I believe this message will bring you HOPE, HELP and ENCOURAGEMENT. There’s nothing like the Word of God to bring hope and restore courage. God’s Word is powerful. It can break shackles. It can break despair. Let’s turn our attention to one of the Psalms. This psalm could quite possibly be considered as ‘the most encouraging psalm’ in God’s Word. If not the most encouraging, then at least one of the most encouraging. It is Psalm 121.
Psalm 121:1-8 (NKJV) ‘I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper [other translations: protector or guardian]; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.’
You have to agree this is a beautiful Psalm! Amen?
‘LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS’ …LOOK TO YOUR DIVINE HELPER
a. Psalm 121:1-2a (NKJV) ‘I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD.’
What is this business about the hills? Are we supposed to look up to the hills and somehow draw mystical power from the mountains or hills. Not at all! Allow me to explain…
b. If you were living in those days, you would have understood this expression very well. The city of Jerusalem is situated on a hill and is surrounded by other hills. And the Temple hill in Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God on earth – the place where the ark of God’s presence rested. So, when someone needed divine help, he would look towards the hills. This was the same as looking to the Lord. In other words, he would look towards Jerusalem… towards the Temple hill… towards the place of God’s presence. That’s where he would direct his prayers. [It makes perfect sense]
c. Important Note: This wasn’t about drawing some mystical power from the mountains, but it was about praying towards the location of God’s presence in Jerusalem.
d. In 1 Kings we find an excellent example of praying towards the city and the temple: [These are the words of Solomon]
1 Kings 8:44-45 (NKJV) ‘When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and toward the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.’
Praying towards the hills/the city/the temple… meant praying to the Lord!
e. Question: Where does your help come from? The obvious answer is ‘from the Lord’. We need to make sure that we really believe that! Billy Graham – ‘One really believes only that which one acts upon.’ In other words, if you consistently go to the Lord as your Helper, then you demonstrate that you really believe He is your Helper.
– In this time of global crisis, make the Lord your Helper. Don’t trust in your own power… trust your Divine Helper.
f. The psalmist was not at all confused about the source of his help. He knew that it came from the Almighty God – the Maker of heaven and earth.
g. We need to always go to the Lord for help! Sometimes we are tempted to look in the wrong places: Example: Stuck without employment… look to alcohol for help Example: Struggling with loss & bereavement… look to a medium for help
– No… look to your Divine Helper.
h. John 14:16-17a (NKJV) ‘And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth.’
Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit! He is our Helper.
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