Help, I need somebody.
Help, not just anybody.
Help, you know I need someone.
Help.
You may recognize this popular Beatles song
that goes on to describe this man
who lived this formerly very self-assured life
and he's come to the realization
that he really needs somebody's help.
Well, help me is the repeated cry of the Christian.
If we were to compare the Christian life to a race,
help me would be written on the starting line.
By grace, each one of us who is in Jesus Christ
has come to recognize his or her own sin
and the offense that this sin is to a holy God.
And in that recognition,
we recognize that God must send help.
The cry of the condemned who is aware of need,
help, I need somebody.
Help, not just anybody.
Help, you know I need someone.
Help.
help.
And our God kindly replies,
help is on the way.
I'm sending somebody,
not just anybody.
I know you need someone.
I give you my son.
God has answered the cry of the guilty
who cry out to him for help
by sending Jesus Christ
to die in our place for our sin.
And he offers us life eternal in exchange.
But we don't just enter the race by saying,
help me,
and then run it in our own strength.
Help me remains our plea
while we live in this fallen world.
While we struggle through this life
that many times,
in many ways,
is hard,
and difficult,
and sorrowful,
and painful.
And that's why we're going to be in the Psalms
for the next several weeks this summer.
Because the Psalms are full of real people
with real problems
crying out for help.
There's Psalms
that describe a lack,
whether it's a lack of safety,
or a lack of nourishment,
or a lack of wisdom
and understanding.
There's Psalms
that address the problems
of our hearts,
whether it's anger,
or fear,
or jealousy,
and shame.
And there's Psalms
that speak of great trials
and tribulations,
whether it's suffering,
or enemies pressing in around,
or the fallout
and consequences of sin.
In part,
the Psalms teach us
that it's okay to cry for help.
In fact,
we must cry out for help.
We cannot run this race alone.
And the Psalms aim us
to the one who can help us.
Helps us aim our emotions
and our fears
and our heartache
at the one who can truly help,
the one true living God.
We all can grow in this
asking for help
and turning to God
in our need.
And so we get to learn
and grow together
in the Psalms this summer.
And there's really
no better way
to set out
on this journey
of learning
how to ask for help
and learning
who to turn to
in the midst
of our need
than by opening
to Psalm 121.
If you haven't opened yet,
I invite you to do so.
Follow along.
The reason why
this Psalm is so helpful
as we kind of launch
into this
Psalms for the Helping series
is because it's going to
ground us in the truth
that God
is our help.
To say it more specifically,
Psalm 121
teaches us this,
that the Lord
will guard
every detail
of your life
day by day
forever.
The Lord
will guard
every single
last detail
of your life
day after day
after day
forever.
We're going to walk
through this Psalm
this morning.
We're going to
take a look
at the four parts.
Technical name
is four stanzas.
There's four stanzas
of this Psalm
and we're just going to
move through them
one by one
and they sort of
build on each other
but all of them
aim at this main idea
that the Lord
will guard
every detail
of your life
day after day
forever.
So look with me
in verses 1 and 2.
The first stanza
of this Psalm.
I lift up my eyes
to the hills.
From where does
my help come?
My help comes
from the Lord
who made heaven
and earth.
As the psalmist
gazes up
into the mountains
this question
bubbles up.
Where is my help
to come?
There's something
about seeing
these mountains
that prompts
this question
and I think
it's because
these mountains
represent some
sort of danger
that he looks
at these mountains
and fear starts
bubbling up.
Where's my help?
Perhaps he's
journeying through
some rough terrain
in the middle
of summer
in the desert
heat of Israel.
Perhaps he's
on a route
that's known
to have violent
robbers and thieves
who would threaten
his life
and his possessions.
Maybe even
these physical mountains
that he's looking
all around at
maybe they represent
other fears
and dangers
in his life
that have nothing
to do with
literal physical mountains.
Now the psalmist
is in danger
of becoming overwhelmed,
discouraged,
which is much worse
than simply
what these mountains
represent.
but we see
in verse 2,
the psalmist
aims his confidence
in the Lord.
My help
comes from
the Lord
who made heaven
and who made earth.
Essentially,
he says,
my helper
made these mountains
and everything else
for that matter.
And great confidence
rises from his heart
that's higher
than the mountains
that surround him.
when the psalmist
remembers the power
of the God
who can say,
let there be light
and there was light.
The one who
has the power
to create all things
out of nothing.
That's where
the psalmist's help
is found.
But notice
in verse 2 as well
that it's not just
the awesome power
of the creator God
that is in view
in verse 2.
That all caps
Lord
is important.
This is the covenant
name of the God
of Israel.
The one who keeps
steadfast love
toward all of his people
forever.
This Israelite songwriter
is placing his confidence
in the covenant
keeping God
of Israel.
The one who delivered
his people
from slavery in Egypt.
The one who
brought his people
through the wilderness
into the promised land
of Canaan.
The one who promised
to send a forever king
to sit on the throne
of David.
The one who has
always been faithful
to his promises.
This psalm's melody
is one of a sweet
relationship
and intimacy
between this psalmist
and the one true
living God.
The one who
keeps faith forever.
He knows his Lord
intimately
and he knows
that his God
is his help.
Well this covenant
name Lord
or in the Hebrew
Yahweh
will show up
four more times
in this psalm.
Twice in verse 5
and then once
in verse 7
and once in verse 8.
The psalmist
is confidently
declaring that
my help
comes from
the true God.
It's not
my smarts
or my money
or my strength.
It's not some
wooden idol
that I've carved
myself.
but the God
of the universe
who claims Israel
as his own possession.
He is
my source
of help.
And it bears
mentioning
that the kind
of writing
that we're looking
at adds
to this confidence.
We're not looking
at an academic
textbook
or a comic
strip in a newspaper.
We're looking
at a musical
composition.
By its nature
music affects
our emotions
and our inner
person.
It's a way
of communicating
that speaks
to the heart
as much
if not more
so than it
speaks to our
minds.
The confidence
the psalmist
has is celebratory
and joyful.
It's melodious
confidence.
He's so confident
in his source
of help
that he writes
a song
so he can
sing about it.
Hopefully
we all
know something
of this
right?
We've been
singing already
this morning
and
I'm guessing
that there's
certain songs
based on certain
experiences
that you've had
in your life
that when you
hear them
you sing them
in a certain
way.
You sing them
with more
emotion
and more tears
and more faith
than other songs
because they speak
to where you've
been.
It's one of
the reasons
why we
sing so many
songs here
about the
cross of Jesus.
We're very
aware of the
ugliness of our
sin, our
rebellious
natures that
deserve God's
wrath
and instead
God sends
Jesus to
rescue and
forgive us.
We sing
loud and we
sing full
because we're
grateful.
The psalmist
declares
my help is
from the
Lord and
invites us
to agree
and to
lift our
voices with
his in
celebration.
So that's
the first
stanza of
our psalm,
the confidence
in the
Lord.
If you look
at verses
three and
four, we
have the
second part
of the
psalm.
The psalmist
is going to
give reason
for his
confidence.
The reason
is the
Lord doesn't
sleep.
first thing
we need to
see is that
there's a
shift in
person.
Verses
one and
two, I
lift my
eyes, where
does my
help come
from?
My help
comes from
the Lord.
Now in
verses three
to the end
of the
psalm, it's
he will not
let your
foot be
moved.
He who
keeps you
will not
slumber.
So maybe
there's a new
voice speaking
in these
verses.
It could be
that the
first person
is kind
of despairing
and his
friend starts
speaking and
no, no, no,
no, no, your
foot won't be
moved.
Or it might
be the
person who's
speaking in
verse one
and two
says, I
testify to
these things
and now
friend, let
me tell
you what
my God
will do
for you.
Either
case, this
psalm invites
us to speak
this not just
for ourselves
but for each
other.
We need to
remember this.
When we see
people struggling,
we need to
remember saying,
no, no, God
will not let
your foot be
moved.
If God
be for you, no
man be against
you.
God will
guard your
life, brother.
God will
guard your
life, sister.
We have
reason to
be confident
because he
doesn't sleep.
He doesn't
slumber.
I just love
how verse
three starts,
he will not
let your foot
be moved.
A while
back, the
family went
to the
Racine Zoo.
Right in
the middle
of the park,
there's this
large rock
structure that's
been built
and pretty
much in any
day or night,
on top of it
sits this huge
mountain goat
just gazing over
the entire
park.
That goat
needs to be
sure-footed
to make it
up that
rocky ledge.
And he
is.
By his
nature, this
mountain goat
is sure-footed.
Psalm 121
says that the
Christian is
sure-footed by
grace.
Because notice,
it's not because
we've set
ourselves up for
success, we
don't have good
traction on our
new hiking boots
or whatever else,
it's the Lord
will not let
your foot be
moved.
Our sure-footedness
is by grace
because God
has set us on
a solid rock
and we will
never be moved.
He who placed
you there
doesn't slumber.
This word slumber
is interesting.
It kind of
signifies dozing
off or kind of
that mid-afternoon
energy lull when
your eyes start
kind of getting
a little heavy.
God doesn't
catnap.
He has no need
of kind of a
mid-afternoon
caffeine jolt
to get him
back alive.
That word's
important because
then in verse 4,
notice that the
psalmist expands
it, he who keeps
Israel will neither
slumber nor sleep.
So now we're
talking about that
deep REM cycle,
that REM cycle
sleep, the
nighttime sleep
that's extended
to recharge for
the next day.
God doesn't
catnap and God
has no need of
sleeping at night.
He's always awake
and perfectly awake,
completely awake.
He doesn't slumber
or sleep.
We can have
confidence.
There's good reason
to trust him
because he's always
on the watch.
God doesn't sleep.
He doesn't sleep.
We could spend all
day and all night
in awe of this,
but we doze off
before we fully
comprehend it.
But in verse 4,
we see something else
as well.
That this is the one
place in the psalm
where it's not an
I or a you
singular.
It's not an individual
being spoken of.
In verse 4,
the psalmist zooms
out and says,
Behold,
he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber
nor sleep.
We could say a few
different things
about this,
but what I want to
call to your mind
is if you're ever
in the position
of thinking yourself
too insignificant,
not important enough
for God to actually
care about your life
and your problems
and your concerns
and your fears.
This verse helps us.
It shows us that
things are much bigger
than just individuals.
The God who is
looking over individuals
is looking over individuals
because they're part
of his people.
It's a huge community
of people,
and because God is faithful
to his community,
to his family,
he's faithful to the
individuals that make up
that family.
We have good reason
to believe that he will
guard our lives
in Christ.
That's the second stanza.
The third stanza
gives us this beautiful image
of the Lord's care,
and it's not a,
the Lord will do X,
Y, and Z,
and that's how he will
do this,
but it gives us
this common image,
this common experience
that we can understand
and say,
God keeps you like that.
So listen for it.
First verse five,
the Lord is your keeper.
This is now the third use
of this word keeper.
It showed up twice before
in verse three
and in verse four
as he who keeps you
and he who keeps Israel.
So since it shows up
three times already
and will show up
three more times
in verses seven and eight,
we should probably
try and understand it
a little bit.
This word keep
speaks of paying
careful attention
to something.
So if you're looking on
with an NIV Bible,
you might see
that he will watch over you.
I think that's a helpful
way to understand this,
that it's the gaze of God
on his people,
but in a way
that's looking out for them,
that's protecting them,
that's keeping them
from all evil and harm.
The idea of guarding
and protecting
is caught up in this word.
The Lord is your keeper,
Christian,
and it's beautiful
because this line
of verse five
is at the very center
of the psalm.
I read something
that said there's something
like 58 syllables
before this statement
and 58 syllables
after this statement.
This is really
the center
of the words,
but not just
the center of the words,
this is the center
of the whole purpose
of the psalm.
It's the theological center.
The Lord is your keeper.
It's part of who God is
towards his people.
He protects,
he guards,
he upholds
those who are his.
And to drive this point home,
the psalmist tells people
who are living
in a desert climate
that the Lord
guards them
like shade
in a heat wave.
That's how
he guards
his people.
Even in Wisconsin,
we get the imagery,
right?
Summer is here.
Maybe in March,
we wouldn't want
to be sitting
in the shade,
but in July,
you better find
some shade.
You're going to get burned.
You're going to get weary
and start sweating
and need water
and other things.
Shade protects us
from the heat.
Doesn't mean
that it's not hot.
Plenty of life
that's uncomfortable
and difficult.
But this says
that through the midst
of it all,
God is like a shade
in a heat wave
on the right hand
of his people.
He preserves us.
He supplies
what we need.
In verse 6,
the imagery continues,
the sun shall not
strike you by day
nor the moon
by night.
Notice the
kind of parallel
symbols.
Sun and moon,
day and night.
Maybe you see shade
and a heat wave
and you go,
okay,
that's great,
but God,
what if my problems
are all after dark?
I don't need shade
at that point.
I need light
or illumination
or something like that.
Sun and moon,
day and night.
The psalmist says,
there is not a single
minute of any single
day that goes by
that God is not
your protector.
Shade on your right hand.
He is your guard
24-7.
He will keep watch
over you.
He's your keeper.
There's one last stanza,
verses 7 and 8,
for us to look at.
So far,
we've seen the psalmist
declaring his confidence
in his source of help.
We've seen the reason
why we too
should be confident
in the Lord's help.
We've seen this imagery
that the Lord's help
is like shade
on the right hand.
And finally,
we see that
verses 7 and 8
are going to tell us
about how far reaching
the scope
of the Lord's care.
And notice how far
it goes.
Every detail,
now,
and forever.
The Lord will keep you
from all evil.
He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out
and your coming in
from this time forth
and forevermore.
He will keep your life,
verse 7 tells us.
From all evil,
you're going out
and you're coming in,
now and always.
He will keep your life.
It's a glorious truth
this psalm shares with us.
Hope you're hearing
its melody today.
The Lord,
your keeper,
will guard every single
detail of your life
day after day
forever.
There's no day,
there's no event,
there's no set of circumstances
that slips by his care.
He is your keeper.
It's amazing
that the psalmist
gives no qualifications,
no exception clauses.
He keeps your life,
well,
accept that one time
and he keeps your life.
Period.
If you belong to the Lord,
he's got you covered.
Maybe at this point,
you're saying,
okay,
but what sense
of that,
right?
Because we've all been
burned by the sun.
We all know times
when it doesn't seem
that shade is available,
both literal shade
and then also
just shade in life.
Seems like the problems
are just weighing us down,
beating us down.
There's nowhere to turn
for help.
Can we really believe
that this psalm is true?
We've all had experiences
that make us
kind of uncomfortable
to say,
the Lord is my helper,
right?
At least I have.
How is God keeping us then
in the midst of very,
very difficult things?
Is he keeping us then?
Of course he is
and
it's why the all capital
Lord
is so important.
this everlasting
steadfast love
of God
who has made a covenant
with us.
We certainly know
and must say
that this earthly life
is but a vapor,
that our outer selves
are wasting away,
that sometimes
the flaming darts
of the evil one
hit their mark
and wound us deeply.
And we're all walking around
with various limbs
and dried tears
and scars.
But God
is our keeper.
Nothing in this life
will be our downfall
because we're his.
I invite you to turn over
to Romans chapter 8
starting in verse 31.
Psalm 121.
I think this is how
Psalm 121
would answer
in the midst
of life.
This is how
the Lord is our keeper
in the midst
of hardship.
Start in verse 31
and read to the end
of the chapter.
What then shall we say
to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
He who did not spare
his own son
but gave him up
for us all,
how will he not also
with him
graciously give us
all things?
Who shall bring
any charge
against God's elect?
It is God
who justifies.
Who is to condemn?
Christ Jesus
is the one who died.
More than that,
who was raised.
Who is at the right
hand of God
who indeed
is interceding
for us.
I think he will
keep you from all evil.
Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation
or distress
or persecution
or famine
or nakedness
or danger
or sword?
As it is written,
for your sake
we are being killed
all the day long.
We are regarded
as sheep
to be slaughtered.
No.
In all these things,
in all these things,
we are more
than conquerors
through him
who loved us.
For I am sure
that neither death
nor life
nor angels
nor rulers
nor things present
nor things to come
nor powers
nor height
nor depth
nor anything else
in all creation
will be able
to separate us
from the love of God
in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Paul says,
suffering,
evil,
hardships
will come.
But our lives
are secure.
Our feet
will not be moved.
Harm
will not get
the last word.
Evil doesn't win.
So our Lord
is our keeper.
He will guard
every single detail
of our lives
day by day
forever.
We can sing it
because Jesus
died for our sins
and was raised.
As we start
the series,
it is right
and good
to remember
who our help
and who our keeper
is.
It's the one
we see in Psalm 121
made heaven
and earth.
The one
who never slumbers
nor sleeps.
the one
who sent
his son
to save
sinners
like us.
He will guard
every single
detail
of our lives
day after day
after day
forever.
It's who he is.
He's pleased
to do so
for all of us
if we're in Christ,
if we're Christians.
after I pray,
we get to sing
together,
yet not I
but through Christ
in me.
There's this
repeated line
that's been
hooking me
day after day
this week.
We have this
instant opportunity
now to
put this
Psalm into
practice.
The line
of this
Psalm,
to this
I hold.
It keeps
getting repeated
over and over.
It's kind of
the refrain.
To this
I hold,
my hope
is only
Jesus.
He's guarding
my life.
I hope
in him.
To this
I hold,
my shepherd
will defend
me.
Through the
deepest valley
he will lead.
There's nothing
in this life
that will
overtake me
because God
has put my
foot on the
rock.
To this
I hold,
my sin
has been
defeated.
evil
doesn't get
the last
word because
Christ has
conquered the
grave,
shed his
blood for
my sin.
Let's pray
together and
then sing
in response
to the
goodness of
Psalm 121.
Father,
we thank you
for your
word.
It's
true.
You are
our keeper.
We long
to by faith
live in the
goodness of
this.
God,
we just
ask that
joy would
rise in
our hearts
as this
truth lingers
there.
We rejoice
in you and
we trust in
you and
your goodness
to preserve
our lives
because Jesus
is our
king.
It's in
his name we
pray.
Amen.