Traveling Upward to Find God’s Help

Psalms 121:1-8
A Song of Ascents.

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

This psalm of ascents is a reminder to the travelers on the way upward to Jerusalem and the temple where God is found to worship and serve Him.  It is a song of hope and remembrance of His help, such as is only possible from the Creator of heaven and earth, as well as us all upon it.  This is where our help originates, in the Originator of all there is or ever will be.  He is worthy and more than capable to help us in times of need, especially in our journey of sanctification as we grow closer to worship and glorify Him as living sacrifices!  It is God’s providence empowered by sovereign grace which keeps our steps ordered and secure (Psalm 37:23).  He never sleeps in His watchcare over His sons and daughters; the LORD is not drowsy or inattentive as we are, for He is ever vigilant over His creation.  We can rely on His loving care always to keep us.  Because He is our keeper, and since He gives comfort as shade on a hot desert day, we can trust Him to watch over us for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).  He preserves His sheep whom He diligently and lovingly watches over.  He keeps us from evil (Matthew 6:13, John 17:15, Galatians 1:4) to preserve His saints (Jude 1:24, John 10:28-29) to the end.  This is our security, His preservation of the saints, and our perseverance in Christ (John 6:39, 18:9) until the last day, that of our resurrection to life.  He keeps us as we go in and out (John 10:9), now and forever.  This is our eternal hope as we ascend to the temple in the heavens in the New Jerusalem on the new earth, that which comes down from heaven as the one which the earthly one is merely patterned after the heavenly city and tabernacle of worship (Revelation 21:2, Hebrews 8:5, 9:11, 11:16).  We travel upward (Philippians 3:14) then to find God’s help along the way from that heavenly throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), ascending to stand at last before Him (Job 19:25, Revelation 21:3, 22:4) in never ending worship and praise in the eternal temple at His throne.  How we long for these things along our upward journey!