10282023 Psalm 121 Meditations - Part 5

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the omnipresent and eternal God. These two factors are reflected in this final meditation on Psalm 121.

“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psalm 121:8).

Reminder #5: He will guard your goings and comings perpetually.

For the sixth time in this psalm, we have the term “preserve/keep/guard.” What is it this time that God is hedging about with a formidable defense? It is our going out and our coming in. Our exits and entrances, our departures and returns.

In the case of the psalmist, there may be specific application to his trips to Jerusalem for worship. This psalm was to be sung as the worshippers made their way to the temple. When God gave the law, He addressed the potential concern regarding simultaneous nationwide pilgrimages, which were to occur three times each year. The obvious concern is that if all the men left their homes three times every year, then the enemies would exploit those absences to take over their land. God specifically promised “neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year” (Exodus 34:24).

Potentially, the psalm has something to do with that promise, and by extension, safety for the trip itself, both as they went up and as they returned. It is at least reflective of the spirit of that promise. The very interesting application is that if we obey God, even when it seems unwise or dangerous, He will take care of the threats that result from our obedience. James 4:13-15 reflects a similar idea. If we are going or doing according to God’s will, then we should expect God to guard us in the going and doing.

That is a very important premise to carry over into what is likely intended to be a broader application of this verse. Certainly, the psalmist had more goings and comings than just going to Jerusalem for worship, and God’s protection applied to the others as well, just as it applies to our many goings and comings that have nothing to do with pilgrimages. We live in a mobile and active society, and we are constantly going out and coming in.

Goings and comings. Exits and entrances. Departures and returns. I deliberately reflected the order that the verse employs. It seems to us that the first of each pair would be the challenge for protection. It is when we go out that we potentially face danger. Although for the psalmist, there may have been a particular specialized application, the verse itself does not seem to narrow the reassurance in any way, leaving it to cover anytime that we go out. That covers a lot of instances. Going out to work, to church, to minister, to run errands, to visit, to enjoy. We could easily go out a dozen times per week. Some goings are small, a trip to the grocery store around the corner, and some goings are enormous, a trip to another country. God protects at both extremes, and everywhere in between.

Lest we naively assume that our returns have no danger, God assures that He also guards our comings. This is also necessary. When we come home, to what we think is a place of safety, we still need God’s protection as much as when we are out. In fact, the amount of time we spend at home may be equal to or greater than the amount of time we are out. The bricks and boards around us are not sufficient for our protection. It is God who keeps us safe when we come home.

Together, the going and coming, the abroad and at home, cover everything. If God guards us everywhere we go and also at home, then there is no place that He is not watching. But the verse gives even greater reassurance. It isn’t just that He guards us in every place, but that He does so perpetually. “From this time forth, and even for evermore.” At face value, this sounds like the starting point of God’s guarding is whenever the person reads the passage. (For example, someone reading the passage for the first time on January 1, 2024, might think the protection starts on that day.) In reality, the truth has always existed and has been performed by God, but the assurance of the truth may not start until the day the person first reads it. From a practical standpoint, the past is past and unalterable; what is pertinent to the reader is that from this moment forward, he can know that God is watching over him. I think that is the intent of the wording – that the reader would be reminded and reassured of the truth of God’s unending care. There is no expiration date. So the psalmist’s final reminder is, “Hey, God will guard you everywhere you ever are, and He will never stop guarding.”

Concluding thoughts:

The thoroughness of the psalm. From multiple angles, the psalmist speaks of complete help by utilizing contrasts. Day and night (vs. 3-4), evils seen by the sun, by the moon, and by no one (vs. 5-7), coming and going (v. 8), now and forever (v. 8). It’s hard to imagine how the discussion could be more thorough. In fact, there is overlap to the point of redundancy. But the redundancy is helpful, because it causes the psalmist to look at the same problem from multiple angles and thus receive extra reassurance.

The importance of reminders. When we are in trouble, we need reminders. We know the truth, but we forget to focus on it. This man helped himself to remember by having a physical object as his starting point. Looking at the mountains prompted him to start his thought process, and in two different ways they reminded him of who his Helper was; He was both the God who created those mountains, and He was the God who was worshipped in those mountains. After the foundational reminder about who his Helper is, the psalmist then purposefully enumerates deliberate reminders of supporting details.

The focus of this psalm is very homogenous. One of the opening thoughts is that this man needs help. Otherwise, he would not be going through this exercise of remembering his Helper. But the content of the psalm reveals the particular kind of help he needed. His key words are all very similar. Including the words themselves and the ways they can be translated, we have this list: keeper, shade, preserve, guard, protect. Furthermore, the actions are of the same nature: maintaining our footing, constant vigilance with no sleeping, warding off dangers and evil. This man’s needs were in the arena of safety, so that is what he focused on. Our needs may be different. But if our area of need is comfort, wisdom, strength, etc., God is still able to meet our needs. The Bible has truths for every one of those categories, and it provides us with appropriate reminders on which to meditate.

May you truly know and experience God as your Helper this week, in whatever your area of need happens to be. He will take care of you.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10202023 Psalm 121 Meditations Part 4

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our Protector, the one who shades us from all danger.

“The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul” (Psalm 121:5b-7).

Reminder #4: He shelters by day and by night.

God acts as a shade. The word comes from a root that has to do with hanging over something, and it carries the connotation of protection. It would be like a canopy of tree branches that protect someone from the hot sun. According to v. 6, this shade is designed for protection both day and night. However, the previous verses already addressed the idea of constant watchfulness, so that all times of the day have previously been covered. I believe the special flavor of these verses is in regard to the types of dangers faced at different times.

The danger by day is the sun. Again, we have figurative language. I don’t believe the verse is primarily referring to God’s protecting us from sunburn, heat stroke, or dehydration. I believe the sun is representative of the dangers associated with the day. These are the labors and toils of life. These are the physical dangers that stem from the responsibilities of the day, from interactions with people, from the types of accidents and incidents that can arise during the time that everyone is awake and engaged in activity.

The danger by night is from the moon. This seems to be particularly cryptic. How can the moon hurt us?!?! Again, I believe the moon is representative of the dangers associated with the night. My personal opinion is that this is an entirely different category of danger and that it involves mental and emotional dangers. The moon does not share the same root (lunar) as lunatic for nothing. People have long believed that the moon influences our mental state. Certainly, nighttime is associated with fear and anxiety, with long wakeless hours when there are fewer stabilizing parameters for our thoughts, and when the mind can travel in dangerous directions. These threats tend to diminish or vanish in the light of day when we are again interacting with people and have the routine of activity.

I believe v. 7 supports my idea about physical day dangers and mental night dangers. It starts out by stating that God preserves from all evil. (The meaning is not necessarily limited to sinful or malicious intent, but it also includes adversity, affliction, calamity, something that we would view as bad.) The term “preserve” is to hedge about, guard, or protect; it is the same Hebrew word translated as “keep” in v. 3 and 5. All means all. If God is to guard us from all dangers, that would include the two aspects already considered – physical and mental. It would also include spiritual dangers, which is where the verse goes next.

The LORD will guard our souls. While the physical and mental dangers are real and serious, the spiritual dangers are supreme. They are also real, and there is nothing more serious. If God can keep our soul, we should have no fear that He can keep the rest of us. In some ways, the soul seems most vulnerable. After all, we can do something to protect ourselves physically; we can eat healthy foods, drive safely, and avoid the bad sections of town. We can even do something to protect ourselves mentally; we can seek laughter, stroke a pet, or deliberately focus our thoughts. But what can we do to protect our souls? Absolutely nothing. We are totally dependent on God for that.

None of these aspects – physical, mental, or spiritual – is too hard for God. More comforting, none of these aspects fall outside the realm of what God cares about. None of them are outside the sphere of what He has pledged Himself to protect. Insurance companies want us to insure everything – health, death, car, house, boat, belongings, vacations, pets, etc. When it comes to protection, God’s “policy” is all-inclusive. He covers everything. The psalmist’s conclusion is, “Hey, there is no part of your being that God does not protect.”

May God shade you this week in all aspects of your being, keeping you safe and sound by day and by night.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10142023 Psalm 121 Meditations Part 3

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our Keeper, the one who maintains His watchful care over us. Below are more meditations from Psalm 121, following the psalmist’s progressive reminders of what his Helper is like.

“He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper” (Psalm 121:3b-5a).

Reminder #2: He won’t slumber or sleep.

One reason humans are so poor at dealing with problems is that they have a limited amount of time to work on them. Every time they start to make some progress, the day is over, and it is time to go to bed. That certainly is not the only reason, but it is a limitation, and it is a limitation that God does not have.

This is why God can keep our foot from slipping – because He is constantly awake, alert, and observant. We are not going to take a wrong turn or start sliding precariously without His knowing about it. He has the responsibility of keeping us, and He doesn’t allow any lapse on His part to interfere with His ability to do so. He is never like the bank guard who falls asleep on the job.

God does not “slumber” – ever. This is to sleep because of drowsiness. God doesn’t get drowsy. Not from boredom, not from getting too comfortable, not from external stimuli, not from fatigue. God doesn’t “sleep.” He doesn’t get old and worn out and therefore unable to remain alert. When we think of slumber or sleep, we envision several different scenarios. The most intense would be someone who is bone-weary, perhaps after hard toil, a marathon of activity, an illness, or an intense medical episode. This person might fall into a deep sleep, even coma-like, and not awaken for days, or at least for an unusually extended amount of time, like ten to twelve hours. Imagine if that happened with God! How many dangers could present themselves to us while He remained unaware? But this never happens. God doesn’t sleep like that.

There is also normal sleep, which for most people is seven to eight hours a night. Every night. Again, imagine if God slept that long every night. This would leave a significant portion of our day without protection – on a regular and predictable basis. We would be so vulnerable. God doesn’t sleep like that either.

On the mild end of the spectrum, there is light sleep. A fifteen-minute cat nap. Someone drowsing off while watching TV. While it may seem that such short amounts of inattention would not be too serious, imagine the ramifications. When people nod off in these ways, children are left unattended and get into mischief or danger. Classrooms of children quickly disrupt. Meals are left burning on the stove. Automobile accidents happen. Although the sleep is brief, the sleeper often misses the most critical moments of what is happening around him. Even drifting in and out while watching a television program leaves the “viewer” disconnected, confused, and inadequately informed about what is happening. God doesn’t even do this type of sleep. There are not even random moments or brief windows during which He is not keeping guard. He doesn’t miss any pertinent input. The psalmist reminds himself, “Hey, He’s not going to fall asleep on you.”

God never sleeps, but the implication is deeper than simply being awake. This is the Helper, the Keeper, that we are talking about. His job is more than just remaining awake. It is being watchful. God never stops being watchful, not for eight hours at a time, not for five minutes at a time. His vigil is constant.

This facet becomes even more poignant when we realize that God does this specifically regarding Israel. If any people needs constant vigil, it is the Jews. They have faced so many threats, dangers, wars, plots, and conspiracies. Multiple times they have been threatened with annihilation. Yet they still remain today. Why? Because God has never once fallen asleep on the job. If He can successfully keep watch and protect Israel, then He can easily keep watch and protect me.

Reminder #3: He is your Keeper.

Verses 3b and 4 have us focusing on the never sleeping, always vigilant aspect, but we must not overlook the verb. What is it that God is doing without sleeping? Who is it that never sleeps? It is “He that keepeth thee” and “He that keepeth Israel.” In case we missed it while we were contemplating His constant vigil, verse 5a brings us back to the identification: the Keeper.

The LORD, the one who was identified in verse 2 as being the Helper, is the one who is our Keeper. It is the same unique, self-existing, worthy-of-worship God, the only true God, who is our Keeper. What a joy that it is not anyone lesser who is in that position!

The Keeper is such a great term. This is not simply holding onto something for potential future usefulness. Rather, it is to hedge about (like with a border of thorns) and to guard and protect. The Hebrew word is translated in numerous illustrative ways, including “beware, be circumspect, take heed, preserve, save.” This is a careful activity. It is a defensive activity. It is an aggressive protective activity. This is top-level protective security. The psalmist comforts himself, “Hey, God is never careless about protecting you.”

The psalmist takes comfort in knowing that God will keep him from a disastrous fall. God can do so because He is continually alert and because He takes upon Himself the role as vigilant Keeper and proactive Protector.

May you rest at peace, confidently trusting in the constant care of your Keeper who never misses anything that concerns you.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10062023 Psalm 121 Meditations Part 2

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the best walking Companion ever. There is no one better with whom to walk through life than the Helper who keeps, guides, and protects us.

“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved” (Psalm 121:3a).

When the psalmist comes to verse three, he does something very interesting. Verses 1-2 were written in first person (I, my, mine). Verses 3-6 are written in second person (thy, thee). Having reminded himself of who his helper is, has he now turned his attention to sharing truth about his Helper with others? In other words, was this a quick mental exercise for him as he remembered who his Helper is? Is he now rock solid, totally impervious to whatever was troubling him, and able to go into an academic-type listing of characteristics for the benefit of others? Or even, have the reassuring actions of God on his behalf given him a position of being an expert or a trusted counselor to others?

I don’t think so. The second person pronouns are all singular! Theoretically, he could be sharing reassurance with one other individual, but I don’t believe that is what he is doing. I believe he is talking to himself. This is completely in fitting with verses 1-2. If this psalm started out as a deliberate practice of focusing his attention on the Source of his help, then it continues by fleshing out additional reassuring details about the Helper. In other words, the rest of the psalm is just as intentional as the first two verses. He is preaching a sermon to himself!

This man, who needs help although he is remaining calm about it, is demonstrating why he can remain calm. It is because he is deliberately reviewing facts, not just about who his Helper is, but also about what that Helper is like. It isn’t much use to identify God as our Helper if we don’t know anything about God. But when we do know about God, then it means something that He is our Helper. So verses 1-2 were the premise: God is my Helper. Verses 3-6 enumerate what that Helper is like.

The facts contained in these verses make it evident why this man is able to remain calm. He has really learned to know his God. He has come to know God, not as an angry and impersonal tyrant, but as a loving, protecting Keeper who thoroughly cares for him and constantly watches over him. Every line of the psalm is reassuring to him in his current trouble, but the lines would not be reassuring if he were not reviewing them. It is important to meditate on God and to remember His characteristics and care. This is a continued part of the process of calming himself in a time of trouble. It is not a casual or flippant acknowledgment (“Oh, yeah – God”), but it is a deliberate enumeration (“God, because …”).

Reminder #1: He won’t allow your foot to slip.

This is obviously figurative language. It is not talking about the five-toed appendage on the end of his leg, as it encounters mud, snow, ice, steep banks, or banana peels. So what does it mean? The picture is readily accessible and easily applied to life. It fits right in with the way we think and talk about the challenges of life. “I feel like I can’t get my feet under me.” As we walk through life and face obstacles, we can feel unsteady, like we are slipping.

Does this verse mean that will never happen? It certainly does not seem logical, possible, or even in keeping with other Scriptures that we would never have the slightest indication of a quiver or misstep. The Hebrew word has some variation in degree within its meaning. It can be used for "totter, shake, slip,” but it can also mean “to be overthrown,” “to dislodge, let fall, drop,” or “to be greatly shaken.” So even the majority of the meanings tend toward intense or extreme levels. Some slips of the foot are fatal.

This seems to be in keeping with Psalm 37:24: “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” It isn’t that we will never slip or stumble, but that we will not fall irreconcilably. We might fall down, but we won’t fall all the way off the mountain. The foundation underneath the foot is sure, and the One holding us in His hand will limit the extent of the slipping to temporal rather than permanent falling.

When we are in times of struggle, one of the dangers is that if we are alone, without a helper, we could easily stumble. Perhaps the psalmist senses his own weakness, and that is why he states this reminder first. He might fear that he would fall and that his walk of faith would be cut off because of one intense incident. If that happens, nothing else matters, so this is an important starting place. It is a comforting reassurance that he tells himself: “Hey, He’s not going to let you plummet off the side of the mountain.”

May your week be filled with the peaceful stability of walking with the One who will keep you from falling.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA