My Help Comes from You
(NIV) Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
When we look for help, where do we turn? As a child, we had a large volume known as the Yellow Pages. This directory was used for much more than as a source of information. For a small child like me, it was put in a hairdresser’s chair, often paired with the Sears catalogue, and I was lifted up into the air and placed upon those books where I actually sat still while the stylist worked her magic.
I suppose now there are kiddie seats that fit nicely into the stylist’s chairs, because both the Yellow Pages and the Sears Catalogues are relics of the past. But what if it is my soul that needs a lift? Then I look up!!! Because just like the Psalmist, I know where my help comes from.
In this song, we see the literary device of changing voices being employed. After the author declares “I will lift up mine eyes,” he switches to second person point of view, bringing the reader into the story. But more importantly, we witness a timeless aspect of God’s care where we are assured He will watch over us all of our lives. Isn’t that comforting? And remember, Psalms is a book of poetry and poetry is meant to be read out loud.
May we today and every day turn our faces toward God and lift up our eyes. He will watch over our coming and going both now and forever.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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