I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not permit your foot to be moved: he that keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper: the LORD is your shade upon your right hand. The sun shall not smite 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 for evermore. (Psalm 121)

The rhetorical question asked by the Psalmist is, "Shall I lift up my eyes unto the hills for help?" The suggestion is whether I look to the horizon in the hope that help will come my way from sources other than the Lord. The implied answer of the Psalmist is, of course, "No." He then says WHY: "My help comes from the Lord."

What we find here is not only a question and answer for everyday life, but one which applies to salvation itself – the eternal decision as to who I will trust. Will my faith be in the Lord Jesus Christ – and all that He has done? Or will it be in something else – myself, money, this life, other people? Will I lift up my eyes to something other than Jesus Christ? Or will I say, with the Psalmist, "My help comes only from the Lord?"

In the final analysis, this is THE question which each of us is going to answer. We may tragically spend our lives side-stepping the question, even denying that it has been asked. Some of us may even give lip service to the right answer. But in the end, we will either believe and trust God, or we will not. We are making this choice NOW – as we encounter each situation in life. We are either affirming our faith, or affirming our unbelief. We are heading in one overall direction or another.

Make no question about it: I am going to put my trust and reliance somewhere. Man was made by God a dependent creature. You don’t have to work at being dependent – you already are. It is the KIND of creature you are to be dependent. It is just a matter of who or what you are dependent upon. Even the most self-assured of people are only that because their dependency upon something other than God has deluded them into a sense of security. Remove the object of their faith and they will crumble into a heap. The question is therefore, "Upon whom do I rely? Who is my trust?"

It is during the crisis that the real answers to these questions come forth. Anyone can spout Biblical doctrine and say they trust God. But when my false security is shattered, and the storms begin to shake my house, to whom do I go? Do I pray? Do I seek God with all my heart? Do I deepen my surrender to Him? Or do I look to the "hills" for help?

"Belief," and, "trust," of course, emerge from a confidence in the Lord – from the confidence that He is faithful to me. Those who trust the Lord believe that He is with them; watching over them. This is the theme of this Psalm. The Psalmist says, "The Lord is thy Keeper."

But you know, there is a certain twist some people have when they say, "I trust God." Sometimes it really isn’t trust at all. For many people, God is nothing more than a "get out of jail free card." What I mean by that is this: There are many people who openly state that they believe that God is, "with them," and, "watching over them," -- but who have no intention of seeking His will. They are traveling around their, "monopoly board of life," and once every time around, they give God the lip service they think He wants, so that they can, "pass go," collect $200," and perhaps get a, "get out of jail free card," in case something goes wrong. Thus, they feel at ease. But this is not faith in God. It is dead religion. And it is deception. It is not what this Psalm teaches, or how God works.

Each of us need to get something settled once and for all. Trust in God means SURRENDER to Him. It means unconditional surrender to Him – TO HIS WILL. It means that even if I don’t know what God’s will is at this point, that I nevertheless trust that it is sufficient that He knows. I am committed to seeing God have His way worked out.

UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER? Unconditional surrender to God is the ONLY KIND there is! It is the only kind He will accept. What? Do we think we can trust God "conditionally?" No. There is no such thing as faith, in the Bible, unless it equals surrender to the One in whom I trust.

Consequently, we need to understand that God is not, "on our side." Being, "on our side," has never been an option or a consideration in the mind of God. Rather, the question is whether we are on HIS SIDE. If we are, then Psalm 121, and so much more, applies to us in the path we are walking. But if we are walking in our own will, trying to get God to come over and support us, we are deluded. Our so-called faith in God, in that case, may be nothing more than a religious extension of our rebellion against Him – a way of legitimizing our refusal to consider Him. We are really saying, "I want Your will God – as long as it agrees with my will."

There are scores of people on this earth, some of them may even be converted, who walk continually in their own will and in their own ways, and never even give serious consideration to God’s will for them. They give the obligatory, "God is with me," and, "all things will work together for good," but do so without ever stopping to pray, inquire into the Word, or open themselves up to God. We need to call this what it is: Unbelief and rebellion. It does not have to be nasty or totally conscious. It can be nice, civilized, and even religious. But it is SIN – sin we need to be delivered from.

The brutal fact is: God is NOT with people who ignore, neglect, or refuse to consider Him. He just isn’t. Now, He does love them, and want to redeem them, and desires with all His heart to bring them over to His will and His way. God may, in fact, be quite active in trying to get their attention for those reasons. But in the way that they are going -- GOD IS NOT WITH THEM! He cannot support people in their path of rebellion and self-destruction.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalms 10:4-5)

Of course, God is FOR everyone. But if we are walking out of His will, He is AGAINST what we are doing. He will not help us destroy ourselves by blessing such a life. He will, in fact, because He loves us, set Himself against everything we are doing, so that we will turn back to Him.

We need to come to terms with this, if I am walking in my own will, GOD IS AGAINST ME! Not against me in the sense of cursing me, or being vindictive. But against me in the sense that He will not help me destroy myself, and He will do whatever He deems necessary to STOP ME and OPPOSE ME, so that I will finally turn around, repent, and come over to HIM.

James gives us this teaching in terms which cannot be misunderstood:

But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:6-10)

The bottom line is, the PROUD do not submit to God. They do their own thing, and might even think God is blessing them. The HUMBLE submit to God. James says it clearly: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

This passage from James, and a similar one in I Peter 5, shows both the availability of God to help us, but also the need for us to come to HIM. How many times Jesus said, "Come to Me!" These invitations are predicated upon the fact that God has ALREADY taken the initiative to first come to us – and has told us so. God then reveals Himself to us and waits. He leaves it to us to then come over to HIM.

God has made a wonderful promise to us. He says that if we will not settle for less than His will, that He will not settle for less. Do we grasp the magnitude of this promise? It means that no matter how long it takes, and no matter what obstacles seem to be in the way, and no matter how impossible it might appear, that God has a will that He wants in my life, and in the situations which I encounter. And if I will pray, and will believe, and will obey, God promises that His will shall be done. Otherwise, the words, "Thy kingdom done, Thy will be done," should have an asterisk attached – saying, "maybe." No. If we put our trust in God against all obstacles we will see the will of God come to pass. Every time.

Now, there are really two reasons why we need to surrender ourselves to God – why we need to understand, and LIVE IN, the reality that the Lord is our ONLY HELP. The first is a positive reason: We benefit. How can you lose giving your life to Christ? You receive life eternal and freedom from sin. And you enter into a relationship with God through His Son that will heal every part of you; set your life in His will and order.

The second reason we must come to God is negative: Our accountability to God is absolute. You and I are going to personally answer to God. There will be no escape from this fact. If we have surrendered to Him, this will, of course, be something to look forward to. But if we have lived life on our own terms, we are going to judged. Indeed, that judgment has already begun.

In the final analysis, the sin of the human race is not so much the things we do. The things we do are the outcome of the real sin. The real sin of the human race is independence from God. It is our refusal to submit to Him, seek Him, and be accountable to Him, all in the name of seeking our own will and purpose in life. This is not only the most stupid thing we could do, but it is the most wicked. We need to come to terms with the fact that we were made to live with God forever.

There is a certain mentality among people which suggests that our faith, surrender, and obedience to God really doesn’t matter – God is nevertheless with us, because, after all, God is love. But this is error. It is deception. Sure, God DOES love us. But it is precisely because God IS love that He will not be with us in our path of destruction.

If I had a teenage son living in my house, and this son was selling drugs, would it be LOVE for me to continue to provide a place for him to do this? If I confront him, even lovingly, he will probably rebel and move out. But if I let the sin go, and do not confront it, I end up helping him destroy himself. What should I do? Obviously, confront him. If he is going to destroy himself, it needs to be without my help or neglect.

Love always seeks the highest for the one loved. This is God’s love for us. He isn’t going to bless our rebellion, or, "be with us," in it. The fact that there are people who are going to end up in eternal hell ought to tell us that! God loves them. But He does not compromise with them. God isn’t coming over to their side. They must come over to HIS SIDE and be saved.

God does seek out all people – to bring them over to HIS WILL. As mentioned, the question isn’t whether God is with us. It is whether we are with God. And if we think that there are not consequences for being out of God’s will, and if we think that there are not blessings for being in God’s will, then we are betraying our lack of reverence for God. It DOES make a difference. A BIG difference. Again – do some people go to hell, or don’t they? Does faith in God matter, in this life, and eternally?

The Psalmist says that he is not going to lift up his eyes to the hills, hoping that that the "cavalry" comes riding in – he will not look elsewhere for help. His help comes from the Lord.

How easy is it to get into the will of God? The moment I turn my eyes away from other potential objects of my faith, and back to God, I AM BACK IN HIS WILL. It may take a bit of time, and practical obedience, to bring my outward life into conformity with His will, but the moment my faith is in God, I have surrendered to God. If my faith is real, I will bring the rest of my life in line with my faith. I can start right NOW.

The way to know the will of God, indeed, to know God Himself, is to surrender to God. There is no such thing as a real faith which is not surrender. To say that I trust God with myself, and then refuse to surrender my whole self to Him, is contradictory. It really amounts to faith without works. It is dead religion. Faith ALWAYS surrenders. Always.

If it were hailing baseball sized pellets outside, and you saw a building you believed you could trust to shelter you from the hail, what value would your faith hold if you then refused to run into the building? Likewise, if you see that Jesus Christ is your only hope, and acknowledge Him as your Deliverer from sin and death, but then don’t surrender to Him, do you REALLY believe? No. Do you really want deliverance from sin? No. You merely gave lip service to a Bible doctrine. But you never surrendered.

This is why conversion without MORAL repentance isn’t real conversion. Coming to Jesus means you are coming TO HIM, yes, but also coming OUT OF where to have been – in Adam, in sin, in your own will. In other words, repentance means CHANGE – a change of mind. Instead of living for ourselves, we have to repent of that and begin living for God.

The notion that Jesus is nothing more than a blessing machine who never requires repentance, but is simply there to dispense eternal life, is nonsense. We cannot and will not be able to embrace God’s free offer of eternal life unless we surrender the old life; unless we repent. Surrendering the old life IS – IS – IS – conversion. Unless we do it, we will have no moral capacity for the new life. Conversion always involves repentance and surrender. And that ALWAYS means to forsake what you have been before. You COME TO Jesus by coming OUT OF Adam.

That is why the word for church means, "called out ones" – called out of the world to Jesus. That is why the word, "redemption," is used – it means to buy BACK to God, from the realm of darkness. That is why the word, "repentance, " is used – it means to, "change one’s mind" – about sin, and about God. That is why the word, "conversion," is used – it means to, "to turn around" – from walking in my own will, to walking in God’s will. SURRENDER to God presupposes we have something TO surrender. Namely US. Namely our old sinful nature. This surrender is what faith is all about. We give our whole selves to Christ by faith.

So when we read this Psalm, and notice that the Psalmist is saying, "the Lord is my helper," and, "the Lord is my keeper," we need to keep this in mind. He is NOT saying that God is going to finance and affirm him and be with him in whatever he wants to do. No. Rather, in acknowledging that God is his only help, the Psalmist is surrendering unconditionally into the Lord’s hands. And THEN – as the outcome of this faith – he is able to say, "Now the Lord is my helper and my keeper. I am on HIS side, and consequently, there is nothing that can move me, defeat me, or due me real harm. I belong to God."

I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

The picture being painted here is a person who could possible look away from God to some other source of help. Are not all of us faced with that temptation? It can, at times, be subtle. Perhaps we aren’t actually trusting in something other than God. But are eyes are roaming the horizon, wondering if there is a way out of our predicament which we can work through our own strength.

Well, such human solutions have all been tried before, haven’t they? Many of the heroes of faith temporarily lifted up their eyes to the hills – not necessarily in rebellion against God – but perhaps just out of emotional despair. Part of any trial of faith is the necessity of facing the silence of God, and the darkness of desperation, which may come to us because of fear, strong emotions, and limited perception. It is at that point that we think that perhaps we hoped for too much from God. Or that maybe, "it’s just us" – that somehow we missed God’s will. Maybe we think the way Abraham did, and begin to allow for the possibility that we misunderstood God’s promise. Abraham lifted up his eyes to the hills, and one of those hills held out the fulfillment of God’s promise through Sarah’s handmaiden, in the form of Ishmael. Abraham went that route, but God was faithful to bring him back.

These first words of Psalm 121, as mentioned, present the question of giving one’s life to Christ for salvation – in a somewhat veiled way. But it is a question which we must answer again and again as we WORK OUT our salvation in the practical choices of life. Do I really believe – to the point of risking EVERYTHING – that God is my faithful helper?

Now again – we need to understand what this question means. It means, "Do I believe that if I trust God, and refuse to be moved from faith and obedience, that God will bring to pass HIS WILL in my situation?" Not MY WILL – but HIS WILL! Do I believe that? Am I willing to believe and leave the consequences of my faith and obedience to God? Well, either I am, or I am not. In the end, it really IS that simple. Do I believe that God will be faithful?

It is always wise, and a real help in clearing confusion, to bring yourself back to these honest and basic questions. I have found that if I ask myself, "Do I really believe God is faithful to do His will in this?," that it saves me a lot of time and grief struggling over other issues. Why? Because in the final analysis, this is THE issue. DO I BELIEVE? And if I do, I WILL – not maybe – risk everything on God. Again – faith always carries unconditional surrender.

The writer of Hebrews put this whole idea of where are eyes should be focused so well:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. (Heb 12:1-4)

You will notice that FAITH doesn’t necessarily mean that I KNOW all of the facts, or even know WHAT God will do. NO, no, a thousand times NO. Faith rests in the fact that God knows. In other words, instead of lifting my eyes up to the, "horizon of my own understanding," I keep them on Jesus. Doing that doesn’t require much understanding. It just requires faith and surrender.

The Psalmist brings sanity to his faith in God by acknowledging Him as the maker of all heaven and earth. In this we see that there is always MORE OF GOD than our understanding of Him – and that God is just a bit bigger than any problem we might have. Not only does this bring sanity to our faith, but it shows us as fools if we don’t trust God. Upon what "hill" do we think we are going to find better help than from God?

He will not permit your foot to be moved.

If I am walking in the will of God – and it starts with faith and is executed with obedience – then I cannot slip and fall. Why? Because God will hold me. God always holds up those walking in His will. That is because it is where He wants them to walk.

For You will light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places. (Psalms 18:28-33)

To have, "your foot moved," i.e., "to slip," would be the consequence of walking in spiritually dangerous places without a proper equilibrium. When we believe, we are as steady as God is steady. We are being told here that FAITH in God provides us with the equilibrium needed. Why? Because not only will we have a sensitivity needed to see things the way God sees them – by faith we understand – but the Psalmist is also declaring God’s promise to show us the Truth, and to show us His will, so we can avoid unnecessary pitfalls in the Christian walk.

"To slip" would also be to fall prey to obstacles and those things which would hinder our walk. It isn’t that there aren’t going to be those things – there ARE – but if we trust God, we will OVERCOME them, rather than trip OVER them! This, of course, echoes the clear words of the apostle Paul:

Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10:12-13)

You will notice that the, "way of escape," is not a way OUT of the trial. No. But rather, the "way of escape," is whatever enables you, "to bear it" – to bear the TRIAL! In other words, keep your eyes and faith on Jesus, and you will stand and not fall. You will be able to overcome any obstacle or enemy, rather than fall over these things.

Psalms also records, "Hold up my goings in YOUR paths, that my footsteps slip not." (Psalms 17:5) Again we see that God will hold us up as we go in HIS paths, not our own. And again – we are on His path the instant we believe and surrender. The obedience will then flow. God will hold us up in this. This is His promise to us, and why we can put our trust in Him.

He that keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. (Psalm 46:1-2)

Sometimes it might seem as if God is asleep on the job. Especially when things are not what we know they ought to be, and God, despite our prayers, doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. But the Bible says God is PRESENT IN our trouble. It says that He is our KEEPER – He keeps us despite it.

The word for, "keep" here is the same word in this Psalm that is translated, "preserve." It means, "to build a hedge around." In other words, it is a picture of God not only being in charge, but of God specifically protecting us. In the Bible, a hedge around someone meant protection, and pictured a place, such as a vineyard, which was cared for as a special possession. In effect, we are being told that nothing can get through the hedge to us unless it has been to God first. God is our keeper.

There is another place in the Bible where this issue of God seeming to be asleep is addressed:

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he said unto them, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. (Mat 8:23-26)

The fact that God gives us these constant assurances that He is never asleep on the job indicates that there are going to be times when it seems as if He is asleep. Knowing that God Himself tells us that there are going to be times when it looks like He is asleep ought to comfort us, because this tells us that such times are normal. It will often be NORMAL for it to seem like God is asleep. There is nothing wrong with us if it seems like God is asleep! God says, "Don’t believe what it seems like. Believe ME!" God is there even if it seems like He is not. He neither slumbers nor sleeps.

God is never caught off guard, or confronted with something He failed to think of or anticipated. Never. He is never indifferent, or asleep to our needs, or our prayers. This is the promise of this Psalm – and it is true regardless of whether it seems so to us. The fact that we cannot see God does not mean He isn’t looking at US. He is. Faith believes it.

The LORD is your keeper: the LORD is your shade upon your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.

You will notice that this is NOT picturing God standing there overshadowing us -- whether we want Him to or not. No. He is at our right hand – but we have to, as it were, move into the protection of the, "shade" He provides. This is FAITH. It is a choice. And – as mentioned before – God’s shade and protection is always within His will, not our will. Herein we see that God wants us to come over to HIS WILL, rather than stay in OURS. He isn’t going to, "shade us," if we stay in OUR will. He will be our shade only if we are in HIS WILL.

In the Eastern part of the world, the sun could really get to you on a hot day. So picturing the Lord as SHADE is certainly showing Him to be not only protection, but the COMFORTER. There is comfort and rest in the shade. Thus, we see a looking forward to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this Psalm.

In this verse we see that the Lord is our KEEPER. What does that mean? Well, first there is the obvious: If we trust God, nothing in our lives which is part of His will and purpose can suffer harm. And if it isn’t part of God’s will, why would we want to try to keep it?

We need to understand that God is in the process of refining us. He wants to take out of our lives those things which are not of His will. And He wants to bring into our lives those things which are. At the top of the list are spiritual things, of course. The physical is secondary. One way God describes this working is found in Hebrews. Hebrews talks about God SHAKING us – to loose what must go, and to strengthen what is eternal:

Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:26-29)

God intends to shake loose everything which hinders His purpose for us. During this shaking, it may seem as if we are slipping and falling, and going down the drain. That is because we don’t have the perspective on what is being shaken -- as does God. But God will never allow to be hurt anything that is part of His plan and purpose for us. The Lord is our KEEPER. He shakes loose those things He doesn’t want to keep, and shakes to strengthen those things He does want to keep in our lives.

The Lord as our KEEPER also speaks of the fact that His life in us is incorruptible. Nothing can harm His life in us – it is eternal. This also speaks of the great Truth of ETERNAL SECURITY.

Many people ask as to whether we can LOSE our salvation. The question itself, however, is flawed. It isn’t a matter of "losing" salvation. It is a matter of what we do with it. Once I am saved, I am born again. The old has passed away. All things are become new. Notice what this means: There is no way to go back. In effect, you cannot be born again backwards.

If salvation were only a legal classification, we might say it was possible to lose it. But it is not merely that. It is NEW LIFE – a life that already has full victory over death. How then could we once again become subject to eternal death? We can’t.

There is, of course, the question as to whether we could choose to take our faith off of Christ. After all, we don’t lose our free will once we are saved. So if we chose to believe on Christ, could we not later choose to stop believing?

The question doesn’t apply. Again, once you are saved, there is no way back. You cannot, by taking faith off of Christ, simply go back to what you were before you believed on Him. No. There is no way to go back to not knowing what you do know. You have crossed a bar, and it is too late to ever plead ignorance again.

Faith in Christ RESULTS in being given a new nature. You can refuse Christ and never be born again – never begin to have that new nature. But once you are born again, you have a new nature. And if you have it, you have it. It is what you are in Christ. You can’t just throw it away. Those who seem to walk away from Christ probably never entered into the new birth to begin with.

What this means is that, yes, theoretically, I suppose it could be said that if we have a free will we could forsake Christ even after we are saved. But the Bible teaches that if our conversion is real, we won’t. It isn’t a matter of CAN’T. Neither is it a matter of God seeing to it that we DON’T – by some eternal election. No. It is a matter of WON’T. We WON"T if our conversion was REAL – because we won’t want to.

But this eternal security is not based on our own strength. Neither is it based on anything outside of our choice. It is the Lord – HE is our Keeper. In other words, within the hedge God has built around us is all of the provision we need. We won’t need to stray outside. Or look to the hills. We don’t maintain our salvation anymore than we earned it. We simply step into the shade of His hand and stay there. His grace is ALWAYS there.

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 for evermore.

Nothing can touch the life of Jesus Christ in us, for He has already conquered all sin and all death. This is not only JUSTIFICATION – a legal reality – but is that which carries us through our, "going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." Christianity is, "Christ in us, the hope of glory." We are NOW given the Holy Spirit.

You will note that God never promises to get rid of all the possibilities of sin and evil in this age. No. He simply promises to preserve us through it, and if we trust Him, it will do us no spiritual harm. There would be nothing more evil that a God who practically pleads with us to trust Him, and then doesn’t mean it. This is impossible. God is not like that.

Here’s the question of Psalm: Do we believe? Do we believe enough to risk everything on the faithfulness of God? Are will we, "lift up our eyes unto the hills?" There is an old saying, "He that trusts Him wholly, finds Him wholly true." It is evermore the Truth. *

The Good News - Home