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PSALM 121
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;
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.
This Psalm takes me back to my childhood; to school assembly; to the things my parents (particularly my mother) taught me. The words of the hymn, which has been included in this meditation, resonate clearly in my early experience. The words of Proverbs 22:6 come to mind ….
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Well, like so many of us, I departed from it. The thing is that it did not depart from me, although I did not know it, and now I believe that it serves me well, and the words ingrained from my early years reverberate in my mind and are readily recalled without effort… and dare I say, without intent on my part. That is the wonder and the mystery of our Lord’s touch on our hearts at that time in our lives.
What I say could be taken as a condemnation to any who do not train their children to know Jesus in their formative years. It is not my intent, and indeed it is readily seen that The Lord can touch any heart at its deepest level at any time, young or old. The call to lift your eyes to the hills… or if your prefer, to look to the heavenly realms and see salvation, can come at any time, in any place, in whatever state we are in. I am convinced with Paul that…
What I say could be taken as a condemnation to any who do not train their children to know Jesus in their formative years. It is not my intent, and indeed it is readily seen that The Lord can touch any heart at its deepest level at any time, young or old. The call to lift your eyes to the hills… or if your prefer, to look to the heavenly realms and see salvation, can come at any time, in any place, in whatever state we are in. I am convinced with Paul that…
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
2 TIMOTHY 1:12
Just look at His promises in this psalm…
These seven promises are the complete and abiding cover over every aspect of a life submitted to Him, one which looks heavenwards and acknowledges that my help comes from The Lord and from Him alone. But see that these promises are also the nature of our God. He promises to be Himself to us for all time; indeed beyond all time, for He is not bound to such restrictions. What all this resolves as — for me at least — is Fear not, for I am with you, says the Lord.
- He will not allow your foot to be moved.
- He who keeps you will not slumber.
- The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
- The Lord shall protect you from all evil.
- He shall preserve your soul.
- The Lord shall protect your going out and your coming in.
- Even forevermore
These seven promises are the complete and abiding cover over every aspect of a life submitted to Him, one which looks heavenwards and acknowledges that my help comes from The Lord and from Him alone. But see that these promises are also the nature of our God. He promises to be Himself to us for all time; indeed beyond all time, for He is not bound to such restrictions. What all this resolves as — for me at least — is Fear not, for I am with you, says the Lord.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS...
‘Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
ISAIAH 41:10
I TO THE HILLS WILL LIFT MINE EYES
PRAYER REQUIRES WORSHIP...
THE REASON PRAYER is so important is, first of all, because our Lord told us that prayer is the most mighty factor He has put into our hands, and second, because of the personal presence of the Holy Spirit in the day in which we live. We receive our knowledge of the Holy Spirit not by experience first, but by the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The testimony of Jesus Christ regarding the Holy Spirit is that He is here, and the real living experience the Holy Spirit works in us is that all His emphasis is laid on glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ. We know the Holy Spirit first by the testimony of Jesus, and then by the conscious enjoyment of His presence.
[from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #532 LOVE FROM A PURE HEART
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