3-4 He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep. Psalm 121 MSG - A Pilgrim Song I look up to the - Bible Gateway. The Study Bookmark for Psalms 107-150 (Book V): [ view sample ] 1 per page [ pdf ] 4 per page [ pdf ] Introduction. Scripture: Psalms 107:1-43, Psalms 119:67-71, Hebrews 12:11, Psalms 121:1-2, Romans 8:28 (view more) (view less) Denomination: Charismatic Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” There is a very simple message here: God never sleeps, slumbers or naps. Grant (Psalms 73-106). Elsewhere the phrase functions as a merismus referring simply to the general activity of life” (734). My help cometh from the Lord; literally, my help is from the Lord. Tucker offers important context for this image: Within the larger ancient Near Eastern tradition, the gods were frequently depicted as sleeping. It’s normal to have fear and uncertainty about how or if you’ll make it. The God of Israel is your protector (3-6) The second truth is this: the God of Israel is your protector. Pursue a deeper knowledge of God through self-paced college- and seminary-level online courses in Old and New Testament studies, theology, biblical Greek, and more. God provides this kind of 'help' because he is ‘the Maker of heaven and earth’” (732). (731–732). And yet the psalmist exudes confidence, which is rooted in the character of Yahweh. Psalm 121 subverts these prevailing notions of the deities, for as the “Guardian of Israel,” Yahweh remains on watch to protect his people, neither slumbering nor sleeping. G. Forbes, The Voice of God in the Psalms, p. 94. The one-hundred and twenty-first psalm has been one of my favorites for years. (729). Compare (Deut. Yahweh is that friend standing at the right hand, fending off potential threats—an image found elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 16:8; 109:31; 110:5). The psalmist assures those who pray this psalm that we do not walk alone—the Maker of heaven and earth journeys with us as our helper” (737). (731). 7-8 God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life.He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always. The psalmist rejects what is sometimes labeled as a “false dilemma” in logic—that there are only two solutions to the problem. The same is true for us. 3-4 He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.Not on your life! The images in the last three strophes of the psalm function as reminders that such sojourns are fraught with peril, whether it is getting lost along the way (v. 3a), being beaten down by natural forces (v. 6), or simply the more generalized notion of “harm” (v. 7a) that could beset any traveler. Psalms 121:2. will neither … It seems the latter understanding appears to be in view here, carrying forward the psalmic theme of confidence in Yahweh’s guard and watch over ever aspect of our life, now and forevermore. Some of you are new believers in the Lord, and you need to know that you are kept by God. “Psalm 121 is classified as a psalm of confidence meant to celebrate God’s providential care and is the second psalm in the Songs of Ascent” (429), which begin with Psalm 120. 5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. Psalm 121:1-8 My Help is a sermon based on a simple thought reflection about the way that God is the Great Helper to us when we have a need from Him. The psalmist addresses himself with consolatory assurances. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. Let’s consider the first part, Yahweh as helper and maker. (734–735). . This title is further explored and even exploited by invoking the metaphorical image of the sleeping deity. Beginning in verse 3, however, the language shifts to the second person (“you”). God watches over your life from beginning to end. But while road trip songs are typically silly and nonsensical, designed primarily to entertain and pass the time, this collection had a much larger theological purpose: “These psalms were confessional. Psalms 120-134 are each labeled as “A Song of Ascent”. And he wants to help you through life’s most difficult circumstances. The image of God in verses 1–2, however, shifts from “helper” to that of “guard” or “keeper” in the subsequent verses. Using Psalm 107, this sermon explores how God's love is expressed to us in the context of our troubles in life; then, how worship is birthed in our hearts out of these experiences. and His ears are open to their cry.” Illustration: Elijah on Mt. “Psalm 121 is classified as a psalm of confidence meant to celebrate God’s providential care and is the second psalm in the Songs of Ascent” (429), which begin with Psalm 120. As shade, Yahweh will protect the psalmist “from the searing heat of the sun by day and the dangers of the moon by night,” the latter image perhaps connected to the Babylonian moon god, Sîn, which was thought to have caused a number of illnesses. 1–2; 3–4; 5–6; 7–8): The first strophe provides an overarching thematic claim for the entire psalm, namely, the Lord will be the psalmist’s helper. After personally celebrating Yahweh’s guardianship in verses 1–2, the psalmist turns to give assurance to others in verses 3–8. What is the message of the Book of Psalms? I suspect it has been for you, as well. This means it is a Pilgrim Psalm; this means it is was sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to the holy city, Jerusalem. Psalm 121:8 "The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." 4 Not on your life! “Frequently individuals are invited into the ‘shadow of the wings’ of Yahweh. According to Tucker, the crux of Psalm 121 is this: "We have confidence that the Maker of heaven and earth stands as Guardian ‘watch[ing] over [our] coming and going both now and forevermore" In other words, this book will help you achieve both halves of the interpretive task: you will understand the passage’s original meaning and its contemporary application. The psalmist reinforces and extends the theme of Yahweh’s attentive and protective care in the final strophe with the repetition of the verb shamar (“to guard,” “to watch,” “to keep”) in verses 7a, 7b, and 8a. 1 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? “While the two words may appear synonymous, the first Hebrew term, num, refers to drowsiness or light sleep, while the second term, yashan, may be understood as sleep in the more traditional sense” (733). However, the mention of the sun and moon “has a rhetorical force that supersedes its literal meaning. Psalm 121 is part of a group of Psalms called the “Songs of Ascent,” which were sung each year by the Israelite people as they would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God at the temple.
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