#DailyDevotion Put Your Trust In The LORD’s 3 Fold Promise Of Protection
121 I look up to the hills — where can I get help? 2I get help from the LORD who made heaven and earth. 3Does He let your foot slip? Does He Who guards you slumber? 4No, He Who guards Israel doesn’t slumber or sleep. 5The LORD is your Guardian; the LORD is your Shade at your right hand. 6The sun will not strike you during the day or the moon at night. 7The LORD protects you against every harm; He protects your life. 8The LORD protects you as you come and go, now and forever.
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To what hills do the psalmist look to for help? Not just any old hills. No he looks to the hills of Judea, to Jerusalem to be specific. There upon the hills of Jerusalem was the Temple with the altar and the Ark of the Covenant. They were signs of God’s presence and the LORD’s protection, mercy, kindness, steadfast love and forgiveness. Since the LORD promised to be there, they would direct their prayers in that direction. We too, in a sense, also look to those hills for salvation. It was on that hill of Golgotha that the LORD, Jesus Christ, died for us, becoming the atonement, the propitiation for our sins. There we know the Father loves us and looks after us.
His and our confidence is the LORD who made heaven and earth. Apart from Him there is no other God who can help us. Who can best help us but the One who made all things and in whom all things hold together. Who do you turn to for every need, every want and desire? Who do you turn to for every trial, trouble or tribulation? Make it our LORD, Jesus Christ.
He asks a couple of rhetorical questions. Does He let your foot slip and guard you slumber? He answers for us: He Who guards Israel doesn’t slumber or sleep. This immediately applies to Christ Jesus who is Israel. The devil would use similar words to tempt Him in the wilderness to put the LORD to the test. We should follow Christ and also not put the LORD to the test. For Israel, these words were true as long as they remained faithful to the LORD. In Christ, these words are true as much as He was faithful to the Father and we are in Him. God is not like us who needs rest from watching over us. He is ever vigilant as we are the apple of His eye.
I find it interesting the editor of this translation capitalized Guardian and Shade. The words in Hebrew are shamar and tsel respectively. Perhaps the psalmist is thinking of the Aaronic benediction, “The LORD bless you and keep you.” Certainly he is thinking about the pillar of cloud and fire by day and night respectively that protected the Israelites in the wilderness. Because of the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night neither the sun nor the moon, i.e. the harmful effects of day and night affected them. We who the LORD has chosen to be His people and have put our trust in Him should expect Him to be our Guardian and Shade throughout life’s trials. Those who trusted in the LORD, a grand total of 2, made it through the wilderness after leaving Egypt. Be faithful unto the end and He will see to it you make it into Paradise.
We have a triune promise of protection in these last two verses. The LORD, He and the LORD, will protect you from harm, your life, and your comings and goings. This also mirrors the Aaronic benediction the priest puts upon Israel. Did I say don’t be foolish and test the LORD. Hold my beef moments I don’t think are covered by this. I think we can surely put our trust in the LORD to take care of in our daily lives. If evil befalls us, we can be certain this is from His divine fatherly hand and He has a purpose in it for our good, the good of spreading the Gospel, and for His glory. Remember Job’s account. We are following Christ and He has promised us a cross and that we will be participants in His suffering. In as much as we participate in His suffering, we also will participate in His glory when He is revealed.
Merciful and kind Father, keep us always as the apple of Your eye, that we may be covered by Your divine protection at all times. When trouble occurs strengthen our faith that we may see this as coming from Your hand and trust in Your promise of good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.