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LORD IS MY HELPER​
Psalm 121:1-8
(August 4, 2019 – SUN p.m.- MBC baesa)

In times when we are facing an impossible situation and don’t know where to turn to but to look up.

Where can we find help?

I- God is our Helper for He cares about us. (v. 1-2)

Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

  • God is after you, He is thinking of you, He knows what you are experiencing right now.
  • The You here refers to those who are connected to Israel in verse 4. They are who are worshipper of Yahweh (mentioned 5 times as LORD in verses 2, 5, 5, 7, 8) and (mentioned 3 times in the third person singular pronoun “HE.” In verses 3, 4, 7)
  • We can see the truth that God cares for you on several passage like:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, KJV
Acts 20:28 “to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” - ESV
Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
  • How God care for you?

     A. God cares for you is personal

  • Note the personal pronouns.
          1. “I” – v.1
          2. “my” – v.1; “My” – v.2

     B. God cares for you unconditional

          1. God is never intimated of your many questions toward Him.- (v.1)

Psalm 121:1 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?”- NASB

  • God shows interest in your foolish questions, repeated inquiries, and strong deliberation before Him.

​    C. God cares for you is colossal

          1. God’s Ability to help you is evident as He made heaven and earth .—v.2

Psalm 121: 2 “My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

           2. God Almighty is worthy of your worship and Loyalty.—v.2

Psalm 121: 2 “My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

           3. God is Active on the mountain in the midst of storm. –v.1

  • God made the storm but He also stands on the midst of storm. God cares when trial comes your way.
Psalm 121:1 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”- KJV
Psalm 121:1 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?”- NASB

II- GOD IS OUR KEEPER FOR HE WATCHES OVER US. (v. 3-8)

  • The word “keeper” (shamar, 8104 in strong concordance) found 6 times in the final verses (v.3, 4, 5,7,7, 8) means to – TO KEEP, TO RESERVE, TO PRESERVE, TO GUARD, WATCH OVER SOMEONE OR SOMETHING

Psalm 121:3-8 “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

     A. God provides us Stability because of His Abiding Presence​ (v. 3)

          1. God never leaves His inspection in our decision consistently.

Psalm 121:3 “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.” KJV
Psalm 121:3 “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” NASB
  • ​Sometimes your foot slipped, then you have fallen, then fell hurt. Is it what mean by verse 3?
  • The psalmist in this passage is referring to a slip of the feet that causes death and not just slip of the feet that produced some bruises, lump, scar, welt or become aware of your weakness.
  • The Bible says the just man or righteous man falls seven times and rises again.

Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”    

          2. God never loses His interest in our days to come.

Psalm 121:3 “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.”

  • We all know and agreed that a person is most vulnerable during sleeping time. Crimes mostly penetrates in the middle of the night when darkness widely covered their attacks.
  • The word slumber (yanun, 5123, strong concordance which means to slumber from drowsiness) or meaning fall asleep especially through indolence or sloth.
  • According to this psalmist God never loses interest in His pilgrim. God never neglects, forgets or loses His patience and grows disinterested to this people of God.
  • Here are some Scriptures that reminds us that God shows His interest what are future may be.
Joshua 1:9 ​“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Isaiah 41:10​ "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Deuteronomy 31:6​ "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Zephaniah 3:17​  "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
Matthew 28:20​ "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Hebrews 13:5​ "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Romans 8:38-39​ "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

     B. God produces Security because He Answered Prayer.​ (v. 4)

          1. The God of Israel is our Security

Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

  • Notice carefully, that the psalmist interestingly referring to the God of Israel not the God of Judah.
  • We all know that the 12 tribes of Israel was divided into northern kingdoms and southern kingdoms. When the

Psalmist says, “he that keepeth Israel” perhaps this has reference to the 10 northern kingdoms (Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun) – which known to us as the nation of Israel and separated from the nation of Judah, the southern kingdom which consist of the 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin).

  • The Bible shows us about God’s intervention for the 10 northern tribes of Israel. We can see the providential hands of God on the following kings of the north which is nation of Israel:

Jeroboam I – I Kings 13:33-34; Nadab – I Kings 15:25-26; Baasha – I Kings 15:33-34; Elah and Zimri – I Kings 16:8-10; Omri – I Kings 16:25-26; Ahab – I Kings 16:29-30; Ahaziah – I Kings 22:51-53; Joram – 2 Kings 3:1-3; Jehu – 2 Kings 9:1-10; 10:28-29; Jehoahaz – 2 Kings 13:1-2; Jehoash (Joash) 2 Kings 13:10-11; Jeroboam II – 2 Kings 14:23-24; Zahariah – 2 Kings 15:8-9; Shallum – 2 Kings 15:13-15; Menahem – 2 Kings 15:17-18; Pekahiah – 2 Kings 15:23-24; Pekah – 2 Kings 15:27-28; Hoshea – 2 Kings 17:1-2

  • Then we see the exile by the Assyrians- 2 Kings 17:6
  • Now the Bible shows the great weapon of prayer during the reign of Kings of the nation of Judah:
  1. During David reign the Philistines were defeated because of prayer – I Chronicles 14:8-12
  2. During Solomon’s reign, it is their prayers in 2 Chronicles 1:7-13 that dominated over all other kings and kingdoms. – 2 Chronicles 9:22-28
  3. During the reign of King Asa that we can witness how their prayers defeated the million man of army – 2 Chronicles 14:9-15  
  4. During Jehoshaphat reign amazingly it is through their prayers and massive choir that went before them into battle that defeat the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Mount Seir. – 2 Chronicles 20:1-25
  5. During Hezekiah reign, Sennacherib the King of Syria set siege against the holy city of Jerusalem and began to mock the God of Israel. Now Hezekiah prayed and the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria. [2 Chronicles 32:20-22]
  • Notice the Prayers of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:15-19 –he said, “O LORD GOD OF ISRAEL”
  • That is the prayer of hope that God deliver Judah from Assyria
  • This a prayer of faith that God would one day reunite the two nations into one! (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28)

           2. ​The God of Impossibilities neither slumber nor sleep.

 Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

  • The God of Israel “neither slumber” means He never loses His interest who no longer pays attention. It says “nor sleep” means the God of Israel never grown weary, faint, get old, dry up.
  • The God of Israel describes in Isaiah 40:25-31 never slumber nor sleep. He is the same God of Christians today!

Isaiah 40:25-31 “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Conclusion: When the greatest need comes your way, who would you turn to? Call out to God for help because He cares about you and He always watches you even in the midst of stormy area of your life. God provides you stability and security you longing and looking for.