Wednesday Evening Bible Study | 9-8-21

praise the lord everybody this is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it come on let's shout unto the lord for this new church here but this is the day yes this is the day that the lord has made that the lord has made i will rejoice yes i will rejoice and be glad in it and be [Music] yes this is the day that the lord has made oh this is the day yes this is the day that the lord has made that the lord has made i will rejoice so i will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it for this is the day that the lord has made and i will rejoice and be glad in it but this is the day yes this is the day that the lord has i will enter his gate with thanksgiving in my heart i will enter his court with praise and i will say this is the day that the lord has made i will rejoice for he has made me glad oh he has made me grand oh he has made me glad i will rejoice for he has made me glad for he has made me glad oh he has made me glad i will rejoice for he has made me glad let me say it again oh he has made me great oh he has made me glad i will rejoice for he has made me glad yes he has made me glad oh he has made me glad i will rejoice for his baby glad oh this is the day yes this is the day that the lord has made that the lord has made and i will rejoice yes i will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it for this is the day that the lord has made oh i will rejoice that's precisely what this is this is the day that the lord our god has made and what a joy it is for us to rejoice and be glad in it that is our admonition every time we gather as a worshipping or studying community even as we pray on wednesday mornings it is our admonition to the entirety of the body of believers to rejoice and be glad in the day that the lord has made thank you dr kiana for ministering to us and for blessing us with that song that comes right out of the psalms and we celebrate the fact that we can celebrate this day that the lord has made wherever you are whatever you're dealing with whatever your lot in life may be you still have the responsibility to rejoice and be glad in this day so grateful that each of you has come to share with us in bible study this wednesday this midweek point gives us the opportunity to refuel to refresh to re-energize i mentioned that in prayer this morning and i want you to make sure that when we gather together on wednesdays that we do just that that we start our day in prayer and then continue our day with the study of the word of god even as we pray again together uh in the in the midst of this uh wednesday experience to god be the glory for this opportunity i praise god for those of you who have chosen to share with us in bible study today and as we prepare to study god's word let's talk to the lord as we prepare to uh begin a journey with the songs of essence let's pray together gracious god we give you thanks we give you praise we give you honor and glory for who you are and for all that you mean to us you are a great god your word declares that you're a great king above all gods and so we honor you for who you are we bless your name because you have been good to us our elders reported that you've been better to us than we've been to ourselves and we thank you for that reality this wednesday we come now boldly unto you making our requests known unto you asking that you will prepare us now to receive your word center us so we might be focused on that which is made available to us in these moments we thank you for this hour of studying we pray your blessings upon it breathe on it will you please enliven us make us ready to not only be hearers of the word but doers also we give you thanks for what you have done for us through jesus christ the living word and we ask in jesus name that you will now make us ready to study and then apply your word and then make us greater witnesses of your word everywhere that we go so that the world might know of your goodness your grandeur your grace and your glory speak lord your servants are listening we need to hear a word from you so we pray that you will speak in such a way that we will understand your will your way for our lives for such a time as this we give you praise for this opportunity and we pray your blessings upon it in jesus name amen and praise the lord praise the lord the god be the glory thank you minister neon christopher lewis for your presence in music ministry thank you again dr kiana for blessing us thank you to all those who are working behind the scenes to ensure that bible study goes forth uh with excellence today i'm excited about the study of god's word it's been a long time since we've been together for bible study a whole month has passed since we've been together for the study of god's word so i'm excited about the privilege of sharing the word of god with you if you're with us sunday you already know what uh the journey is going to be for the next several weeks we're dealing with the psalms or the songs of ascents the songs of ascents and we're excited about that uh there are 14 of them 15 of them really starting with psalm 120. and going all the way to psalm 134 if you were with us sunday you already know this bit of information but those of us who were not together in worship on sunday psalm 120 to psalm 134 gives to us the songs of ascents or the psalms of essence or also known as the songs of degrees songs of degrees it's literally people moving forward moving upward to a place where they can experience god in a greater and more tangible way and so as we study the word of god this week this month we're going to look at the psalms of ascents i'm going to try to get through all 15 of them if we don't we'll certainly make our way to them before uh this year is over but i want us to to focus our attention on several of them during this month especially as we remember uh the the things that are going to happen you remember our theme for this season uh this church year is we're going back to church we're coming back to church we're headed back to church we're going to make our way to church and that's really what the psalms of ascents was all about now that word ascents as you will recall from this past sunday literally meant the hebrew word literally meant steps that's all steps s-t-e-p-s it meant steps it meant that the the pilgrims were making steps toward jerusalem it really had a four-fold meaning and uh when we talk about the the movement of the pilgrims to the holy city of jerusalem and these steps that they take it is necessary for us to understand that there was at least four things that could be included in the steps the children of israel the israelite nation the hebrew people were singing people don't ever forget that they were celebrating people and so when they took steps one of one of the meanings of those steps was music that went up in pitch music that went up in pitch uh we were in worship this past sunday and one of our deaconesses sent me a text as we were beginning the songs of our sense and she remembered that great hymn of the church that they used to sing at her old church with marching design mr lewis will you help me with that we're marching to zion when they understood music that went up in pitch they would sing the song the way it was usually sung beautiful beautiful zion we're marching upward to zion that beautiful city of god now when you understand music that goes up in pitch all the music lovers understand that's one key what key is that d uh lee that was d flat all right that's d flat now if we're going to take music it goes up in pitch if we were to go up a half step which is what the m which is what musicians would call a movement from d flat to d the key of d then you'd hear it sung like this we're marching to zion [Music] [Music] if you've ever heard us in celebration in the in the preaching moment you'll know that sometimes we're celebrating i'm having a good time and we sometimes move up a half step while in celebration so although leon is indeed was indeed just then he just moved up a half step and that takes us to e flat this is a quick music lesson many of you couldn't even care less about this but a half step beyond d they would sing this music goes up in pitch we marching to zion beautiful beautiful zion we're marching upward to zion the beautiful city of god that's a half step now there's also a such thing in music called a whole step so if we move from e flat and when a whole step up we'd be in the key of f this music is ascending in pitch and now it sounds like this we're marching to zion beautiful beautiful zion we're marching upward to zion the beautiful city of whole step g here it is we're marching do you get it now it's music that's going up in pitch beautiful beautiful zion we're [Music] okay that's a music lesson that none of you really anticipated when you came to bible study but this is the kind of singing that the pilgrims would do this is the kind of celebrating that is sometimes done at the end of the sermon we move upward in a half step of pitch because we're celebrating we're experiencing the modulation the upward movement and that's what was going on with those pious pilgrims they were singing as they went that music that goes up in pitch but those steps also reminded them of the singing that took place on the steps of the temple thank you mr lewis i appreciate that singing that took place on the steps of the temple so when they would get to the holy city they would sing before going into the experience of worship i mentioned to you over and over again and i did this past sunday that we that the the pilgrims the israelites would have church on their way to church they would worship on their way to worship so before they even got into the temple they would sing on the steps of the temple and likewise it reminded them these steps reminded them of their return from captivity you'll remember that the hebrews have been in captivity over and over and over again egyptian captivity babylonian captivity they've dealt with the reality that sometimes their people their ancestors even they had to deal with the rough reality of cruel hardship imposed upon them by captors and so when we talked about the steps or the songs of ascents they were singing on their way out of their captive state they were rest they were taking steps from their captivity into their freedom their emancipation led by moses led by joshua they're headed into the place where they can celebrate the great things of god so over and over again you understand that these israelite people the hebrews are taking steps and so they have psalms of ascents psalms that remind them of the steps they were able to take out of their captive reality they were able to step into a freedom that they could not have had were it not for the delivering power of god but fourthly and finally we learned last week last sunday that when we talked about ascents or steps it was likewise the gathering of all the pilgrims as they made their way up to the holy city we're marching to zion all of them going to the beautiful city of god making their way into that space where they could all worship god together it is a congregational movement and so everybody's singing everybody's rejoicing everybody's worshiping and what we see in our text before us in psalms 120 through 125 through 134 is a collection of all of this they're coming out of captivity they're worshiping together they're singing as they make their way to worship they're on their way to a place where they can celebrate the great things of god today i want us to take a journey i want us to take a journey i want us to go with these israelites i want us to make our way up mount zion's slippery slopes and i want us to do so from one of the most familiar psalms in the scripture one of the most familiar psalms in the scripture many of you know it is not psalm 23 it's not psalm 27 it is psalm 121. psalm 121 many of us know it or at least we've read it some of us know it from memory i want to read it in your hearing from the king james version and then i'll read it from the new international version as well psalm 121 from the king james version reads like this i will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help my help cometh from the lord which make heaven and earth he will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber behold he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep the lord is thy keeper the lord is thy shade upon thy right hand the sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night the lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul the lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forever more praise god for psalm 121 from the king james version that that psalm has so many songs contemporary songs that have been written as a consequence of that psalm of ascent that song of ascent we remember uh some of the songs that we sing here that have these very words as their lyrics and so we're grateful for that for that for that psalm but let's look at it from the new international version you'll see a slight difference those of you who've studied it before you already know that verse 1 in the king james version is spoken as a declaration but in the new international version and other translations it is given to us in two parts as not just a declaration but verse two also verses one and two help us to understand there's an inquiry that is followed by an answer let me read it to you from the new international version i lift my i lift up my eyes to the mountains 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 praise the name of the lord for these moments that we spend together i hope you heard an interplay if you didn't we'll look at it a little more closely in just a moment but there's this interplay between the original speaker and then a subsequent speaker you will notice the shift in the in the pronouns in verse one i will lift up mine eyes unto the heels from which cometh my help verse two my help comes from the lord which made heaven and earth he and then verse three there is a shift in speaker watch this he will not suffer thy foot to be moved so now the one who was speaking in verses 1 and 2 by the time we get to verse 3 is being spoken to and from verse 3 all the way to verse 8 the secondary speaker is doing the talking and it is seemingly according to scholarship that in the first part of the psalm verses one and two the the original speaker is one of the pilgrims making his or her way up to the holy city of jerusalem and then in verses three through eight there is the priest or one of the leaders from the temple who is speaking back to the person who is making his or her way up to the temple maybe that person got to the steps of the temple and then the speaker then verses in verses three through eight began to speak back to that individual but it is what we call in the church call and response right and so for these moments that we spend together on this on this psalm i want to talk about the call and response of providential protection the call and response of providential protection what we notice in psalm 121 is that god is always available to provide protection to his people that god is always available to provide protection to his people and when you read psalm 121 from verse one through eight when you memorize and i hope many of you have memorized it and others of you will when you memorize it you understand that all throughout the psalm there is this consistent refrain or even this consistent movement toward the understanding of the protection that god gives to his pilgrims as they make their way to the holy city of god to worship god on the holy city on the whole on the mountain of zion in the holy city of jerusalem so let's look at it for a little while because when you begin in verses one and two it is what i call personal proclamations there are personal proclamations that are given by this original speaker notice remember two speakers in the psalm verses one and two one speaker verses three through seven yet another speaker and when this first speaker begins to make these proclamations they are very personal hence the personal pronouns i will lift up mine eyes unto the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the lord which made heaven and earth this is personal which leads us to understand that the psalmist has a personal relationship with god that this person knows something about the divine protection that is given to all of god's people this person knows something about the way god hems one in the way god encircles one with god's presence and protection and so this personal proclamation that comes to us at the beginning of verse of psalm 121 give to us first of all what i call a declaration of defiance now you got to read a little deeper to understand that you got to probe the verses a little more to understand why this is a declaration of defiance i will lift up mine eyes to the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the lord which made heaven and earth this person is clear that no matter what other assistances may come from any other place the entirety of one's life is dependent upon god there is this defiance against anyone or anything else that may seek to want to prove to be this person's help this person's aide this person's provider or protector this person is defined and the defiance goes farther than that because when you read later on in the scripture you find out that there is danger in the hills right there is danger in the hills and so the the the original speaker says listen i want everybody to be clear that despite the danger that is in the heels sun smite you by day moon by night despite all of that i am clear that god protects me that god will encircle me that god will surround me with god's presence and protection this is the declaration of defiance but even more than that it is a declaration of dependence dependence i will lift up mine eyes to the heels notice this is a psalm of ascent when this speaker is going up to the holy city of jerusalem they can see above him or her the hills that are all around mount zion the hills that are all this is a picture we're on our journey right and this picture of hill country is a beautiful picture and in the midst of that there is the need for protection son smiting you by day mood by night we'll dig into that a little more deeply in a minute but there is a dependence that the help that is necessary to get to the place i'm going will come from and can only come from the god who is above the hills the god who's above you now you need to understand in antiquity they would build altars to pagan gods in those hills and so what this defiant and dependent one is saying that is no matter how many altars are built in these hills no matter how many other people may have decided to put their reliance upon this deity or that deity my help comes from the lord who is the maker of heaven and earth that i do not pledge my allegiance nor do i lay my dependence upon any of the gods of the hills they cannot do for me what i need done i lift mine eyes really beyond the hills is a great translation i lift my eyes to the hills to the god who is above and beyond the hills and i know that all of my help comes from him now this is a prevailing theme throughout the psalms that this god of ours has strength this god of ours who is at mount zion this god avows you but so remember they have a parochialized understanding of god they believe that god resides in the temple atop mount zion their understanding is that god resides there all right so when god is there i can depend on god to watch me as i make my way to his abiding place to his place of habitation and this is replete it's continual throughout the psalm let's look at a few of them to see how those the ancients regarded god in the hills psalm 48 psalm 48 is a very familiar passage of uh passage of scripture for many of us it really speaks about the glory of zion where god is in the holy city mount zion up there in the holy city of jerusalem verse 4 verse 1 of psalm 48 reads like this great is the lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our god in the mountain of his holiness beautiful for situation the joy of the whole earth is mount zion on the sides of the north the city of the great king god is known in her palaces watch this for a refuge you remember you will now see that they have this notion that the god who is at mount zion the god who is atop this great heel is the god who is strong and mighty and worthy of great praise great is the lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our god in the mountain of his holiness and now if psalm 48 wasn't enough you will recall this past sunday we looked at psalm 123 you remember how psalm 123 started it's how we left off at the end of the message sunday unto thee i lift up mine eyes o thou that dwellest in the heavens behold as the eyes of the servants look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress so our eyes wait upon the lord our god until he have mercy upon us they're looking upward to this god who is able to provide mercy even in their misery and this is that upward look that upward gaze as they make their way to the holy city of god let's look at a couple more psalm 125 another one of the psalms of ascents psalm 125 verses 1 and 2 read like this they that trust in the lord shall be as mount zion which cannot be removed but abideth forever as the mountains around about jerusalem so the lord see either comparison is round about his people from henceforth even forevermore god now is seen as that sturdy stalwart solid mountainous region god surrounds his people like the hills surround mount zion this is the god on whom they depend they can depend on this god for this god is strong and mighty this god is a protector and this is how they trust in him last one and we'll come back to these psalms of a sense later on in the in the series but psalm 132 i want to read an extended passage from psalm 132 just because it's good that's the only reason i'm reading it all but i want you to be blessed by these verses beginning at verse 13. for the lord have chosen zion watch he hath desired it for his habitation this is my rest forever here will i dwell for i have desired it i will abundantly bless her provision i will satisfy her pool with bread i will also clothe her priests with salvation and her saints shall shout aloud for joy there will i make the horn of david to bud i have ordained the lamp for mine anointed his enemies will i clothe with shame but upon himself shall his crown flourish you see how god makes himself available to his people to ensure that he is there for their strength for their stability for the to be a stalwart presence and protection for them he says i will be like mount zion i will ensure that you have everything that you need because i have chosen to dwell here and as you make your way up you can rest assured that you will experience me in my holy dwelling place in my habitation this my friend begins for us in verses one and two the personal proclamations i lift mine eyes to the heels listen to the to the emphatic nature of this where does my help come from i'll answer for myself my help comes from the lord which made heaven and earth my friend as you go through life circumstances life's situations although we're grateful for all of the human help that we have on this earth aren't you grateful that we can lift our gaze to a divine help that is available to us all of our help comes from the lord who is the maker of heaven and earth think about that that the god who made heaven the god who made the earth is available to help you now the god who is the maker of all things visible and invisible is available to help you the god who is the god of the tangible and the intangible is available to help you this ought to be your constant refrain my help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth all that i need his hand will provide according to lamentations chapter three that according to the song songwriter who made it from lamentations chapter 3 that this god of ours is faithful that this god of ours can do what we need this god to do and so when you read these first two verses with this personal proclamation you understand that this is a reality that stems from a relationship my help comes from the lord who is the maker of heaven and earth let's keep going because not only do we find the personal proclamation given to us in verses one and two but i suggest in the second place and this is the second and final point that there are priestly pronouncements that we need to consider there are priestly pronouncements that need to be considered let's look at the priestly pronouncements i'm going to read again verses three through eight and see if you can well see if you can hear what i'm saying with regard to the pronouncements that this secondary speaker speaks back to the first speaker remember there's call and response remember that and this call and response is about the providential protection of god listen to what the priest says he will not suffer your foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber behold he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep the lord is thy keeper the lord is thy shade upon thy right hand the sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night the lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul the lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore that the church say amen now watch the text my friends because what you find out first of all in these verses verses three through verses three and following is that the priest gives back to this individual who's coming toward him with a great faith with a great confidence in god he says let me tell you about this god who is your helper first of all you need to understand he gives constant stability constant stability he will not suffer will not allow will not permit your foot to be moved your foot to slip you got to remember the picture we're on our journey right we're making our way up mount zion's slippery slopes we're on our way to the holy city of god and this mountainous terrain can be tricky to navigate and so the psalmist says well the priest says back to the original psalmist listen you need to understand that the god that you're talking about who is your helper gives you consistent constant stability in these unstable times and let's be clear whether you're talking about the mountainous region of zion or we're talking about life as we try to navigate it day by day it's slippery the slopes of life can be unmanageable sometimes and the good news is that the psalmist says i want to the priest says i want to encourage you i want to let you know that the god that you serve the god that you love will presu will hold you preserve you is the word he'll use later but he will hold your feet steady he will hold your feet secure he will allow you to be stabilized in unstable circumstances he will stabilize you in your moments of instability he will hold you fast habekkak in the in the in the uh in the old testament uses the word he'll make my feet like the feet of a deer he'll make me to rise on the mountains that the feet of the deer are so manufactured by god so created by god that god allows them to start and stop with ease even in slippery or mountainous territory and this is what the the priest says back to the original speaker says listen the god that you serve your keeper your helper is going to stabilize you oh my goodness we need that in times like these our our sisters and brothers who are languishing after these natural disasters need to hear afresh and again that god will stabilize you those of us who are dealing with the reality that our finances are in a tizzy those of us who are dealing with the reality that our families are sometimes unstable we need to recognize that when we put our constant c relationship with god at the he stabilizes us that god gives us constant stability now for the hebrews this is not just literal this is also metaphorical and you got to catch this both uh it is a both a literal uh experience and a metaphorical experience while they're going up mount zion's slippery slopes it's literal that god keeps you stable that god stabilizes you keeps you from falling now unto him in that in the new testament it was able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before his presence this is a literal keeping from falling and likewise a metaphorical keeping you from slipping let's look at psalm 66 verse 9 psalm 66 verse 9 it is the metaphorical rendering of this god who keeps our feet psalm 66 verse 9. it's a beautiful passage of scripture i wish i could read it from the beginning it's really a praise psalm it starts off make a joyful noise unto god all ye land sing forth the honor of his name make his praise glorious by the time you get to verse 9 he says this god well verse 8 oh bless our god ye people and make the voice of his praise to be heard which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved all right this is the medical metaphorical rendering this is not just going up to the holy city of god this is how god keeps us through all of our lives i'm going to fast forward to the end of this little message and a little lesson and let you know that by the time you get to verse 8 you understand that everything that the secondary speaker has said to the initial speaker is to help that person understand that god is not just in troll in control of your going to and coming from the temple god is in control of the entirety of your life let's look at verse 8 again verse 8 in in psalm 121 the lord will preserve your going out and you're coming in from this time forth and even forevermore we'll get to it in a few minutes but that's that's the preview of coming attractions that god is trying to keep the entirety the whole of your life intact and so in psalm 66 he says he holds our soul in life that's literally what verses seven and eight will talk to us about that god holds our souls in life and does not allow our feet to be moved does not allow according to international version our feet to slip and that is both literal and metaphorical god is giving us constant stability in every scene of our lives and then we understand that god is is up to some constant activity not just that god has given given us constant stability but god is engaged in constant activity when you read verses 3 all the way down to verse 8 you recognize that god is constantly up to something in the lives of those who put their trust in him when you make the declaration i will lift up mine eyes to the heels where does my help come from my help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth when you make that declaration when you believe it with your whole heart you will begin to experience the constant activity of god you recognize god not just in the big stuff but likewise in those little things and those what some would call minor moments of life in the minutia of our lives we see god at work you'll find the fingerprint of god in every experience of your life the constant activity of god is is referred to in these verses three through eight and i love it because what he gives to us is the reality that it is happening for us both as an individual but likewise as a communal activity of god that god does this on an individual basis but also does it as as the community gathers together listen again to the words of the scripture he will not suffer your foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber that's verse 3. verse 4 says behold look now he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep don't get it twisted just because we want to claim god as our personal god does not deny the fact that he is available to the entirety of the community that god is keeping all of god's people intact that god's activity is over all of his people he's over all of his people that's why we all never get too stuck on denominationalism because that separates us and divides us all of god's people are covered under the banner of god's protection that god is providing for all of his people and we can't put all these schisms and rifts in the body of christ to separate and to divide because god is always about the business of bringing us together listening to the words of jesus on the last night of his life when he prays to god he says lord i want them to be one even as you and i are one and so we are we understand from verses three and four that this constant activity of god the constant activity of god is both for the individual and for the community the community at large this is a blessing boat that is both individual and communal now here's the good meat of the text the good meat of the text is what happens in verse 5. i love verse 5 because verse 5 goes like this the lord is thy keeper when i preach psalm 121 that's all i've read you know how i like to do a little short verse of scripture and say that's enough that's where our that's this is the this is the linchpin of the entirety of psalm 121. verse 5 says the lord is thy keeper keeper this word keeper in the hebrew is samar samar is the one who according to doing the national version watch this watches over us the one who safeguards us the one who is always has a watchful eye on his people yeah the lord watches over us it's the same word that is used in psalm 1. psalm 1 at the very end of someone you'll remember the lord watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish the lord is the one who keeps us and sustains us and protects us this is the word keeper samar is a word that is used five times in psalm 121. that's why we know that this is the focus of psalm 121 that in psalm 121 the word keeper is used samar is used five times now there are two different words for it one is keep the other is preserved let's look at it verse 3 he will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth some are thee will not slumber verse 4 behold he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep verse 5 the lord is thy keeper verse 7 the lord shall preserve same word samar preserve thee from all evil is the hebrew word samar and then verse 8 the lord shall preserve samar by going out and thy coming in what the secondary speaker wants this original speaker to understand is that in every scene in every situation of your life the lord is keeping you yeah the lord is protecting you we sing old to be kept by jesus because we understand that through every lot of life that we have to encounter the lord preserves us protects us keeps us the only way you have survived till this point in time on this wednesday is because the lord has kept you the only way that you're able to understand what i'm saying if you can do that is because the lord is keeping you is preserving you here's the here's the new international version he's watching over you and this is what the psalmist wants this sec this original speaker this initial speaker to understand that the lord is keeping you and the lord is preserving you now let's look at how the lord does it he keeps you he keeps you by not allowing your foot to slip and he's watching over you because he refuses to go to sleep he refuses to slumber while he's taking care of you as a matter of fact the son is not going to smite you by day nor the moon by night he's going to be your shade on your right hand right he's going to make sure that the elements do not harm you they're making a journey remember the journey they're on their way up mount zion slope slippery slope and as they're making their way up the slopes of mount zion he says to them wait a minute i know that sometimes the sun the scorching sun is beaming down on you and the lord shades you shields you from that but likewise at night the moon is the that reference it is idiomatic of of the the marauders and the looters that would hide out in the crags of the mountains those who would hide out to seek to harm people you must understand that when you look at moon from the word lunar they understood the strange things of the night to be menacing for them as they're making their way to and from the holy city of jerusalem and so when they says the moon by night the the reference the metaphorical reference is to those who would hide out and seek to attack uh those who were making their way to and from the holy city of jerusalem this lunar business was always that which which tripped up the the the israelites and when you read matthew's gospel in matthew believes chapter 4 and in chapter 17 you'll see the word lunatic i brought my son to you jesus he is dealing with the lunacy of his times it's a he is a lunatic it is literally that same word from the moon that connects that menacing darkness the menacing darkness that could seek to overthrow you overshadow you to cause terror to cause tremor to cause frustration in one's life and so we understand that this god is able to keep us from that now watch what the bible calls god the god that we understand as keeper is your shade on your right hand your shade on your right hand this psalm has been connected in fair in various ways with psalm 91 i want to look at psalm 91 and check out a few a few comparisons between psalm 91 and psalm 121. psalm 91 is likewise a psalm about god's protection something about god's protection i want you to see some of the words that are repeated in psalm 91 we're going to do a whole lot of quick bible study right through here in these last few minutes that we have like 14 minutes left and we're going to move swiftly to look at various passages of scripture because when you understand that god is your shade according to psalm 91 it is according to psalm 121 it is the same word in psalm 91 that is found in verse 1. if you know psalm 91 you're encouraged by these words he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty there it is it is the exact same hebrew word one word in 91 is shadow another word in psalm 121 is shade it's the exact same hebrew word literally suggesting that god covers us with god's own presence the the metaphorical look of god visage of god is covering his people it's covering his people it is another way of saying in other psalms the shadow of his wings that you'll see that in several psalms that god covers us under the shadow of his wing i want to look at that psalm 17 uses that phrase psalm 17 uses that phrase shadow of his wing psalm 17 verse 8 reads like this keep me as the apple of the eye hide me under the shadow of thy wings the hebrew people understood themselves to be the apple of god's eye he says keep you see that word again keep me that's the same samara word that hebrew word keep me as the apple of the eye hide me under the shadow of thy wings but likewise in psalm 36 psalm 36 that same phrase is given because they understood god to be a protector whose very shadow wouldn't look at the very face of god but the shadow of god would shield them would guard them psalm 36 verse 7 how excellent is thy loving kindness oh god therefore the children of men put their trust here it is under the shadow of thy wings you're going to protect us you're going to shield us psalm 57 verse 1. psalm 57 verse 1 same phrase is used there again which reminds the people over and over and over again that god is your protector psalm 57 verse 1 be merciful unto us unto me o god be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee yea in the shadow of thy wings will i make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed that's some good stuff right there psalm 57 verse 1 says i'm putting my trust under the shadow of thy wings until all this drama in my life is past until i'm moving past all of the challenges with which i have to deal with all of the national challenges with all the state challenges with all the personal challenges all the family challenges all the financial challenges all the physical i'm putting my trust in you till all of these calamities be overpassed then finally psalm 63 psalm 63 finally on this point psalm 63 verse 7 it reads like this because thou hast been my help therefore in the shadow of thy wings will i rejoice watch you see the country distinction between verse psalm 57 and then psalm 63 in psalm 57 he says i'm going to take refuge under the shadow of your wings that's great because i i know you'll protect me there but in psalm 63 he says i'm going to rejoice under the shadow of your wings because i know i'm in safety there so because i'm in safety there i can both take up refuge and i can rejoice oh child of god he or she that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty that god has a special secret place for us where we can abide in him and find refuge and we can rejoice that's psalm 91 verse 1 but if you continue to read through psalm 91 you'll see more comparisons between 91 and 121. let's look at it because as you keep on reading through it you'll find that that there is this inference between day and night you'll remember that in psalm 121 the sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night check out verse 5 in psalm 91 thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night remember the lunacy the lunatic that moonlight you should not be afraid for the terror by night go for the arrow that flieth by day you don't have to worry about verse six the pestilence that walketh in darkness go for the destruction that wasteth at noonday there is this comparison between day and night in psalm 91 and psalm 121. if i had time i'd go to psalm i'm sorry isaiah 49 i want you to read isaiah verse chapter 49 verses 8 through 16 and you'll find out the same kind of protective custody is given to us there it is even in that space that god says i've been graving you on the palm of my hand i'm going to protect you in the daytime and the nighttime i've got you covered in every scene and season of your life and so we'll see in psalm 121 this consistent refrain of keep keep keep watch over preserve same thing is written and for us in psalm 91 at verse 11. psalm 91 verse 11 you'll see these words for he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways that word keep is samar they shall bear thee up in their thy their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone there it is again he's going to keep your feet from slipping he's going to hold your feet steady and so he's guarding us he's keeping us in verses 11 and 12 remind us of the very same things that are given to us in psalm 121 this consistency this back and forth is necessary for us to understand the protective custody that god keeps us in god keeps us under and so there is the call and response between the original speaker who reminds everybody in earshot i will lift up mine eyes to the heels where does my help come from you need to know my help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth that priest talks back to him he says you're absolutely right about this listen to the pronouncements i'm going to give you he's going to hold your feet stable and steady he's going to make sure that the sun doesn't get you by day that the moon doesn't get you at night he's going to make sure that he's your shade upon your right hand that no matter what you go through no matter what you deal with that the god who is your protector will providentially surround you with his own presence so that you will feel the safety that he chooses to keep his children in who trust in him now i've got to close but i want to close it in a way that may not appear on the screen but i want us to look again at verses 7 and 8. i told you this is a lifelong journey these last pronouncements that the psalmist gives to us that the priest gives he says the lord shall preserve thee shall some are thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul the lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore that the god we serve is not just interested in your to and from church that's one thing that's that's a great thing that's surface that's on the surface level but when you go beneath the surface to the substratum being underneath the surface you'll find out that this god is more interested in the whole of your life the expanse of your life than just the seasonal movement from place to place that's why even though we're in captivity right now we're in exile right now we're so grateful that god is not just concerned about us getting to and from church he's going to bring us back to church and we're going to celebrate this god who has protected us throughout these months as god has who has preserved us throughout these months is the god who is to be praised he is the one who is both our refuge and the one in whom we should rejoice and he is doing this throughout the entirety of our lives he's preserving us watch from all evil he is preserving our souls he's preserving our going out and our coming in when you get a chance i want you to check out deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 6. deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 6 write it down it reads like this blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out these are the blessings that are given to the israelite people who will be obedient to the will of god to the word of god to the ways of god and when you read all of chapter 28 you'll see all of the blessings that are given to them and the bible says in verse 2 of chapter 28 that all these blessings are going to overtake you they're going to overtake you you're going to be overtaken by the blessings of the lord you're going to be blessed in the city you'll be blessed in the field the be your fruit of your body and the fruit of the ground will be blessed food of your cattle the increase of your kind and the flocks of your sheep blessed shall be your basket and your store and he's going to ensure that even if your enemies come at you one way verse 7 says they're going to flee in seven different directions those are the blessings of those who will put it be who will be in communion with and in relationship with god because he is their protector when you read psalm 125 you'll find out another one of the psalms of ourselves says they that trust in the lord shall be as mount zion which shall not be cannot be removed watch again what verse 2 says we looked at it earlier as the mountains are round about jerusalem so the lord is round about his people watch the language from henceforth even forever is that what you see in psalm 121 he's going to preserve your going out and you're coming in from this time forth even forevermore from henceforth and forever the same thing that is written in psalm 131 yet another psalm of his sin because in that third verse the psalmist says let israel let the people of god hope in the lord how long from henceforth and forever god is trying to ensure that the entirety the expanse the whole of your life is under god's protective care and so i'm grateful that god is not just interested in our sunday experiences he's not just interested in our wednesday experiences god is interested in our everyday circumstances that's why you can take everything to god in prayer you can take every circumstance of life to god because god is concerned about every situation in your life and he's covering you he's covering you remember what paul wrote remember what paul wrote to the book to the people in rome when he writes romans chapter 8 verse 38 i'm going to close with that because it just reads so well i wish i could read it all but our time will not allow but in romans chapter 8 verse 38 paul says for i am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus when we understand that god wants to ensure that when we go out and when we come in that nothing's going to separate us from his love nothing is going to separate us from his protective care i'm excited that we have a god that we can celebrate as our help yeah i will lift up mine eyes to the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth and this lord is not just concerned about one aspect of my life one facet of my life you need to understand the providential protection of god is from this time forth and even forevermore and the providential protection of god is to preserve us from all evil he's trying to preserve there it is our soul our very life that breathing part of the individual he's trying to make sure that your life is protected and preserved he's protecting you're going out and you're coming in from this time forth and even forever more so we rejoice today with these psalmists this original speaker who makes this personal proclamation and then we rejoice with this priest who gives us priestly pronouncements about who our god is and we recognize afresh with the psalmists who sing in this contemporary age that all of our help hallelujah all of our help comes from the lord so rest in the lord today my sister rest in the lord today my brother the lord our god is consumed with you he wants you to be consumed with him and be grateful for his providential protection that's our study for today in psalm 121 comparing it with psalm 91 and so many other of the psalms and other passages of scripture as we get back together on sunday lord willing we're going to look at another psalm of ascent and we'll be back on sunday i'm sorry on next wednesday lord willing with yet another psalm of essent as we recognize how these psalmists these singers lifted up their voices and even their eyes to a god who was working on their behalf until then the lord bless you and keep you is my prayer

Channel: Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

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Length: 60min 42sec (3642 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 08 2021