THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - December 13, 2014 - Day 121 - Psalm 121

Who isn’t familiar with the story The Little Engine That Could. It’s about a little train that faced the task of hauling a large load up a high mountain and as it struggled to ascend the peak it kept repeating the phrase, “I think I can. I think I can.” The lesson is clear and it is taught to us as children and all the way into adulthood we live by it. If we try hard enough we can succeed at anything. There is just one problem; there will be times in our lives when trying hard will just not be enough. Sometimes failure is just reality and putting faith in ourselves or in others will result in our being let down. Psalm 121 teaches us that there is but one person we can truly trust in and it is God.

The psalmist asks the question:

Psalm 121:1
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

Then the answer:

Psalm 121:2
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Think about the accomplishments of man. While we could say there are some great things men have done how do they compare with God and His creation?

Psalm 121:3-4
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

If you have ever served in the military then you will know how hard it is to have guard duty in the middle of the night while your buddies sleep. How many men have died because a sentry fell asleep? How many mistakes have been made by someone who was awake for too long? Yet God never sleeps. He doesn’t even get a little weary.

Psalm 121:5-6
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

Think about the power of the sun. Look up the science of its energy. Find out how its distance from the earth is perfect and how if it was any closer; we would burn up. If it was further from us; we would freeze. Man’s accomplishments pale in comparison to God’s.

Psalm 121:7
The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

The power of our salvation lies in Christ not in us. Left to ourselves we would not only perish in hell, we would destroy ourselves on this earth. Not only are we justified by the blood of Christ we are sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit. You cannot be a Christian unless new birth occurs. And new birth results in new life. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 121:8
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

This verse speaks past the Old Covenant and moves right into the New. Do you need help friend?  Does the mountain you face seem impossible to climb no matter how hard you try? If so then you are exactly where God wants you. As long as you have confidence in the flesh you are not ready to attain the heights God has in your future. So read this psalm today. Read it tomorrow. Hide it in your heart, so that you no longer have to say “I think I can.”

Put your faith in the only one who never sleeps nor slumbers, “For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.