of God's future care is not new, we sometimes generalize about it to such an extent that we forget He is concerned also with our present needs. The psalmist chooses his words carefully, so the traveler will realize that God will, indeed, take care of him on this journey. Here is a small but important nuance in this psalm: English has one word for "not"; Hebrew has two. The word in v. 3 has a sense of immediacy: "not now" (Gesenius 1980:107p). The pilgrim's guardian will guide him, helping him make this present journey. Furthermore...
B. He shall not fail you.The traveler need not worry that the one caring for him will grow tired and need rest. He who has brought the pilgrim thus far will "not now" (same word) grow drowsy. His guardian will remain alert.
The writer is not suggesting that whoever obeys God will never suffer. He is rather using the physical dangers of travel to illustrate a spiritual point. The Bible often links this word "stumble" with God's response to those who support or oppose His purpose (Kaiser 1980 1:493f).
- Those who support His purpose, God supports so that they will not stumble in accomplishing His will.
- Those who oppose His purpose, God opposes so that they do stumble even as they pursue their own agenda.
Still, there are two aspects to the security God provides. Having spoken about its immediacy, the psalmist turns to...
III. The durability of security (Ps 121:4)
Behold, He never grows drowsy,
And the guardian of Israel never sleeps.
A. He will never fail.The psalmist uses an interjection ("behold") to arrest his readers' (our) attention, to make us sit up and take notice of the contrast that follows. He repeats the verb "grow drowsy." This time, however, it is with a different "not."
- The first "not," in v. 3, was immediate: "not now."
- The second "not," here in v. 4, is permanent: "not ever" (Gesenius 1980:1070): "He never grows drowsy, and He never sleeps!"3
B. He guards Israel (and you).Although we generally do not think of God in a national sense, the psalmist calls Him "the guardian of Israel," and for good reason. God cares for the individual pilgrim because of the covenant He (God) maintains with nation as a whole. Herein lies an important distinction: The LORD is not the God of the Canaanites; He is the God and guardian of Israel. Therefore, as the pilgrim obeys the terms of the covenant (divine instruction) by going up to Jerusalem, he reaps the benefits of the covenant (divine protection). We, too, who in Paul's words have been grafted into Israel, enjoy this same protection.4 The LORD is our guardian, as well.
The final verses detail some specific implications of God's commitment to the individual, that it is evident in every facet of a believer's life...
IV. The ubiquity of security (Ps 121:5-8)
The LORD is your guardian;Not only is the LORD the guardian of Israel (the nation), He cares for each one within the nation as well. "The LORD is your guardian," the psalmist says, and....
The LORD is your shade upon your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor [the] moon by night.
The LORD shall guard you from all evil;
He shall guard your soul.
The LORD shall guard your going out and your coming in,
From now and forever.
A. The LORD shall guard you in all circumstances.The writer again uses the physical dangers of traveling to illustrate God's care, as He will protect His people from a wide range of dangers, be it the effects of heat stroke5 or the harmful influence of the moon (unclear; see Sabourin 1974:276),6 in fact, from all kinds of evil (i.e., calamity).[7] Moreover...
B. The LORD will guard you at all times.The phrase "going out and coming in" is a common one that signifies a person's general activities in this life, from its beginning to its end. On this present journey, the LORD will watch over the pilgrim from the time he leaves home to go to Jerusalem until he returns. For every undertaking, the LORD promises to guard the believer until he finishes his earthly pilgrimage.
In a similar way, Ps 121 is applicable today. Take a moment to reflect on the many ways you see God at work in your life. By adhering to the instructions in His word, you not only define for yourself an orderly existence, you avoid many destructive influences that plague the lives of people who ignore God's word. You should also be aware of the gentle, almost imperceptible hand of God, protecting you and enabling you to navigate safely through many kinds of potentially adverse situations (e.g., driving in bad weather).
The LORD is as much the guardian of His people today as He was when Ps 121 was written. Your life may not seem different from your neighbors', because you...(Peterson 1980:40-41)
1) Breathe the same air,But your life is different in that each breath you take and each decision you make, you know—you can be confident—that God is with you and that He is protecting you. Therefore, no matter what doubts you have or accidents you experience, the LORD will protect you from evil; He will guard your life. He will let nothing prevent you from accomplishing His good purpose, because The LORD Is the Guardian of His People.
2) Drink the same water,
3) Read the same newspapers,
4) Face the same pressures.
For a pdf including Bibliography and Endnotes see here.
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Jim Skaggs