Sermon Central
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Heaven Help Us
Contributed by Scott Maze on May 18, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: At no time in my lifetime have I witnessed such a widespread and long-term anxiety as we are in now. Our fear and anxiety have multiple layers to them like a tall cake – only this isn’t sweet to the taste.
At no time in my lifetime have I witnessed such a widespread and long-term anxiety as we are in now. Our fear and anxiety have multiple layers to them like a tall cake – only this isn’t sweet to the taste. We have the usual worries of how our children are doing and how to care for our grandparents. But added to the financial worries are a whole host of fear and anxieties. Now a virus arrives from the Wuhan, China that has stopped much of our personal lives.
We are dealing with Zoom and a host of video conferencing calls for work, school, and even church. The frustration is so high that our even some of elementary school children are crying (and not because of bullying). Rioting and protesting fill many of the streets of our larger cities. Worry and anxiety is off the charts in 2020. And we see it getting worse and worse and worse. We think, “If it’s this bad now, what will it be for my children and my grandchildren?” Where do we turn? Where do we turn? We turn to God’s Word.
We need the book of Psalms in times like these. The Psalms were sung on board the Mayflower as it came to the Colonies. A Psalm was the third book printed in America.
Each and every word of this psalm brings good news about God to those who need Him. Like hungry people getting a whiff from the kitchen – good things are coming! I’ve got some good things to tell you today. I can’t wait to tell you about God’s sleeping patterns but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Today’s Scripture
A Song of Ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 121:1-8).
We need the book of psalms in times like these. The Psalms were sung on board of the ship when the Pilgrims set sail in the Mayflower. A Psalm Book was the third book printed in America.
1. The Lord Is My Helper
Say this with me, church family: “The Lord is My Helper.”
The psalmist says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).
1.1 Overpromise?
Many times in life we are told not to overpromise and underdeliver. Evidently, the writer of Psalm 121 has never hear of this kind of thing. Psalm 121 will have not have any of this. Psalm 121:8 reminds you a politician on the campaign trail: “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 121:8). That is a HUGE promise!
Know this: a favorite way to write Hebrew poetry is where the writer gives an example of opposites so that everything is included. By including both opposites we know everything. God promises He will protect you everywhere and in everything. Yes, Psalm 121 promises the child of God a whole lot. As you read it, you have to be thinking, “Can He do all that He promised?”
God says, “I will not let your foot be moved.”
God says, “I am your shade in highest heat of the day.”
God says, “I will guard from the dangers of night and I will protect you from every menace by day.”
Yahweh says, “I will keep from you from all harm.”
It’s as if God is saying, “Overpromise and underdeliver, Me? Why, I haven’t even rolled up my sleeves yet.”
1.2 Mountains of Problems
Look again at verse 1 where it says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come” (Psalm 121:1)? The psalmist thinking, “Where does my help from come from?” as he looks to the mountains.
Does he want to flee to the mountains like a bird for safety? Or, are those foreboding mountains that he must cross over. The mountains could either be a place to hide or a lair for his enemies. No matter because either way, the thought makes him to jump to the One who made the mountains.
You need to look up, look way up, my friend. Look beyond the Rockies of your unRest, the Andes of your Anxieties, or the Himalayas Heaps of your fear. The mountains are nothing when compared to the help of the Lord.
