Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
It was the most sobering funeral I have ever attended. I had to drive 100 miles to get there. I could not have missed it. Taylor Odom was known as “my twin” when I attended First Baptist Church of Taylors, SC as a college student in the mid-1970’s. And yes – although I was a few years older (4), we did look alike. Years later, however, on July 24, 2000 most of the Odom family, as well as an exchange student they were taking to the South Carolina beach, were struck on I-26 by a delivery-truck driver whose vehicle crossed a median and hit the Odoms’ Chevrolet Suburban. Two of the Odoms’ children survived that wreck on Interstate 26 near Chapin. A blown tire on the truck caused it to go out of control and cross the median where there was no guardrail. Six members of the Odom family killed were buried Saturday in Taylors where Taylor Odom grew up. The Odom children killed were 13-year-old twins Allie and Mary Taylor, 9-year-old Lacey and 7-year-old Kirby. I only knew Taylor, but the sight of 6 caskets sitting in front of the pulpit area at the First Baptist sanctuary was a staggering sight. And thus, we ask the question:
Is a believer secure in God’s hands? Can God keep us safe as we walk on this life’s journey?
Psalm 121 gives us the answer: The believer is always secure in God.
Looking at Psalm 121, the first thing that we see is:
There is security for the believer in God’s Omnipotent Power (1 – 2)
The background of the psalm is that the people of Israel are travelers returning to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile.
They are seeing the “hills.” Jerusalem is situated on a hill. Hills speak of the Holy City – they are therefore associated with God.
>>> In our day, hills and mountains still remind people of God and his grandeur – However, in North Carolina, whether it be Asheville or Boone, many people are drawn to the mountains because they believe the mountains have some sort of spiritual presence or enhancement. People who believe that creation is God or part of God are known as pantheists (creation is God) or panentheists (God is separate from creation but creation is a part of God). Somehow, creation is their help!
“Hills” – John Calvin says that to the Israelites hills symbolize “places to flee.” In that sense, they are places that help one survive in times of danger.
The word “help” means to “aid” or “assist” especially for those who are miserable or destitute.
>>>What is your source or help or security – where do you look? – money, your salary, your job, your spouse, material possessions, your home, an annuity or retirement plan, social security, cryptocurrency, an academic degree, a boyfriend/girlfriend….?
Who is the believer’s help? YHWH (the LORD). He is the maker of heaven and earth. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe – He made all things as the theologians say, “Ex Nihilo” (i.e., out of nothing). His is powerful help!!
>>>Have you ever seen God come to your aid?
In 1981, Rabbi Kushner wrote a very popular book which tried to explain the problem of pain and suffering in light of the fact that God is good. He was trying to answer the question, “Where was God when ______________ (something bad – you fill in the blank) happened?” The book was entitled: When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
The late Dr. R. C. Sproul countered, “That – bad things happening to good people only occurred once – on a cross!
The late Dr. John Gerstner – Sproul’s mentor – posed the opposite question, Why do Good Things Happen to Bad People?
Both Sproul and Gerstner were attempting to get people to recognize that God is always good and bad things happen in a fallen world. Sin and suffering are reality in a fallen world. Both Drs. Sproul and Gerstner want us to consider the moment versus eternity. Things might seem bad now but now is only temporary – eternity is what counts and is at stake. What is God doing in your life to prepare you for eternity? What bad things do you face that make you question your security in this life? What is your God like – can He keep you safe in the midst of trial and more importantly, can He keep you secure throughout eternity. The resounding answer for every follower of Jesus is “Yes, the believer is always secure in God.”
