Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
I don't know if this is my favorite Psalm but it's easily in the top five. There have been many times I've stood outside the parsonage in the morning with my coffee and looked at the mountain tops piercing the fog like little islands in the sky and thought these opening lines to myself: "I lift my eyes up to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Maybe you've seen those words embossed in gold foil above a snow capped mountain on an inspirational card or in your Facebook feed. In these contexts, the words take on an air of serene reassurance. They seem to say: "Look at the Mountains! The maker of mountains made you... You have nothing to fear."
But remember that these Psalms of Ascent are not meant to be sung from the comfort of our front porch or from behind our computers. These are songs for the road. And it makes a big difference to chant these words as we make our way toward Jerusalem through the wilderness.
Remember that we are traveling together as a caravan. It is a long arduous journey and many misfortunes could befall us. There are some real practical dangers listed in this Psalm... If anyone's foot should slip, they could injure themselves and become a burden to the rest of the group.The sun could harm us by day. Dehydration and sunstroke could kill the most vulnerable in our group. There are imaginary fears as well. People in ancient times believed that the too much exposure to the moon could cause madness (this belief is where we get the word "lunacy" from). Our fears as we march together, range from the rational to the irrational... And when we lift our eyes up to the mountains, we are not looking for inspiration; we are scanning for danger. Our caravan is winding through the valleys between the hilltops of Palestine as we make our way to Jerusalem. And we must be vigilant. The mountains are where bandits and wild predators lie in wait. As we walk, we are ever on the look out. Assessing every shadow we see upon the rocky crags of those jagged foothills. Is it moving? Is it something I should fear?
Fear is the word of the day is it not? We who journey through the wilderness of this moment are constantly balancing our own rational and irrational fears. There are dangers among us that are scientifically proven and there are others that we've made up to torture ourselves. And we compulsively look up to the hills (in the form of our Facebook feeds or favorite tv channels) searching for news of new threats. Peril is all around us. Who will deliver us?
This Psalm reminds us that help is on the way. That the Maker of heaven and earth looms higher than the mountains of danger and that the tiniest of faiths can make those mountains move. It reminds us that God does not sleep. That through the hot day of our reality and the mad night of our paranoia, he is still there watching over His people. He is our shade and protector-- our creator and guardian.
Fear is natural. God gave it to us for a reason. Fear reminds us to be cautious in times just like this. It helps us look out for each other and for ourselves. But as people of faith, we are called to remember that God is higher than our fear. That fear, like anything else, can too easily become an idol-- a king in God's place. Remembering that God promises to watch over his people can give us the courage to live in faith, wait in hope, and serve in love.
Good fear keeps us together on this treacherous road as we make our way to the Holy City. It reminds us to stop for water and check the trail for dangerous rocks. It keeps our eyes checking the mountains so that we are ready to protect our loved ones at a moment's notice. But fear cannot be allowed to take the place of our faith. In this time of uncertainty, our eyes must look up past the hills to the very heights of the heavens and our souls must pierce the clouds in prayer, as we put our trust in the maker of everything who watches over our coming and our going both now and forevermore.
Lord, We know that it is only natural to be afraid and these are scary times. Lord help us to act responsibly to defend and protect our loved ones. But also give us faith to remember that you are higher than our fears and that you are watching over us. Amen.
Comments