In the 121st Psalm, this second
song of degrees, we read the following. I will lift up mine
eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh
from the Lord, which made 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 forevermore. I will lift up mine eyes. unto
the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from
the Lord which made heaven and earth. This psalm is the second
psalm called a Song of Degrees. From Psalm 120 through to Psalm
134, each is a Song of Degrees. Psalms which were sung by the
children of Israel on their ascent up towards Jerusalem,
up towards Zion as they journeyed from their dwelling places in
the villages and towns round about and went up to worship
the Lord and as they journeyed they climbed this mount And the
degree by which they looked upwards increased. So when they started
from a distance, Zion, Jerusalem was a city on a hill in the distance,
on the horizon. But as they approached closer,
it started to be that hill which they climbed like climbing a
mountain. And as they come up higher and
higher, they start to gaze up, upwards into the sky. Now this
ascent into Jerusalem, into Zion, the figurative dwelling place
of the Lord and where the people of Israel gathered as one company
to worship their God is a picture of that spiritual ascent. that
spiritual journey which all Israel, all the children of God proceed
on as a journey from this world, from the dwelling places in this
world where we are and journey up towards our heavenly destination. We are marching up by degrees
and to a heavenly country and our gaze is lifted up from earthly
things upwards unto Zion unto the Lord's temple unto Christ
upon his throne. These early Psalms as we looked
at last time in Psalm 120 and this one in Psalm 121 begin with
us here below in our distress in the world in the earth surrounded
by those that hate us, surrounded by those that hate God and hate
the truth. In my distress I cried unto the
Lord and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from
lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. I am for peace but when
I speak they are for war. Here we are in this world, here
below, troubled by sin, troubled by the effects of sin within
the world and within our own hearts. In Psalm 121, this psalm,
we then read, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. From
whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord.
Here again, the psalmist is one who's troubled, who's one, is
one who looks up unto God. looking up from the troubles
of this world and the troubles of his own heart and his own
sin and the consequences of that sin within unto the only one
that can help him looking up by faith unto God as we journey
through the Psalms and approach the latter ones the mood is more
triumphant the mood is of a people collectively who are gathered
and united As they come into Zion's courts, as they come into
the presence of the Lord, as they enter into heaven's glory,
behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity. Behold, blessed ye the Lord,
all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house
of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and bless the Lord, the Lord that made heaven and earth. Bless
thee out of Zion. Yes, our journey as believers
in this world is a pilgrimage through a dark and a barren land,
a strange country out of which we are called to come into a
promised land, into a heavenly country, one which is above,
one which is outside of time, outside of this earth. outside
of the natural realm. That which can be seen, that
which can be touched, that which can be felt with the natural
senses. It's a spiritual journey unto
that which is above. It's a journey of faith. It is
that which all God's people have been called out to enter upon. Abraham of old, was called out
of Ur of the Chaldees to go to a land that he knew not. By faith
Abraham, we read in Hebrews 11, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he
sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling
in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
the same promise. For he looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham was
called out of Ur. He went to Canaan. But even when
he came into that natural promised land, that God led him to, he
knew that was just a picture, that was just a figure. He was
looking for a city which have foundations whose builder and
maker is God, he was looking for a heavenly city. These all
died in faith not having received the promises but having seen
them afar off and were persuaded of them. and embraced them and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for
they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country
and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they
came out they might have had opportunity to have returned
but now they desire a better country that is unheavenly wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God for he hath prepared
for them a city Abraham sought that which was above, that city
prepared of God, Zion, New Jerusalem, the place where God dwells. Likewise all Israel of old, though
they dwelt, as it were in Canaan, though they dwelt in the promised
land on earth, though they went up, unto Jerusalem to worship
and to sacrifice and to bring praise and thanksgiving unto
God. Though they sang these songs
of degrees on their ascent into Jerusalem, those who had faith
knew this was but a figure. Even when they entered into Jerusalem's
courts and came unto the temple and offered up their sacrifices
and gathered as one people, and knew the unity and the blessing
to gather as the Lord's people and bring worship unto Him, they
knew this was but a figure. They were looking for something
higher, something grander. They were looking by faith up
unto a heavenly country, up unto Zion, up unto the Lord, seated
upon a throne, glorious. victorious, triumphant, reigning
over all. But so their ascent begins in
these earlier Psalms. And the psalmist begins crying
out, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh
my help, my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and
earth. I will lift up mine eyes He could
see no help here below. He could see no help in men.
He could see no help in the world around him. He could see no help
in self. And believer, if you've been
brought to where the Psalmist was brought, to the distress
he was brought into in Psalm 120, to the need of help that
he's brought into in Psalm 121 you too will know that there's
no help to be found in man and there's no help to be found in
self this world is full of sin this world is condemned and everyone
that dwells in this world is full of sin and condemned by their sin sin
entered and death by sin. There's no help to be found in
others. There's no help to be found in self. There's no help
to be found in our wisdom, our works, our will, our religion. All that we do in our own strength
comes to nothing. All that we do is but filthy
rags of unrighteousness. like menstruous cloths in God's
presence, they stink. What we think is righteous, what
we think is holy, what we think by nature is good, our so-called
worship, our so-called prayers, our so-called praise, all the
things we think are meritorious in God's eyes, they're wretched,
they stink. And the psalmist discovered this.
He knew he had no help himself. and no help in man. His help is found in God above.
He looks up by faith unto a saviour seated on high. I will lift up
mine eyes. I will lift up mine eyes. Oh, to be able to lift up our
eyes. It's one thing to say it, And
there are many professing believers who will say it, oh my help's
in God, I trust in Christ, I look up, I am nothing, it's easy to
say it. But so often the troubles and
the trials in our journey have us looking down. and have us
looking around unto others. Something comes upon us and we
look to this one and we look to that one. We blame this one,
we blame that one, we look for help from this one, we look for
help from that one. We try to surmount our difficulties
by ourselves. Indeed we think we should do
at times. We convince ourselves that God
has given us strength that we should use to solve this and
solve that. And we struggle on and we look
downwards and we're troubled by this and we're troubled by
that. We're frustrated at the events that come upon us. We're
frustrated at our brethren, at friends, at others. We're frustrated
at the people around us. Why don't they do this and why
don't they do that? In the natural realm we're frustrated
with the world around us. Why doesn't the government do
this and why don't the people do that? In the spiritual realm
we're frustrated with our fellow brethren. Why aren't they walking
as they should? Why don't they do what I feel
they should do? And ultimately we're frustrated
with ourselves. We strive and we fail, we tumble
and we fall. and God will use these things
to bring us to an end of ourselves to an end of our striving to
an end of our attempts and bring us to know that we are nothing
and our help comes from on high I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills from whence cometh my help there's no help in self But what made the psalmist lift
up his eyes? Naturally speaking our eyes close. Our eyes slumber. Our eyes look
down. We look inwardly. We look outwardly
at this earth. And though we know we should
look up by faith, it's not something we can do. It's not natural,
it's not in our strength to, it's not in the strength of our
flesh to look up under God. We can know we should, but we
don't. But when God comes in the gospel,
when God sets his grace upon us, when God speaks unto the
soul and turns us unto Christ, When we hear the Lord's voice
whispering in our ears, this is the way, walk ye in it. He
causes us to look up. He stirs up the faith within. He causes faith to look up. It's looked. We've looked everywhere
else. We've come to an end of our own
looking. We've come to an end of walking
by sight. There's nothing else we can do
but faith looks up. and cries out, help Lord, help
thou mine unbelief. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills, unto heaven, unto the heavenly heights from whence
cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven and earth. And so crying out the psalmist
sets the tone by example for the rest of the psalm and for
the children of Israel who are being led along in song in these
psalms. The first two verses speak personally,
I will lift up mine eyes, my help coming from the Lord, Then from verse 3 the address
is unto the people. 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 forevermore. We see here, as it were, one
leading the people. Many of these Psalms written
by David, this would be David. He speaks in his personal experience. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the Lord. And then he speaks to his brethren,
to Israel. And leads them along and encourages
them along the way that he has experienced. But through David's
words we see the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom David
is but a figure, but a type. And Christ, as it were, is leading
his people here. This isn't the people simply
speaking and looking up under God and walking through this
journey on their own. This is Christ in the midst of
his brethren. And Christ says unto his brethren,
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh
my help. I'll look up unto the Father, I'll look up unto God.
My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.
And then he addresses his people. 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. He's here with us, walking this
journey. He's in the midst of his people,
leading them forth unto glory. He walks in the midst of us and
he speaks. as one who's suffered in a way
that we can never suffer, who's been tried in ways that we can
never be tried, who's been tempted to degrees that we are never
tempted. We suffer in this world. We are tried in this world. We
are tempted in this world. we're cast down, we're beaten,
we're bruised, we're rejected we're cast out from this world
and its company but there's one in our midst who leads us forth
who is more cast out than ever we are more rejected than ever
we shall be more tried than we ever will be tried more greatly
tempted than we can comprehend. He knew everything that would
come upon us. He suffered it to a degree we
can only imagine, we can only taste a drop of. Every trial
that comes our way, all the suffering we experience, all the loneliness,
all the rejection. is but a taste to us of what
Christ suffered that he might deliver us and save us from our
sins. And he in our midst says unto
us, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. And in lifting
up his eyes, the eyes of faith of his people are lifted up with
him to the hills towards heaven. towards Zion. He doesn't leave
us on this journey to ourselves. He doesn't give us instruction
which we, as it were, go away with and try to follow. But he's here in the midst, within. in the midst of its gathered
people, where two or three are gathered in my name, there am
I in the midst of them, in the midst of his gathered people,
but in each individual. There's a voice within our heart which cries out, I will lift
up mine eyes under the hills. Though all our flesh round about
would go another way, Though our flesh doubts and rages, though
our flesh casts us down, though our flesh brings trouble upon
us, though we bring trouble upon our own heads, Christ in the
midst cries out within, crying out by faith, I will lift up
mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. What greater help can there be
than that which comes from He who made heaven and earth? Is there anyone greater under
whom we could turn? than he who made heaven and earth. Oh, what fools we are as men
in this world, that we turn to the creature for help. either others or ourselves, that
we turn to worms, to ants, to the smallest grasshoppers, the
dust of this earth, we turn to the created creature and created
things for help. When the creator sits on high,
reigning over all, watching over all, working out his purposes
in time and eternity and he it is who helps his people. Every day, every moment, every
hour he's raining, he's looking after his people, he's sending
help He's comforting them in the Gospel. He's strengthening
them in their Lord Jesus Christ. He's there helping the Creator
of heaven and earth and we would more readily in our flesh turn
to man. man who would rip and rend us,
man who would turn against us, man who would cast our words
in our ears, man who would say where is thy God, where is thy
help, man who would encourage us to turn another way and turn
aside to a pathway which seemeth right unto a man but which leadeth
unto destruction. We'd more readily turn and listen
to the wisdom of men who know nothing, who have no strength,
who have no wisdom and who are no help. Every day we find ourselves
turning to man or turning to self when the very one that made
heaven and earth is but a prayer away. The very one that made
heaven and earth is but whisper away, a gasp of prayer, a sigh
of prayer, Lord help me and he does. Every day he is
in the midst of his people, his son dwells within their hearts,
he's walking in the midst of their people leading them forth
by the right way bringing everything about in time all the events
what we perceive as good and bad all events are being worked
out for their good he's constantly helping when we look to him for
help he helps when we don't look to him for help he's still helping
when we're turned aside he's still working out his purposes
for his people's good. When we doubt, when we fear,
he's still looking out for us. When we rebel, when we deny him,
as Peter denied him, he's still looking out for us. When we cast
hatred his way, When we complain, when we curse God, he looks upon
his people through Christ, who bore their cursing, who bore
their rejection, who bore their hatred, and took it away. And
he looks through Christ, through that shed blood that was shed
for them, and looks upon them in love, and works out all things
for their good. mine help cometh from he the
Lord which made heaven and earth. These Psalms begin here with
this reminder of how great the Lord is, the one to whom we are
coming. And they end in that final song
of degrees, Psalm 134, with another reminder in the last verse, the
Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion. He's
the one to whom we're coming. He's the one into whose presence
we shall finally enter when we pass from this world into eternity
and gather with the saints around his throne. and worship the Lamb
of God seated upon a throne. He's the one to whom we shall
be gathered, the Lord that made heaven and earth, who blesses
us out of Zion. And here at the start of the
journey, the psalmist, Christ in the midst of his people, says
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh
my help, my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and
earth. You're down here, you are as
it were at the start of the journey. Zion seems a long way off, seems
but something on the horizon. The troubles and trials of the
world seemed great. Your faith is weak but that's
to whom you come and that's from whom your help comes. The Lord
which made heaven and earth. God who did such great things
to make the heavens and the earth with the with His speech a few
words. He spake and it was. He spake
through His Son the word Christ and it was, it came into being.
God who could do such things to bring these, this world, these
heavens, the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, every living
creature upon this world, the mountains, the valleys, the seas,
the lakes, All the creation, this God that could speak and
bring all these things into being has done greater yet when He
spake and delivered the dead from their sins through offering
His Son as a sacrifice in their place. There is a creation greater
than all that you see around you. We are new creatures in
Christ. There is a new creation. New
creatures brought into being by the Word of God. We're born
again by the Spirit. The Word comes in the Gospel
and God speaks and says one word and a creature, a new creature,
a living creature that shall never die comes into being. A
soul that was once dead lives. and looks up and sees Christ
on high and says I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from
whence cometh my help. It looks up, it knows it's God,
it knows it's maker, it's just been born. like a babe looks
up into the eyes of its mother and cries and sees the help of
its mother so the believer delivered from darkness born again of God
by the gospel looks up unto God who's created unto a God who's created a new
heavens and a new earth into which every one for whom Christ
died shall be gathered a creation that we can but imagine but one
which is glorious where there is no sin, no death, no suffering,
no heartache, no poverty, no sickness, no warfare, no hatred but love, joy, peace righteousness
in Christ alone. It's this God to whom we come. 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. This God that created heaven
and earth is active every day. He's awake, alive every day to
keep His people. To keep His people. He's watching
over us every day, every hour, every moment. We so often walk
through the troubles that come upon us and act and speak and
think as though God isn't there. As though God doesn't know and
as though God doesn't care. As though these things come upon
us from another source. As though the troubles have come
upon us because this person has said this and that person's done
this. And this disease has just spread
around and it's hit us. or as though the devil is having
his way and the Lord has let him go and the Lord just leaves
him to cause this havoc in the world or as though sin is just
rampant throughout the world and sinners bring about their
evil ways as though it's all just happening to us and God
is silent and God is distant and God doesn't hear and God
doesn't know and God doesn't care so often we feel and act
like he's so far off When the very opposite is true, he is
so involved. He's absolutely here. His eyes
are upon us every day. His heart is set upon his own
every day. He aches for his people as it
were. His love is set upon them. He could not be more moved by
our trouble, not be more moved by our concerns. He sets his
tender care upon each of his children. He's absolutely active
in bringing about their salvation, their deliverance and their good. And the troubles that come upon
them, the trials they go through, are not things that he leaves
them to suffer, to make them stoical, or to punish them, but
they're sent for their good. He's actively bringing them through
these circumstances, he's actively sending these circumstances to
his people to bring them forth as gold. to burn away the dross,
to cause them to turn their gaze away from man, away from self
and up unto Him. He's constantly teaching us our
weakness, our poverty, our iniquity in our flesh. He's
constantly teaching us that we are nothing and that He is all. He's constantly bringing us to
lift up our eyes. He's active in it all. He never slumbers nor sleeps. He's not gone away. He's not
turned away his gaze. He's not turned away his ear.
He's listening for our cries. He's listening for our prayers.
He's looking for us returning unto him. He looks as the Father
looks. for his son a prodigal son that's
abandoned him and gone afar off and wasted his living in sin
he looks every day perhaps my son will return he stands ready
to receive him God waits for his children to turn he knows
they will because he's working in their hearts He sends the
trials to bring them down. He puts the faith in the heart
to cause them to cry. He draws them lovingly back by
his spirit under him. He never slumbers. He never sleeps. He sends his help day and night. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord
is thy shade upon thy right hand. He watches over us, He keeps
us. He keeps us from all sin, He
keeps us from all evil. Although evil comes our way,
although trials come our way, although temptations come our
way, although we will stumble and fall and we can stumble and
fall greatly, we can as believers do the worst of deeds like David
did. We can deny our Lord like Peter
did. We can go afar off and yet he
will keep us. He will keep us. We can never
be lost. If we're his, we can never be
taken out of his grasp. He will keep us. He will shade
us from that heat, the burden of the day, the burning scorch
of the sun. He will shade us with his right
hand. he will shade our right hand
he will put his hand upon us and he will protect that which
is our strength he watches over our right hand
that which causes us to move and to work not in our strength
but the right hand of the new man of grace He will give us
works of righteousness to walk in. He will cause us to walk
the right way. The we would turn to the left
hand and we would turn to the right hand. He will keep bringing
us back. He is the shade upon our right
hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night. Everything will come upon us
in this world. The sun beats down upon us in
the day. We go through the darkness of
the night. There are those things that can
rip us to shreds in the day. There are those things that can
destroy us in the darkness of the night. There are those dangers
that we are aware of that we can see as it were in the daylight.
and have some wisdom to try to avoid. But there are those dangers
which come upon us in the dark that we cannot see until they're
upon us. We have no strength to stop them.
We have no ability to hide from them. We have no ability to run
from them. They come upon us and they bring
us down. And yet, the sun will not smite
us. and the moon will not destroy
us. None of these things will take
us from Him. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul, whether
in the day or in the night. He is the Saviour and the Deliverer
of His people. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills, says Christ, in the hearts of his own, because he
was heard when he suffered. His Lord that made heaven and
earth heard his cries when he stood in the sinner's place,
delivering them from the consequence of their sin. He came as their
Saviour. and having laid down his life
he will deliver them to the end. Christ came into this evil world
through which we journey. He came to save his people from
their sins. He came into a world that hated
him, that despised him, that rejected him. Just like you Just
like me, our hearts despise Him. We don't care for Him, we don't
want Him. We never did, and by nature we
never do. He's a burden. He gets in the way of our pursuit
of pleasure in this world. We run around trying to get what
we can in this world. We don't want to know God. You're in foolishness, what we
seek perishes in a moment. There are those who are given
the freedom to have everything they desire. They look around
in the world, they turn their back upon God, they live like
there is no God. He gives them all that they want.
They're raised up to great heights of power. They rule over empires,
they have the greatest of riches, they have all the pleasures the
world can give them, and they're gone in a moment. And where are
they now? Where are the Caesars? Where
are the great kings? Where are the Alexander the Great
now? They're in the grave. And if
they knew not God, they're in the torments of hell forevermore.
There's nothing in this world that you can have that we can
have, which lasts. It's gone in a moment. But Christ
came into this world, this foolish world, this passing world, this
world of vanity, this proud and arrogant world. This vain world where little
ants strut around like peacocks so sure of themselves before
they're trodden underfoot. He came into this vain world with his love set upon a people. His love set upon some of those
who were running around seeking their own glory, seeking their
own ends. He came to deliver them from
themselves, from their sin, from their guilt, from death, from
all evil. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. Christ
came. He came to the cross. He came
to be nailed to the cross and to bear all evil, to suffer all
the evil that his people ever did or fought or said, to suffer
all the wrath and the judgment against that, to suffer the rage
of all men against him, to suffer the rage of all hell, the devil
and his angels. He felt all evil, all hatred,
all darkness, all condemnation, all guilt in order that he should
deliver his people from all. In order that he should deliver
his people from all. From all the sin, from all the
guilt, from all the condemnation, from the devil and his angels.
He came to deliver them from all by suffering all. He went into the darkness that
they should be led out into the light. He went into the grave
that they should come forth and live. He went to the cross. that they
should look upon him lifted up above the earth as the brazen
serpent was lifted up. And by faith they should look
and lift up their eyes unto him crucified upon a hill in Zion
from whence came their help. He came to save his people from
their sins. Has God given you faith? to look
up unto Christ at Golgotha, on that hill, outside Jerusalem,
outside Zion, to look at the Saviour crucified for sinners. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from
the Lord which made heaven and earth. The Lord which made heaven
and earth. in the person of Jesus Christ
was nailed to that cross on that hill at Zion. And all the world looked and
beheld. And throughout time, throughout
the ages, wherever this gospel's preached, all the world passes
by Like those chief priests, like the people, like the soldiers,
like all those that passed by when he hung there, suspended
between heaven and earth. Every time the Gospel's preached,
every time you hear it, you're passing by. You're passing by
this Saviour. You're passing by the Lord which
made heaven and earth. You're passing by the only one
that can help you for eternity. And but one look of faith, if
God opened the eyes to see, will save you both now and evermore. He shall preserve thy soul. We have a soul which is brought
into being when we're born, which lives and will never die. It
will either enter eternity into God's presence or enter eternity
into everlasting darkness. If you're His, He shall preserve
it from all evil. He shall preserve your soul.
He saved His people that day upon the cross. When the hours
of darkness were concluded, when the wrath of God had burnt upon
the Son the sacrifice, had burnt upon the Lamb, had consumed Him
as it were, in the hours of darkness, when He cried out, it is finished,
He delivered His people once and for all, but every day He's
saving them. Every day he's coming unto us
on our journey through this world. Every day he's delivering us
from our enemies. Every day he's delivering his
people from all evil. Every day he's preserving their
soul. Every day he's delivering them
from their flesh, from the doubts within, from the rebellion within,
from their unbelief. Every day he comes and he preserves
us. He never slumbers, He never sleeps,
He's ever there at our side, lifting us up. The Lord shall
preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth
and even forever more. Jesus said, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. I will never leave thee, forsake
thee. You may go out, you may go out
from my presence, you may go out back into the world, back
into your own strength, back to try to solve something in
your own power, you may turn your back upon me but I will
never leave thee. I will preserve thee when you
go out. I'll protect you from others I'll protect you from
yourself and I'll bring you back in I'll preserve thee when you
go out and when you come in from this time forth and even forevermore
no matter where you go no matter how long the journey no matter
how hard the way I will be there and I will keep coming in the
gospel in the midst in your heart And I will keep stirring up your
faith, and lifting you up, and lifting up your gaze, and causing
you to look up unto me. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from
the Lord, which made heaven and earth. O may the Lord teach us
this. It's one thing to hear it, it's
another thing to read it, it's another thing to know it in our
experience. To know the Lord in our heart,
to have Him lifting up our gaze, lifting up our faith to look
under Him. How easily beset we are. with
the sins in this world and the troubles in this world and the
things that we see all around us. How easily overtaken we are
by earthly matters and earthly ways and earthly wisdom. How
slow we are to come to Christ. to come to the Scriptures, to
come to the Gospel, to turn to the Word of God, to come upon
our knees before our Maker and cry out unto Him. And yet He's
the one with all the power to do all things for our salvation. He's the one to bring, He's the
one that can take the hardest heart and soften it. He's the
one that can take the most deep-dyed sinner and bring them and break
them and bring them unto Him. He's the one that can make all
things well. He hath done all things well. He is a mighty Saviour, a glorious
Saviour. He is the Maker of heaven and
earth. To whom else shall we go, said
Peter, when Christ said unto his disciples, Will ye also go
away? Many were offended at Christ's
words, many turned their back upon his gospel. Will you also
go away? To whom else shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. O believer, may God give us faith,
may he give you faith to lift your eyes unto the hills, unto
the Lord that made heaven and earth, unto the Son of God, crucified,
risen, seated in glory, with four wounds in his hands and
his feet, and a fifth wound in his side, which declare throughout
all time and eternity, it is finished. I have saved my people
from their sins. They are mine. I have preserved
them from all evil. I have preserved their souls.
I will lead them into my presence forevermore. I have loved them
and will love them to the end. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills. Amen.