Anticipating Worship: A Secure Journey
Psalms 121
April 10, 2022
That song we just sang is a new release by Sovereign Grace Music
And as you might have noticed, it was inspired by Psalms 121.
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/he-will-keep-you-psalm-121/
Psalm 121 is a Psalm that focuses on the power of God
To keep His own from all evil and to bring them safely home.
And we also notice that it was a Psalm which was sovereignly included in this group of Psalms known as “A Song of Ascents”
As I told you last time,
Psalms 120-134 all come with the same subheading: “A Song of Ascents”
• They were not all written together,
• Nor were they all written by the same author.
• But God saw fit, in His divine providence, to have them grouped together
• As a sort of hymn book for the children of Israel as they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem 3 times a year.
• Every Jewish male was required to travel to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and The Feast of Booths.
And these 15 Psalms became the songs they sang on the way.
We study them as a picture of what it means to ANTICIPATE WORSHIP
In a day where corporate worship has become less than a priority,
It is wonderful to us to have a segment of Scripture
Which focuses primarily on the joy and blessing and benefit
Of gathering with the saints to worship God.
Last time we studied Psalms 120 and pondered the fact that the corporate gathering serves as “A Sanctuary From Evil”
• We may live among liars in the world…
• We may live among those who hate peace…
• But when we gather with the saints we dwell in a place of truth, love, joy, and peace.
• It is a respite from the toil and struggle of living in an evil world and around evil men.
Well tonight we move on and we are taking a look at Psalms 121.
Now, immediately we notice that even though this is “A Song of Ascents”
There is nothing really mentioned regarding the blessing of worship.
Psalms 120 didn’t either, we just realized based upon his lament of living among liars why the corporate gathering was such a blessing.
Psalms 121 doesn’t mention the gathering either.
In fact, the blessing of the gathering doesn’t show up until Psalms 122
Psalms 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
But here we don’t get a mention of it yet.
The focus of this Psalm is not the joys of the corporate gathering,
But rather it focuses on arriving to that worship safely.
Even from the New Testament we are made aware that
THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM COULD BE A DANGEROUS ONE.
In particular if you were a Jew who lived in the northern regions
And had to travel south to Jerusalem through Samaria.
Perhaps you remember the disciples traveling through with Jesus,
• But the Samaritans would not welcome them in or lodge them.
• It infuriated James and John so much that they wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans.
Or perhaps you remember Jesus’ parable of “The Good Samaritan”
• Where highlighted for us was that dangerous road from Jericho to Jerusalem
• Where a man fell among robbers and thieves.
Travel wasn’t always safe.
And the terrain wasn’t easy.
Take the trip simply from Jericho to Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem is about 2500’ above sea level.
• Jericho is about 850’ below sea level (3350’ difference)
• And the distance is only 15 ½ miles.
Regardless of the safety of the journey,
The physical terrain alone would make it a very difficult one.
And that’s just one aspect of the journey.
THE POINT is, even though you were commanded
To attend corporate worship in Jerusalem,
That did not make the journey easy.
TODAY I think about people around the world who face similar difficulties.
When our family went skiing over spring break.
Each day we would leave the cabin early so we could park, but we would have time to kill once we arrived, so each morning we listened to R.C. Sproul talk about the book of Acts while we waited.
One day he spoke of a missionary friend in the Sudan.
And how he had lunch with that friend.
“As we were eating he showed me a picture of his family; his wife, four, five, or six kids… And there’s this picture of all these kids carrying guns. The adults AK-47’s, and the younger kids with different kinds of rifles, shotguns and everything. I asked “What’s that, a militia?” He said, “No, they’re going to church.” [I responded] “They’re going to church? What are they doing going to church? Why are they carrying guns?” He said, “Because the church has been bombed ten times by Muslims and we have to have our guns or they won’t stop shooting us.”
We live in a place where people skip church if
It’s too cold, too wet, or if a football game is on.
Imagine living in a land where you have to put a shotgun in the hand of your child to deter hostiles from shooting you.
Several here went to Malawi a few years back.
• You remember Pastor Felix and that group of women who rode bicycles 8 hours over a mountain just so they could come and hear the word of God.
• You remember them sleeping in a concrete slab
• And actually risking the danger of traveling at night just because they wanted to stay for one more session.
I point that out, not to shame you or make you feel bad.
I only want you to understand that
For some the journey just to worship can be a perilous one.
I simply want you to understand
• What it must’ve been like for these Jews to travel to Jerusalem for corporate
worship.
• What many in our day must endure to travel to a place of corporate worship.
Though nothing is mentioned here about the worship itself,
I should think it is obvious that their worship had value.
If you’ll travel for weeks on foot through dangerous country and up rugged terrain to worship there is clearly value and blessing there.
And that value and blessing will be discussed many times
Throughout our study of these 15 songs of ascents.
BUT TONIGHT, and it is fitting that this would be early on in the study,
• We DON’T discuss the joy of participating in corporate worship.
• We study the faith it took to get there
• And the sovereign protection of God to bring them there.
So let’s just listen in a real practical sense to what our Psalmist is saying
And see if we can’t get a practical understanding of the song.
Certainly, after we do that, we’ll read it again with spiritual eyes
And find why God has preserved this song for us.
But let’s begin by simply thinking about the things
That were going to make this journey difficult.
There’s 4 here.
#1 ENCUMBERMENT
Psalms 121: 1-3a
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth…”
Ever since my doctor told me I was too fat and inactive I’ve been on a diet and my wife has done her best to keep me exercising.
• So several mornings a week we gone a walk from our house, up the hill behind
Allsups, around the bottom, back up by the football stadium and back home.
And every time we make that journey we both dread that second hill.
(It’s nothing like the hill from Jericho to Jerusalem)
But could you imagine a journey to Jerusalem?
• And you knew that before you arrived
• You were going to have to make that 15 mile climb
• That rose over 3300 feet in elevation
As you stood in Jericho and YOU LOOKED UPWARD at the mountainous climb before you DO YOU UNDERSTAND why this song was sung?
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?”
When I look at that climb I don’t know how I’m going to get up there.
I think of those women from Pastor Felix’s church riding those bicycles over the mountain, and many of them hauling someone else.
We are here only discussing the difficulty of the terrain.
• High hills…
• Deep valleys…
• Unlevel paths…
• Holes and crags and steep hills…
You understand why one of the first songs in this group
Focuses on help in the journey.
“From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
• The hills I must climb are God’s hills.
• The weather I must endure is God’s weather.
• He is the Master of it all.
“And the God who commands me to gather
Is the God who also commands the earth upon which I travel.”
Our Helper is the Author of creation.
And then the beautiful promise.
“He will not allow your foot to slip;”
In every encumbrance that you will face,
God will strengthen and help you on this journey.
We think of how He cared for the children of Israel in the wilderness.
• How they ate bread from heaven…
• How they drank water from a rock…
• How their clothes and shoes never wore out…
These pilgrims set out for Jerusalem and sang this song of faith
That God would sustain them over rugged terrain.
Encumberment
#2 EXHAUSTION
Psalms 121:3-4
“He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Here we get our first occurrence of the word which dominates the song.
“keeps”
All throughout the song the focus is on God who keeps His children.
And here the focus seems to be against PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION.
• When traveling we all know what it is to make a travel plan.
• How far we need to get, how far we want to travel.
• Stopping to rest or sleep is not always a good thing when traveling.
• Sometimes it’s not even safe.
Beyond that we think even of the night.
• Who is to keep watch?
• Who is to stay awake to make sure no one steals supplies?
• Who is to watch for wild beasts?
Sleeping on the trip was not the safest thing to do.
AND HERE THAT IS ADDRESSED.
Those who understand Hebrew can give us better insight here.
They will tell you that the word “not” in verse 3
Is a word that is TYPICALLY RESERVED FOR REQUESTS.
What you actually have here is a part of the song where
One part sings the question and the other part sings the answer.
Group one sings: “May He not let your feet slip, may He not slumber.”
And then the second group would sing: “Look! He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!”
It was a song to remind those who traveled that
Even when we reach a point of exhaustion and rest must occur
That our God never slumbers or sleeps.
He who is the perpetual night watchman.
He is a constant guard over us.
What a comfort to sing such a song to one who is traveling
Through hostile and dangerous lands.
Encumberment, Exhaustion
#3 ELEMENTS
Psalms 121:5-6
Again we are reminded that “The LORD is your keeper;”
But that doesn’t simply reference to a guard around the camp.
There are other aspects that make the journey difficult.
Earlier we discussed the unlevel and treacherous terrain,
BUT THINK ABOUT THE WEATHER.
Passover occurs in the month of Nisan
• And the temperature is around 70 degrees without much variation,
• But it was month with heavy winds and could have heavy rains.
But the Feast of Weeks occurs in Sivan
• Where temperatures can be over 100.
The Feast of Booths occurs in Tishri
• With hot winds and potential rains.
That means that at least two of the mandated journeys
Could be taken in extremely high heat with blistering winds.
“The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day”
We think of the glory cloud that hovered over the children of Israel
As they traveled through the desert.
And here the pilgrims bank on it again.
But not only the heat of the day, but even the terrors of the night.
“Nor the moon by night”
The moon doesn’t burn you, but it can expose you.
But still, as they journeyed through all the elements
We see a faith that God would care for them and shield them.
Encumberment, Exhaustion, Elements
#4 EVIL
Psalms 121:7-8
“The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.”
Then there was the basic evils of wicked men.
• The man going down from Jerusalem fell among robbers.
• Certainly not everyone was happy about the children of Israel traveling to Jerusalem to worship.
• There was always the risk of evil men seeking to do harm.
And so as they traveled they sang of how God was a protector from evil,
And how God would guard them in front and behind forever.
The song makes perfect sense to us.
It is very practical.
Any father or mother, especially if traveling with their family
Would understand the importance of teaching such a song to the children
What a source of peace and comfort
As you faced the hardships of a journey in order to make it to Jerusalem
For the blessing of corporate worship.
BUT CERTAINLY THIS SONG IS MORE THAN JUST PRACTICAL.
This song was preserved by God that you and I might sing it and rejoice in it.
CERTAINLY THERE IS A SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE.
Granted those in Sudan or Malawi might even sing it in that same practical sense that the Israelites did,
But we find the physical journey to church to be much easier.
• We load up in a climate controlled car with cushioned seats and travel over paved roads at 70+ mph to get here.
• Most of the time we probably don’t give any thought to the physical journey we take to gather with the saints.
But what if we look at this song a little deeper and with a spiritual eye?
For we are all on a journey.
We are all on a pilgrimage.
I told you last week that the closest thing we get to a taste of heaven is when the saints gather together on Sundays for worship.
But even at that, we realize there is likely no real comparison.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly”.
In a very real sense we are also headed
To that great gathering of the saints for the true worship
That will occur in the new Jerusalem.
And you are certainly aware that our journey can be difficult.
WE ALSO FACE ENCUMBERMENT.
Maybe not literal mountains or hills,
But you are aware that in Scripture mountains often typify OBSTACLES.
• We think of Jesus telling us to believe and the mountains will move.
• We think of the promise to Zechariah that his mountain (the temple project) would become a plain (be completed).
In short, we face things that make our journey difficult.
Scripture often refers to them as “stumbling blocks”
• Things that might cause our foot to slip.
• Things that might cause us to trip.
• Things that would seemingly threaten to keep us from arriving at our destination.
Paul lists a few
Romans 8:35-39 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul just listed several encumberments that might cause us to trip,
But he reminded that “in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
In short, “He will not allow your foot to slip”
Jude 1:24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,”
Romans 16:25a “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…”
It is the promise that our God will keep us from stumbling
Even if life is fraught with rough terrain and terrible snares.
I told you we recently listened to “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom on our trip.
• This woman who was arrested for helping the Jews in WWII and endured such hardship at the hands of the enemy.
Or perhaps we think of some other story of great suffering
That children of God have faced in their lives.
Joni Eareckson Tada is the Christian author who is quadriplegic.
• I remember hearing her speak at “The Strange Fire Conference” several years ago where she shared about the hardships of having cancer.
Or we think of men like Horatio Spafford
• Who wrote “It is Well With My Soul”
• And how his only son died,
• His business burned in the great Chicago fire,
• And then his wife and daughters were shipwrecked and only his wife survived.
We think of such lives and such difficult terrain that they traveled
And we wonder why they never fell away from God.
We wonder why they never broke out in anger
And cursed God and departed.
And the answer is because God would not allow their foot to slip.
• He held them.
• He kept them.
• And they never stumbled.
That is a hope we sing of as we travel this journey as well.
WE ALSO FACE EXHAUSTION
• We grow tired and weary.
• We at times want to stop.
• We wonder who will guard us through the long dark night.
But we read truths:
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”
Paul spoke of a day of exhaustion; spiritual exhaustion.
AND YET, GOD DELIVERED
And Paul said, “And He will yet deliver us…”
He understood that when his strength was gone, God’s remained.
He understood that GREAT PROMISE given through Isaiah:
Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
We will go on because God strengthens us to go on.
We will endure because God comforts us in our affliction.
We know the journey will be difficult.
We knew that when it began.
But we sing of a God who “will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Our God keeps the constant night watch
Even when we are too tired to endure.
WE ALSO FACE THE ELEMENTS
Oh, it may not be literal physical weather…
But the bad weather Israel faced came from the same source
As our daily hardships. It is all a result of THE SIN CURSE.
Life is hard.
Suffering is real.
This would be a good time to insert the book of Ecclesiastes
That reminded us that toil is real and death is certain.
Jesus said that in this life we would face tribulation.
We know what it is to suffer the effects of living in a sin-cursed world.
• Now there is sickness and pain and disease and death.
• Now there is evil and wickedness and cruelty and deception.
• This is not how it was originally created, but sin has corrupted our world.
• We live in the elements of a fallen creation.
Sometimes even literal elements.
Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 11:26-27 “I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”
Sometimes life brings real physical hardships.
Sometimes those elements are of A SPIRITUAL VARIETY
Like grief or pain or regret or guilt or shame.
And any one of those things might be more than we could bear.
But “The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.”
Everyone in here has at one point or another
Faced a tragedy or hardship in your life.
And yet, if we are honest, we can all give the testimony that
“His grace is sufficient”
The sun did in fact beat down for a season,
But His shade made it bearable.
And many, after deliverance, can look back at such times
And wonder how they ever survived it.
It is because God “is your shade on your right hand.”
• Those encumberments…
• Your exhaustion…
• The cruel elements of life…
None of those things can keep you from arriving
At the destination of worship because “The LORD is your keeper”
John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
AND WE ALSO FACE EVIL
We understand promises of persecution.
• We understand the analogy of being outcasts and aliens on earth.
• We understand that this world is starting to hate us and that this rage will only grow stronger.
We see the corruption of our culture…
We hear what is being promoted in our society as good…
Our world is antichrist.
Evil abounds.
And yet, “The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.”
As Martin Luther wrote:
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the Right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who That may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.
That Word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru Him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still; His kingdom is forever.
God keeps our soul.
Listen to Isaiah:
Isaiah 43:1-7 “But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
Listen to Paul:
2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Again:
2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
Listen to Peter:
1 Peter 5:8-11 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
That is a very comforting passage to me.
The God who called you and commanded you to come to this new Jerusalem
Is the God who will Himself “perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
If you’ve never looked up those 4 words and their Greek definition they make a wonderful progression.
“perfect” is a word that is used of mending nets.
• When you are broken and torn and God has to sew you back together.
“confirm” is a word that means “to prop”.
• After God sews you back together he props you up on your feet.
“strengthen” is a word that means exactly that.
• God puts strength into those feeble legs so that they can stand on their own.
“establish” is a like to set it in concrete so that it never falls again.
• God is the one who helps us in the midst of all evil.
• God is the one who sustains us in the face of the roaring lion.
I want to give you one more passage tonight in closing.
I would call this passage the New Testament equivalent of Psalms 121
The Jews of old sang this song as they physically traveled to Jerusalem
To worship with the saints.
We also are on a journey to join the saints in glory.
Here is our version of this glorious Psalm.
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
We are also traveling to a place of glory and worship.
• And right now we are “distressed by various trial”
• Encumberment – Exhaustion – Elements – Evil
But all it will do is prove our faith
• Because we “are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
And as a result, we sing this song
• And we “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”
We are promised a secure journey.
That means we will each arrive at our destination!
God has promised.
HE WILL KEEP YOU!
