August 8, 2007 Psalm 121:1-4

08/08/2007

Psalm 121: 1 – 4 (NIV)

I will lift up my eyes to the hills
        Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
        The maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip
        He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel
        Will neither slumber nor sleep.

When I was about 7, the pastor of our church started having people volunteer to recite scripture each week during the service. This went on a few weeks and then one Sunday, when the pastor asked for a volunteer, my hand inexplicably went up. I don’t know why.

As was my usual style, I procrastinated until Saturday when my parents asked me what I was going to recite, I had no idea. So, I began flipping through the Bible. I believe my parents suggested Psalms as something easy. I didn’t want a chapter too short, because that would make me look like I was taking the easy way out, but I didn’t want something too long either. After flipping back and forth, I settled on this one little chapter that was 8 verses long: Psalm 121.

I recited the chapter flawlessly and then relegated the verses to the recesses of my memory. But there is a funny thing about scripture that you memorize. It comes back to you. Years later I heard the verses again and again, and through time, they began to take on special meaning to me.

When I quoted this chapter, the King James version stated the second phrase as a declarative, not a question: “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills from whence commeth my help.” Later translations show this second phrase as a question. Either way, I see the psalmist gazing at mountains and wondering about God. I love mountains; they are so majestic and seemingly unshakable. In a sense they give us a reference point to God.

These few verses – and indeed the whole chapter – tell us of a God that is ever attentive to us, a God that doesn’t laze around during the daytime or fall asleep at the post at night. He is a God who always watches and cares for us.

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