A Sojourner's Song

 

When I was a kid, during the winter, we always accompanied Dad to the arena on Saturday nights.  He would play broomball and my brothers and I would run around the rink, or play hockey after his game was over.  The arena was a half hour away, and as we travelled Dad would entertain us with songs.  We called them “The Broomball Songs”.  Here’s a few samples; let’s hope I can sing.

“It went pop when it stopped, and zip when it turned, and whir when it stood still…”

“Tell Laura I love her”

“Here he comes, he’s Cathy’s clown”

“Oh give me that Good Old Mountain Dew Dew Dew, for them that refuse it are a few!”

“Puff the Magic Dragon”

“Under the Boardwalk”

“Leader of the Pack”

“You got your cats, rats, and elephants, but sure is your farm, you ain’t gonna see no unicorn”

Okay, don’t judge us for having fun with all these golden oldies.  We laughed, we sang our hearts out, and the journey flew by so quickly. 

Besides the old hymns, Christian music was not as widely accessed in the 1980’s as it is today.  We sang plenty of hymns at church and around the table for family devotions, but the cassettes were lacking.

Thousands of years ago, the Jewish people would make a pilgrimage up to Jerusalem at least three times a year for various feasts.  Groups would travel on foot for days, climbing uphill to the city where God’s temple was situated.  And just like my family loves to sing or listen to music on a journey, the Jewish people would do the same.  Since Jerusalem was an uphill climb, some of the songs they sang were called Songs of Ascent. Today, we are going to explore one of the songs that brings a joyful praise to the Lord.  Psalm 121 is a very famous traveller’s song, written by an anonymous author. It’s also possible that the Levites sang this song as the ascended the 15 steps to minister at the temple in Jerusalem.  Let’s open our Bible’s to Psalm 121.

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.

 

This whole passage is a beautiful summary of praise to the Lord because of His great care for us.  He is a God of Shamar. Shamar is a Hebrew word that means to exercise great care over, to watch over, to guard, to tend or restrain, or to take heart.

In Psalm 121, the Lord who is the Maker of heaven and earth – is the One who will preserve (shamar) the soul of the one who looks to him for help. (v2). He will guard (shamar) that soul and will not slumber (v3); He will watch over (shamar) Israel and will not sleep (v4); He is that soul’s keeper (shamar) (v5) and will both preserve (shamar) that one from evil and guard (shamar) its life from evil (v7); the Lord God of Israel will guard (shamar) that one’s coming and going forever (v8).

 

This Psalm started out with the traveller fixing his gaze up to the hills, but his sightline did not stop there. He looked beyond the tallest peak and the skyline to recognize the God who created them in the first place.  And as the Psalmist worships the Lord, we can notice that problems are woven all through the text. 

 

Those who were walking along the road could have slipped and fallen, dangers might have been faced, or they could have been harmed along the way; maybe there were thieves waiting behind the bushes or poisonous snakes or scorpions crossing their paths. Fear, illness, loss, and even death could have taken place during their travels, but also their daily lives.

 

When we look back through the Old Testament, many people fled to the mountains to hide, or find safety. In Genesis 19:30 we see that “Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters.” They were escaping all the evil that was left behind them from Sodom and Gomorrah.

In Joshua 2, Rahab said to the Israelite spies, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” So, they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned back to Jericho. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them.

In Judges 6, during the time of Gideon, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and for 7 years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountain clefts, caves and strongholds and from there they cried out to the Lord for help.

There is an urban idiom that says “Run to the Hills”, which means: To move to higher ground, as in preparation for or in response to a natural disaster. When someone really wants to get away from a situation or relationship as fast as they can, they "run for the hills", assuming higher ground is safer. Do you ever want to run to the hills?

Enemies and harm were very real. And so was sin and evil. Again, when we look back to the Old Testament times, we remember that the Jews always had to bring sacrifices and offerings to the Temple to pay for the wrongdoings in their lives.  I don’t know how often the Levites had to climb those steps up into the Temple, to bring the blood sacrifices to the Altar, but it is comforting to know that they too looked up to the Almighty God of Shamar who cares and protects.

 

Difficulties and troubles didn’t just happen in the past.  They surround us, and sometimes feel like they consume us even today.  Life has many dangers. In the physical realms, there is disease, injury, accidents, infertility, war, infirmity, natural disasters. Here I’ve often seen broken bones or bad scrapes from motorcycle accidents. Last week there was that terrible earthquake that rocked Syria and Turkey. And at the same time Israel is dropping bombs on Syria. I can only imagine the pain and suffering those people are going through.

Many people also experience economic problems. Recession and depression, unemployment, outsourcing, downsizing, insolvency, debt, and theft. This week I’ve been receiving texts from a young man who is really struggling right now.  He and his siblings were completely orphaned about 8 years ago. He has been trying to get his sisters through school.  He had a job, but now his contract is ending.  He doesn’t know how to supply for their needs.  And then, to make the situation even more difficult, he got his girlfriend pregnant.  The parents of the girl have rejected her and forced her into a somewhat early marriage, so now this young man is also needing to find food, clothing, and supplies for his new “expectant wife”. Those are huge economic struggles.

Then there are spiritual dilemmas happening all around us too. Doubt, evil, sin, corruption, fundamentalism, extremism, false teaching.  Pastors who tell people that they should give at least 1 million shillings as offertory and then they will receive a promotion, or a child, or a car as a blessing. Congregations are falling apart because a pastor had an affair and Christians no longer trust the church. Deacons run away with the money purse, or fudge figures in the accounts.  Trust me, spiritual problems can bring us down.  The journey of life can be difficult. The Psalmist may have looked around him in anguish, but then looked up with hope.

 

But that’s why the Israelites sang – it’s a soldiers song and a travellers hymn.  They knew there was a God, the Maker of Heaven and earth who would guard, protect, watch over, shield, and keep them.  They praised the God who made the mountains that they climbed.  The worshipped the Lord who kept them safe on the journey. Their God was a keeper of souls.  A God who was more than a faithful watchman who carefully guarded the city gates. He sheltered His people better than a mother bird who tucks her young ones under her gentle wings.

 

In Psalm 121, we can notice a strong build-up of praise. The first two verses point to where they go when they need help, they look beyond the mountains to the Maker of those hills. Then the next two verses proclaim that God is their protector.  He will not let their feet slip. He never slumber or sleeps.  He diligently watches over them. Verses 5 and 6 reiterate that He watches over them. He keeps them from harm. Verses 7 and 8 repeat that He keeps them from harm and watches over their lives – always.  Shamar is woven through that text and that’s why they sang.  And that’s why we should sing.

 

Let us lift our eyes with hope, expectancy, desire, and confidence. God is our watchman too.  Not only does he stay awake, he carefully observes, he’s attentive and notices everything. He not only sees, but he see the significance of things. He knows. He helps and calms our fears. He is also our protector, Helper, and Keeper. We may run to the hills, but it is not the hills that protect us, it is God, the creator those hills. He is close beside us all the time. Hallelujah!

 

The Lord will not our feet slip. Charles Spurgeon said “Our feet shall move in progress, but they shall not be moved to their overthrow.” We can stand strong because the Lord is with us. How can we stand strong? Through His Grace.

Romans 5:2 “Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”  We can stand strong because of the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:1 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.”

We can be strong and stand courageously through faith. 1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

Again, deep faith and joy keeps us standing tall. 2 Corinthians 1:24 “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” And we can stand firm in God’s perfect and pleasing will.

Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”

 

My friends, our help comes from the Lord, he offers shamar as the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Let us be joyful that our helper is ever present and He will not fail to reach us in His perfect timing.  And if we keep our eyes on Jesus, believe in Him and trust in Him through this journey of life on earth, we shall pass through with safe conduct.  Not because this world is trouble free, but because our final destination is not the temple in Jerusalem, but the throne room in the New Jerusalem, the eternal celestial city!! Jesus, the light of the world, will shade us from things that can burn us, from times when life is hot with problems, he is there to comfort and protect. If our souls are kept in Christ, then all things in life are kept secure. Our keeping is everlasting.

 

Thomas Fuller, in “The Cause and Cure of a Wounded Conscience” quoted: In thy agony of a troubled conscience, always look upwards unto a gracious God to keep thy soul steady; for looking downward on thyself thou shalt find nothing but what will increase thy fear, infinite sins, good deeds few and imperfect: it is not thy faith, but God’s faithfulness, thou must rely upon; casting thine eyes downwards on thyself to behold the great distance betwixt what thou deservest and what thou desirest, is enough to make thee giddy, stagger, and reel into despair: ever therefore lift up thine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh thy help, never viewing the deep dale of thy own unworthiness, but to abate thy pride when tempted to presumption.

 

Dear friends, God is our source of help. To speak of it is one thing, to believe it is another. While God watches over us and protects us, we are safe and can rest. We can sleep, be refreshed and shaded. God has arranged the rocks and sands under our feet, and Christ is the solid rock upon which we stand. Sing praises to the Lord as you set your fears before Him on the altar.

 

Charles Spurgeon, in his book “The Treasury of David” encourages my heart with these words. "There is something very striking in the assurance that the Lord will not suffer the foot even of the most faint and wearied one to be moved. The everlasting mountains stand fast, and we feel as if, like Mount Zion, they could not be removed for ever; but the step of man – how feeble in itself, how liable to stumble or trip even against a pebble in the way! Yet that foot is as firm and immoveable in God’s protection as the hills themselves.”

 

So, the next time you head out on a journey – whether that is the normal footsteps of life, or the car or bus rides to some place afar, keep your eyes on the Maker of Heaven and earth because He is ever keeping (shamar) you.  Speak out your fears to Him, but then trust Him with them and know that He is carrying you in the Palm of His hand. God should be your first and final source of help and hope.

 

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” In response to God’s careful protection of our lives, we are instructed to likewise guard our hearts and keep them engaged with the Lord: “Above all else guard (shamar) your heart, for from it flows the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23)

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for being our Keeper, Helper and Protector.  Lord, help us not to become downcast or weary in this world, but keep our eyes on you, the Maker of Heaven and earth.  Jesus, thank you for being the Solid Rock upon which we stand as we strive to follow you in this troubled life.  God of the Hills, thank you for giving me the grace and strength to look to you.  Amen