WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.560 Well, let's turn to God's Word this evening. As Corrie intimated, we're looking at Psalm 121. 00:00:07.560 --> 00:00:15.560 ! So let's hear and read together in God's Word. Psalm 121, a song of ascents. 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:27.179 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:37.420 who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:49.640 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:56.700 your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 00:00:57.179 --> 00:01:06.859 The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:16.960 and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Amen. Let's pray together. Let's pray. 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:24.780 God, our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that it is trustworthy and true. We pray that 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:31.359 as we open it this evening that You would be pleased in Your mercy and grace to speak to us from it, 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:38.099 to speak into our lives and into our hearts and into our situations. Lord, give us ears to hear 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:44.400 what Your Spirit would have to teach us. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:54.900 Amen. I think I read just the other day, it's 60 years ago, so within my lifetime certainly, that the Beatles 00:01:54.900 --> 00:02:05.960 first sang, help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody. Help, you know I need someone. Help. Help me if you can. 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:11.639 I'm feeling down. I'm feeling down. I do appreciate You being around. Help me get my feet back on the 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:21.099 ground. Won't you please help me? Just be glad I didn't try to sing that. As human beings, we all at 00:02:21.099 --> 00:02:29.120 times find ourselves standing in need of help. And that's true whether we consider ourselves people 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:35.980 of Christian faith or not. All of us, whoever we are, need help and assistance as we lead our lives. 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:44.920 None of us really stand alone. We're not independent creatures. And the truth is, we're all looking for 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:53.219 help somewhere. We're all leaning on something or someone. And when push comes to shove in this sense, 00:02:53.219 --> 00:03:01.939 we are all people of faith. The big question is, where is our faith resting? Where are we looking 00:03:01.939 --> 00:03:11.340 for ultimate help and security in this life? And that really is where this psalm begins, doesn't it? 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:21.479 I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? Psalm 121 is a psalm predicated 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:30.919 on our deep-seated need for help, for protection, and for safety. And I think, in this sense, it's a 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:36.639 psalm that is perennially relevant to us. It's a portion of Scripture that has been dear to the 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:43.500 hearts of many down through the centuries. And you may have noticed as we read the psalm that around 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:51.099 six times the Hebrew word for keep, protect, is used. Here is the God who provides help 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:59.959 in the form of safety and security for His people. Here is the God who keeps, protects, and cares for His 00:03:59.959 --> 00:04:09.819 own. The psalm, as you may recall, is one of the songs of ascent. That's Psalm 120 through to Psalm 134. 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:16.100 They were believed to be sung by pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem for the great feasts of 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:22.340 the Jewish religious calendar. And they are, in this sense, a collection of songs for the road, 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:30.200 songs for the journey of life. And that is certainly true, I think, of Psalm 121. It's a psalm all about 00:04:30.200 --> 00:04:38.400 trusting in God's providential care. And this is what the psalm underlines for us. In this troubled, 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:44.759 uncertain world, uncertain world, He tells us, the psalmist tells us, that there is one upon whom 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:54.719 we can rely. There's one who really cares. There's one who can provide us with absolute security. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:03.179 And I think that's very important, that we are reminded of that great truth. How we need, 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:09.420 as the Lord's people, to hear that message again and again and again. Because the challenges and the 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:16.939 difficulties of this earthly pilgrimage can very often drown out the sweet sound of God's care and 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:24.319 love for us. And it's vital that we take time to listen to what the psalmist tells us here and allow 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:33.160 it to seep, as it were, into our spiritual pores and prepare us for whatever lies ahead. Let's look 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:39.620 more closely at what the psalmist tells us here about God's providential care and help. And I want 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:46.480 you to notice there's kind of four stanzas. We'll notice four things, four elements of God's care for 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:55.300 His people that are presented to us here in a kind of poetic form. And the first, I think, is certainty. 00:05:55.300 --> 00:06:05.840 Certainty. Certainty. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from? My help comes 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:13.040 from the Lord who made heaven and earth. So, the psalm opens with a kind of question and answer, 00:06:13.620 --> 00:06:18.939 rather like a catechism. The psalmist looks to the hills. He asks this question, 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:27.899 where does my help come from? Now, it may be that he saw the hills perhaps as a potential source of 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:34.920 unknown danger. They're an intimidating place. The haunt perhaps of thieves or robbers, wild animals. 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:41.879 He may be fearful and anxious about what lies there, lurking in the shadows. The sight of the hills 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:49.040 makes them unsure, makes them uncertain. Or it may be that the hills represent the place of other gods and 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:57.040 deities. We know that the surrounding pagan nations and peoples often worshipped on those hills. Altars 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:05.399 were established there. Idols were set up there. And historically, Israel frequently succumbed to that 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:11.620 temptation to join their neighbors in worshipping these idols. She was tempted to look for help 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:19.240 from these other gods. And time and time again in the Old Testament, Israel was challenged as to where 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:28.360 her help and strength really lay. Was her confidence in the Lord, or was it in alliances with Egypt? Was 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:34.019 she looking to God, or was she looking to Baal? Were they looking to the Lord who was true, or idols 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:41.500 that were false? And you'll notice here the psalmist gives this certain, certainly not a hesitant 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:51.439 answer. He declares loudly, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And he confesses 00:07:51.439 --> 00:08:00.120 his faith in the Lord. He renounces all other help except Yahweh Himself. My help is none other than the 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:10.579 maker of heaven and earth. The Lord is well able to handle all my worries and fears. How can that be? 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:18.099 It's because of who He is. It's because He is the maker of heaven and earth. And perhaps we should 00:08:18.099 --> 00:08:25.240 pause and think about that just for a moment. We live in a wonderful world in many senses, a world of 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:33.519 beauty and grandeur, a vast universe of wonders, all of it brought into being by the loving God. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:41.679 The world, the universe is the very theater of His glory. And we are to survey the mountains and the 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:50.519 seas and the stars and the vastness of this universe and declare how great is our God, how glorious is the 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:58.860 One who brought all of this into being. Elsewhere, the psalmist, Psalm 90, the opening verses, puts it like 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:04.159 this, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:11.919 forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:20.340 He is the God who has always been there. He's not part of the creation. He was before all things. 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:27.600 All that was and is and is to come arises from Him. Yahweh is very different to the gods of 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:34.800 ancient paganism. He pre-exists everything. He is the One who is from everlasting to everlasting. 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:41.080 And there are times, aren't there, when we can feel far from God. We can feel that we're out of His 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:48.340 reach. Maybe we've sunk too low or we've wandered too far. We've got ourselves into some mess. 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:56.280 The problems of this life can often threaten to overwhelm us, overpower us even. Perhaps we feel 00:09:56.280 --> 00:10:03.660 our sin and guilt is just too much to be forgiven. We can think that we are beyond help and assistance. 00:10:05.540 --> 00:10:12.100 But friends, what the psalmist tells us here is, no, that is not the case. There is One who is able to 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:21.460 help. Yahweh, the Maker of heaven and earth, Almighty God. He spoke the very universe into being. Is His arm 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:29.180 so shortened that it cannot reach out to save and rescue? Is there anything He cannot do? 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:37.200 It is no empty thing to call upon the Maker of heaven and earth and to know Him as your help and strength. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:46.540 I quoted this hymn before. We used to sing it when I was in children's church, Sunday school. 00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:57.320 God who made the earth, the air, the sky, the sea, who gave the light its birth, He cares for me. 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:07.700 Knowing that will take you through some tough times. As human beings, we all need an anchor for our souls. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:17.260 We need security and stability. We need the assurance of the psalmist that we are held securely by the 00:11:17.260 --> 00:11:25.000 One who is the Maker of heaven and earth. We see here, I think, first, the certainty of God's care. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:36.620 It's a sure thing. Then secondly, reliability. He will not, verse 3, let your foot be moved. 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:43.120 He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:52.019 Most English translations, like the ESV that we use, give the sense of verse 3 as being declarative, 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:57.919 kind of statement of fact. It's not actually the only way that verse can be read. There is an 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:06.379 alternative reading. And it would maybe put it like this. It would say, may he not let your foot be 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:13.079 moved. May he who keeps you not slumber. In other words, it's an expression of desire, even a prayer. 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:18.439 May this be so. May this be true for you. I like that. 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:24.000 And the verse that then follows provides the answer, really, to that prayer. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:33.660 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The keeper of Israel never falls asleep. 00:12:33.760 --> 00:12:42.100 He never gets drowsy. The word translated there, behold, look, it's a very common Old Testament word. 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:51.960 And it conveys the idea, mild, dramatic surprise. Suggests some degree of astonishment. 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:59.240 There's a good example of this in Genesis 29, where we read that account of how Jacob received 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:05.720 Leah instead of Rachel for his wife. It said there in Genesis 29, 21, Jacob said to Laban, 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:10.920 give me my wife that I may go into her, for my time is completed. Laban gathered together all the 00:13:10.920 --> 00:13:16.100 people of the place, made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah, not Rachel, 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:24.200 and brought her to Jacob, and he went into her. And in the morning it says, behold, it was Leah. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.120 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah. It's the same word used here. A word is meant to convey this 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:38.500 reaction of surprise. If we were to couch it in modern idiom, perhaps we might say something like, 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:46.580 no way. No way. It was Leah, not Rachel. And that may be the sense here. May he not let your foot be 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:54.899 moved. May he who keeps you not slumber. No way. He who keeps Israel will never fall asleep. Don't be 00:13:54.899 --> 00:14:01.620 ridiculous. Yahweh never sleeps. Don't get the idea that the Lord could ever doze off. 00:14:03.199 --> 00:14:09.399 This was a big deal in the ancient Near East. The pagan deities of that age were always having to get 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:15.079 there. Forty winks. They had to go to the toilet to relieve themselves. They had to get a rest. They 00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:21.519 needed their beauty sleep. You think of Elijah's words in 1 Kings 18 to the prophets of Baal on Mount 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:29.439 Carmel. And at noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:34.379 or he's relieving himself, or he's on a journey, or perhaps he's asleep and must be awakened. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:40.879 And I think this is what the psalmist is doing here. He's openly challenging that kind of pagan 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:49.600 theology. The God of the Bible never, ever falls asleep. Now, of course, we may not be influenced by that 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:57.899 particular pagan view today, but there are other ways in which we can be tempted to think less of 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:07.639 God than we ought. We're all apt, I think, to think that God is only interested in what we might call 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:13.680 the big issues of life, the big matters of life. You know, there's a crisis in Ukraine, 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:19.959 problems in the Middle East. There's international terrorism, and God has a… You know, He's got a 00:15:19.959 --> 00:15:27.019 pretty full diary. These great events of profound significance to millions of people are taking up 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:33.299 place, and we find it relatively easy to understand that God will be concerned about these things. But 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:40.679 my little life, my health, my relationships, my problems, my difficulties, my loss, 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:46.359 surely God cannot really be interested in these kinds of things. 00:15:49.079 --> 00:15:53.579 Some years ago, there was an illustration in the Herald newspaper. 00:15:56.039 --> 00:16:01.620 Graham Spears, the sports writer for the Herald, wrote an article. This will tell you how long ago it 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:10.500 was. The article was entitled, What Kind of Miraculous Patch-Up Job Could God Do on a 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:16.580 Cruciate Ligament Injury. And the article was about the then ranger's center back, a guy called Marvin 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:23.519 Andrews, and he had sustained cruciate ligament damage. And Marvin Andrews is a Pentecostal Christian. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.500 He believed he didn't need surgery because God would heal him, and he refused all medical 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:35.860 intervention. It caused a big stir. And Spears, whose… I think his father was a Baptist minister, 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:43.379 so what he wrote. He often wrote this strange mix-match of sporting things and sometimes a 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:50.240 smattering of Christian theology or attempted Christian theology. And he wrote this article 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:55.899 dealing with various arguments for the existence of God, but he ended up with these words, and I wrote 00:16:55.899 --> 00:17:03.180 them down. Well, he said, if there is a God, then surely He has more important things to consider 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:09.779 than the cruciate ligament of a ranger's center half. Now, you may not be a ranger's fan, so I'm 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:16.200 not going to go down that road. But that is often the way that we think about God. But when we think 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:22.539 that way, we're not thinking biblically, because the greatness of God is that He is faithful in both 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:29.519 small and great things. He's the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. He's the God whose care 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:37.599 extends over all of life. We think He's, you know, a bit like an under-pressure chief executive, 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:42.480 struggling to keep on top of everything that is going on. That's not what the Scriptures teach. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:48.799 The Westminster Confession puts it like this. Chapter 5, section 1, 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:55.200 God, the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions, and 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:03.799 things from the greatest even to the least by His most wise and holy providence, according to His 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:12.319 infallible foreknowledge and the free immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:20.939 His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. Since God is the Creator of all things, since He governs 00:18:20.939 --> 00:18:29.240 all things, He's not aloof, He's not disengaged, He's actively involved in the world that He's made, 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:37.279 directing, great and small, according to His sovereign plan and purpose. He cares about the small 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:47.420 and even apparently insignificant matters of our lives. There is nothing too small to bring to this 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:56.859 God in prayer. God is not unconcerned with the events of your life. He's not surprised or taken off guard 00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:05.240 when you're suffering. The God who made the galaxies knows the hairs on your head. He knows the fears of 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:13.819 your heart. He knows the events of your life. He knows the details of your future. And our lives matter to 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:25.799 Him. His interest doesn't wax or wane. Here is the reliability, you see, of God's care. God, the divine 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:37.680 insomniac. The certainty, the reliability. Thirdly here, the intimacy. Verses 5 and 6. The Lord is your 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:44.399 keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night. 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:50.980 The great Creator of the world, the Maker of heaven and earth, the keeper and guardian of His people, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:59.299 Israel, is your keeper also. And these verses, I think, convey a sense of closeness and intimacy. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:06.799 This God is up close and personal. He's not distant again. That imagery of a shade on your right hand is 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:13.180 one of closeness, isn't it? You have to be close to provide that level of specific protection. 00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:22.019 And notice, it is not that God provides a shade. Rather, it is that the Lord is Himself His people's 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:29.720 shade and protection. He's the one who stands between His people and whatever threatens to overwhelm them. 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:35.740 The sun and moon are mentioned, I think, not merely as a kind of poetic parallel, 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:44.039 but as a Hebrew idiom that communicates completeness. Opposites named to include everything in between, 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:50.160 whether it be the dangers of the day, scorching heat, potential sunstroke, terrors of the night. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:57.480 God's care doesn't waver. And the sun and moon, of course, may represent physical dangers, 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:04.500 or it may be that the sun and moon are to be viewed as harmful, unseen powers, pagan deities. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:13.220 And the psalmist is saying that no malign power or unseen evil force can ultimately harm you when 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:21.640 you belong to this God. It was something that we see in the ministry of the early church in the 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:28.620 New Testament. One of the great appeals of the gospel, wasn't it? Jesus, you're reading about it in 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:37.139 Ephesians recently. Jesus, Lord, over all the forces of this dark world, supreme over magic and the occult, 00:21:37.699 --> 00:21:44.779 all demonic powers subject to Jesus Christ. He has triumphed over them. He disarmed the rulers and 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:52.759 authorities, Paul tells the Colossians, and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him. 00:21:52.759 --> 00:22:00.420 Through the cross, all the dark powers of this world have been routed and defeated. Those spiritual 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:06.720 authorities of evil have been disarmed. They've been held up to shame and ridicule. Jesus Christ is able 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:15.519 to break those chains that so often bind and constrict the lives of men and women. He sets people free. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:26.680 He provides deliverance from the many dark and sinister powers of this present age. And so, there's hope in this 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:38.960 Jesus. Hope for all struggling against the grip of addiction. Because when Jesus comes into a person's life, He 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:49.240 doesn't do so as a temporary resident. He comes in to stay for good. He comes to bring freedom and new life. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:53.340 He comes in and He promises never to leave. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:03.299 And surely the point is this, if we are believers, then nothing can penetrate my life without it being 00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:10.899 filtered through the shade of the Lord's purpose and presence. In Jesus, God is up close and personal. 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:19.159 He is ever the shade on our right hand. He is always close to us. He will never leave us or abandon us. 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:22.759 Remember His words in John 10, 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:29.759 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. They follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:38.059 Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:42.819 and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:52.160 So, we have certainty, and we have reliability, and we have intimacy. And then finally here, 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:59.119 we've also got what I'll call totality in verses 7 and 8. The Lord will keep you from 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:07.000 all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:16.059 forth and forevermore. The emphasis here on Yahweh keeping His people, I think, from disaster and harm. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:22.519 He will do this in all circumstances and for all time. He will keep us as we go out and come in. 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:29.839 His care is from this time forth and forevermore. His care is forever. Whatever the future holds, 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:36.879 this warranty never runs out. Whatever your situation, Yahweh will keep you. The Lord will be with you. 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:44.039 And yet, we might say, does this not promise a little too much? 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:52.779 Is the psalmist really saying to us that nothing bad will ever happen? I don't think for a moment 00:24:52.779 --> 00:25:00.059 that's what he's saying. Rather, we've been told here that no illness or distress or trouble or affliction, 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:08.259 even death, will have power over us or be able to separate us from God's purposes. 00:25:08.259 --> 00:25:18.059 Whatever befalls us in this life, cancer, Alzheimer's, bereavement, loss, sin, moral failure, loneliness, 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:27.900 isolation, anxiety, mental distress, none of those things can pry us from the glue of God's love. 00:25:27.900 --> 00:25:38.519 The psalmist is not promising here to us immunity. He's promising us security. And there's a huge 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:45.200 difference. Yes, we would all love to have immunity, a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card, 00:25:46.040 --> 00:25:55.700 but that is never promised to us as God's people. If you think of Paul writing his last letter before 00:25:55.700 --> 00:26:02.620 he was executed, he speaks there in 2 Timothy 4 of being rescued from a difficult situation. 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:08.160 I think he had to defend himself before the authorities. And this is what he says, 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:15.480 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:21.500 proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:29.400 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:36.900 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. So even in the face of Paul's suffering, imminent 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:46.079 execution and death, the promise of Psalm 121 verse 7 remains true. The Lord will keep you from all evil. 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:56.199 He will keep your life. I think it was George Whitefield who said, the 18th century evangelist, 00:26:56.939 --> 00:27:07.119 he said, we are immortal until we have finished our work. We're immortal until we have finished 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:14.460 our work. And here the promise is that Yahweh will keep his people from every evil work, 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:22.579 because there's this relentlessness about God's care. He never gives up. He never fails to keep his 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:29.039 promises. His love and care for his people never end. Pursue us all the days of our lives, 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:36.059 even into eternity itself. Wherever we go, the Lord will be with us. He will keep us. 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:42.819 It doesn't matter where our pilgrimage might take us. God's help and keeping care will not leave us or 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:52.299 abandon us because the shepherd never abandons his shape. And yes, like the psalmist, we live in an 00:27:52.299 --> 00:28:01.720 anxious, even insecure world, trouble, distress, world where bad things happen. Wickedness and evil often 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:08.799 appear to triumph. But in this world, we have a God who cares for us. And his care is certain, 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:15.039 and his care is reliable, and his care is intimate, and his care is total. Dangers and threats may 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:21.839 abound, but this God will keep his people. And if we're one of his people, he will bring us safely 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:28.839 home. He won't somber or sleep. He that began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:38.559 If you think of what's known as the Aaronic Blessing, Numbers 6, 24 and 26, 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:44.519 on the most special day of the Jewish calendar, the great day of atonement, 00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:49.759 the people would watch as the high priest went into the most holy place, holy of holies, 00:28:50.220 --> 00:28:56.419 offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people. And people would wait outside to see if the priest's 00:28:56.420 --> 00:29:02.279 sacrifice was acceptable. And if it was, then the priest would come out from behind the great 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:07.800 curtain, his life spared. And the people would rejoice and celebrate. And as he came out, the 00:29:07.800 --> 00:29:13.400 high priest would raise his hands, and he would pronounce that famous benediction on the people, 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:21.759 the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:29.759 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. And friends, that's how we come to know 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:34.779 God's help and care. We know it through the one who is our great high priest, Jesus Christ, 00:29:35.299 --> 00:29:42.259 who has passed through the curtain of death and returned risen and victorious. Our crucified and 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:50.299 risen Savior who blesses us with God's keeping grace and love, sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:58.200 brings us peace with God, ministers forgiveness and pardon to us, keeps us and protects us from the evil 00:29:58.200 --> 00:30:07.240 one. We sing the words, don't we? Behold Him there, the risen Lamb, my perfect spotless righteousness, 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:15.659 the great unchangeable I am, the King of glory and of grace, one with Himself I cannot die. My soul is 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:25.480 purchased by His blood. My life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Savior and my God. 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:39.960 So, won't you please help me is a request best addressed to Jesus Christ. For what a blessing it is 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:45.819 to know Him is to know Him is to know Him as our helper and Savior, to know this God who has promised to keep 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:54.279 His people, to know this God who is an incurable insomniac, to know this God who will love us and care for us 00:30:54.279 --> 00:31:08.100 now and always. But of course, it all hinges upon how we answer the question at the beginning of the psalm. 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:16.759 Where does my help come from? Can you say with the psalmist this evening, 00:31:17.919 --> 00:31:30.439 my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth? Is His confession of faith yours tonight? 00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:41.940 Let's pray together. Lord, grant us Your mercy and grace and the help of Your Holy Spirit, 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:52.840 that we may trust You, that we may renew our commitment to You, and that we may experience 00:31:52.839 --> 00:32:01.819 and know for ourselves Your help and protection and security. Help us to rest in You always, 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:06.159 as we pray these things. In Jesus' name, amen.