August 30 — Psalm 121

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.”

“My help comes from the LORD,” is set up as a theme for this Psalm — which is further developed by a series of assurances that “the LORD is your keeper.”

Psalm 121 is one of my favorites — it is one of several I have committed to memory for my own devotional purposes. What is interesting about this psalm is that, though it begins with a personal ascent of a relationship with the Lord (MY help comes from the Lord), it soon turns into a communal profession of faith The Lord is YOUR keeper. He will keep YOU from all evil).

Again we can see the power of the Psalms to give us both words of comfort and words of devotion. The Psalm is good for communal worship — the Psalm is important to be included in our daily devotions.

The Heidelberg Catechism, used in the Reformed church teachings, makes the following statement about trust in the providence of G-d that provides a nice confessional commentary on Psalm 121: “To believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, is, the catechism teaches, to “trust in him so completely that I have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul. Moreover, whatever evil he sends upon me in this troubled life he will turn to my good, for he is able to do it, being almighty God, and is determined to do it, being a faithful Father… . We are to be patient in adversity, grateful in the midst of blessing, and to trust our faithful God and Father for the future”

Everyday, may we too be patient in adversity, grateful for our blessings, and trusting of our faithful G-d.

Let us pray:

O God, maker of heaven and earth, you help us in times of distress and watch over us day and night. Hold us securely in your mercy, that in the midst of fear and danger we may depend on you, our sure deliverer; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

August 29 — Psalm 120

“In my distress I cry to the LORD, that he may answer me: “Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” What shall be given to you? And what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech, that I must live among the tents of Kedar. Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.“

Psalms 120–134 all bear the superscription “A Song of Ascents.” As such, these Psalms are considered to be a separate collection within the Book of Psalms. The existence of the group as an apparent collection raises a question about its purpose. Do these Psalms contain certain features that unify the group? Does there exist a meaningful arrangement within these Psalms? Do they as a group combine to serve some religious purpose? Does the superscription offer any guidance for their interpretation?

The collection is unified by some recurring features:.

(a) They are shorter than the typical psalm, with the exception of Psalm 132, which seems to play a special role in the collection.

(b) The names Jerusalem and Zion occur in an unusual density, twelve times in eight of the psalms.

(c) The name Israel is used in a frequency untypical of the psalms.

(d) There is a pronounced interest in the topic of blessing

Psalm 120 ends with the declaration “I am for peace.” Peace appears to be a central theme. Peace is a good topic to be raising in this day and age. We have had a lot of moments of distress, sadness, conflict, and political rancor. I firmly believe there are a lot of people who want more peace, and less conflict in our communities, our nation and our world.

We can be people of peace. We can. We can choose to avoid commenting to every post that upsets us. We can choose to offer words of comfort and consolation rather than respond with words of anger. Peace does not come without a lot of hard work — compromise — and compassion. Perhaps the more we return to the Lord for guidance and wisdom, the easier it will be to begin to be people of peace.

Let us pray:

Gracious God, your Son blessed the peacemakers and called them your children. Give us that peace which the world cannot give, so that, freed from the schemes of the arrogant and devoted to works of peace, we may go forward joyfully to meet you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.