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When I was a kid, we would visit my grandparents in TN about once a year. It was about a 12 hour car ride and my sisters and I never got to pick the music that was played. The playlist was always my parents. What I remember listening to was the soundtrack from Man of La Mancha and Camelot. What I also remember was that they were on 8 tracks so they would just keep playing until you popped out the cartridge.
In high school my friends and I started making our own playlists of favorite songs and we put them on a cassette tape, but life got much easier when we could burn songs onto a cd. In college, before we went on any kind of road trip, it was a must to gather all the cassettes or CD’s we wanted to take along. No trip was complete without a good playlist. Now all you have to do if you want a good playlist is go to spotify and put in a favorite song, artist or theme and you have more music than you can imagine. Times have changed and technology has changed, but wanting a good playlist when you go on a trip remains the same.
Believe it or not, playlists are not a creation of the 20th century, they date back thousands of years to the time of King David and his son Solomon. What just might be the original playlist for a road trip is a group of psalms called the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 121-134. These were the psalms sung by the people of Israel on their annual trips to Jerusalem.
Each year, faithful Jews were to make 3 trips to Jerusalem. In the spring, they were to go for the celebration of Passover. 50 days later they went for the celebration of Pentecost, and then in the fall, after the harvest, they went for the feast of Tabernacles. Because Jerusalem sits on the top of what was known as Mt. Zion, at an elevation of 2,800 ft above sea level, no matter where you were coming from in all of Israel, you had to climb the mountain to get to the city. This group of psalms became known as the psalms of ascent because it was the songbook, or playlist, used by God’s people on their trips to Jerusalem.
These psalms not only kept the people motivated on their long journey, but they prepared the people for what would take place once they got there. Each celebration or festival was a holy moment to remember what God had done for them in the past and how God was continuing to provide for them each and every day. The psalms not only helped them pass the time but they prepared people’s hearts and minds for worship.
This month, we are going to look at 4 of these psalms and since they were originally read or sung along a road leading up a mountain, we thought it would be appropriate to hear them read along a trail or heading up one of our local mountains. I want to thank all those who were willing to take part in doing our readings and our tech team for putting these videos together. It’s fun to be able to hear God’s word read as it was originally intended. Today our journey begins with the first of the Psalms, Psalm 121 (Video)
The psalm is 8 verses long and broken into 4 sections. The first section is appropriate for a long journey to Jerusalem because there would have been times along the way that the people would have gotten tired and weary and looked to the hills where they were going and literally said, I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from?
On this long and strenuous journey, where would they get help? When they were hot and tired and didn’t want to keep going, where would they get strength? I have hiked many trails and mountains and at times gotten tired, looked at how far I still had to go and asked the same thing. Where will my help come from?
For some of those going to Jerusalem each year, this question might have been much more profound. Maybe they had experienced some kind of loss during the year and were still feeling emptiness and grief. Maybe they were making the trip without a loved one and the pain of traveling alone was very real - where would their help come from?
Maybe they were sick or had gotten injured along the way, maybe they had fallen victim to some bandits along the road and had lost all their money - where would their help come from?
If they went up for the feast of weeks in the fall knowing that their harvest was poor due to drought or disease and they were worried about feeding their family through the winter, they would be asking themselves- where will my help come from?
No matter what help or strength a person might be looking for in life, looking to the hills would have been a natural part of the journey and they would have been asking the question, the psalm goes on and answers this question: My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
It’s true, our strength isn’t found in the mountains but from the one who made the mountains, but for those making their way to Jerusalem generations ago, there was something else this statement meant. Scattered all through the hills in Israel were altars, shrines and temples set up to worship false gods and idols. While Israel was told to look to God alone for help, the people struggled to do this. They always seemed to turn away from God and seek the help and strength of foreign gods.
Most troubling of all these gods and idols was the worship of Baal and Asherah. These foreign gods were thought to increase fertility and bring a good harvest. They helped bring rain and increase crops and bring children, which was a blessing. If people were in need, they often consulted and worshiped these two gods. So as the people of Israel made their way to Jerusalem, and looked to the mountains for help, they would have also been looking at shrines and temples to other gods. Would the people of Israel, tired and in need, look to Baal or Asherah for help, or would they look to the God of Israel. The psalm reminded them to look to God alone.
The question for us is where we will look for help in times of need. When we are weak, tired, frustrated and needing support, where will we turn for help? Will we turn to God or like the people of Israel, will we be tempted to turn to the false gods of the world. While none of us would turn to Baal or Asherah, or idols and statues looking for help, the truth is that we often turn to things in this world other than God for help and strength.
Have you ever walked through the self-help section of a bookstore? It’s filled with books that tell us to look to anything and everything but God to find help and strength. One of the best-selling self-help books today is called, The Mountain is You: Transforming self-sabotage into self-mastery.
I thought it was an interesting title because it seems to tell us to look deep within ourselves to bring about change and transformation instead of looking to God. We don’t look to the one who made the mountains for help, we are the mountain and need to change ourselves. Now I’m not saying that self-help books aren’t valuable, and maybe this one is, but the deeper question we need to ask is where do we ultimately look for help? Do we look deep within ourselves and summon up the will to change? Do we look to the world for help and strength, do we look to other gods or do we look to the One and Only God who made the heavens and the earth?
The people going to Jerusalem were reminded to turn to God first and the rest of the psalm told them just who their God was and what their God would do for them. The psalm identifies 3 things the Lord will do for us.
God will guide us.
God will shelter us.
God will keep us forever.
1. God will guide us. Psalm 121:3-4
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
When we turn to God for help and strength, He will be the one who will guide us every step of the way. We may not be able to see the outcome, or what is around the next turn, but God will guide us. One of the more interesting places I have hiked was in Acadia NP in Maine. The top of many of the mountains are all rock so the trails are difficult to make out. There aren’t pathways through the woods marked with blazes on trees, instead there are cairns, or a small pile of rocks, that guide you along the way. In Acadia they have a special cairn called a Bates Cairn. (pic)
On one hike, when I got to the top of the mountain I was in a cloud and couldn’t see very far. It made following the trail difficult. I couldn’t see off into the distance, I could only see the next cairn, so I would walk that far and then stop and look for the next one. Step by step I made my way along the trail and sometimes that’s what walking with God is like. We don’t see the end, we just see the next step, but God will guide us. He will not let our foot be moved.
God can guide us through His word, through prayer, through advice from faithful and trusted friends, and through songs and worship. The Psalms of Ascent themselves gave guidance to God’s people as they made their way to Jerusalem. The psalms reminded them where to turn and who to trust. They also told people they could find rest because God was always with them.
Because God never slumbers nor sleeps, we can. Psalm 121:3-4.
He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Think about it, for people making their way to Jerusalem, traveling at night would have been difficult. If you slept at night you were vulnerable to wild animals or robbers. Sleep would have been dangerous, but because God never sleeps, they could. We can make our journey through life with strength and assurance because God will not only guide us but He will give us rest along the way. God is always with us.
2. God will shelter us. Psalm 121:5-6
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
he sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
Shade during a long hot journey is a wonderful thing. Out in the open on a long hot trail, it can literally mean the difference between life and death. When life gets difficult and stressful and things heat up, God is also the one who gives us shelter and shade. Just when we think we can’t go any further, just when we are ready to give up, God gives us shade so we can find the strength to keep going.
Shade from the moon is also important at night. If the moon is shining on you at night, it means it is clear and that means it can be cold - bitter cold. If the moon doesn’t strike us at night, then there is cloud cover, there is shade, shelter. Through blazing heat or bitter cold, God is our shade. When things get so bad that we don’t think we can keep going, God is our shelter and strength. God protects us on all sides and keeps us safe. The Apostle Paul said it this way, we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
3. God will keep us. Psalm 121:7-8
The Lord will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
It’s difficult to hear that God will keep us from all harm when we have been harmed or when we are feeling hurt or are in pain. In those times, did God fail us? Did we fail God? Unfortunately there are harmful and difficult experiences we will face in life. Every person heading to Jerusalem had experienced some kind of pain and hardship in life, but this was a reminder to them that God would always be there to help. Even on their trips to Jerusalem, people were harmed by falls, attacks, and sickness, but this was a reminder that God was still there.
We will face difficult times, challenging times, and painful times, and when we do, we can’t forget that God is with us. That’s part of what Israel celebrated in Jerusalem 3 times a year. At Passover they were reminded that God delivered them from the horrors of slavery. At Pentecost and the feast of weeks they were reminded that God would provide them with food and all that was needed for life. No matter what they were going through, God was with them and always would be with them. God was watching over them and they could trust God to be there for them forever.
Psalm 121 tells us that God is with us. Today, tomorrow and always, God is with us. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. God is with us morning, noon and night. He will give us shade during the heat of the day and the cold of night. He will keep us as we come in and go out. God will be with us in green pastures and as we walk through the very shadows of death. He is with us in the storms and helps us rise above and walk on water.
We might feel forsaken and forgotten, we might truly be hard pressed on every side, persecuted and feeling abandoned, but we will not be destroyed because God is with us. In difficult times we need to keep our eyes lifted up beyond the hills to the One who created the hills, and the One who created us and loves us completely. God will watch over us forever.
This first psalm of ascent has always been, and remains today, a psalm of great hope and encouragement. In life, we will get weary and tired, we will struggle and face challenges, we will get to the end of our rope, and we will look all around us for help and strength. In those times, in all times, we need to remember that our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. God will guide us and protect us and keep us in His hands now and forever.
Next Steps
Happy Trails - Psalm 121
Read Psalm 121
Verses 1-2
What help or strength are you looking for today?
Israel was tempted to turn to the false gods Baal and Asherah for help. What things do you turn to in this world to find help and strength in times of need?
Israel trusted God to be their guide, shelter, and keeper.
Guide: Verses 3-4
How has God guided you in the past?
What tools and resources has God used to guide you? (Scripture, Prayer, Friends)
Where do you need God’s guidance in decisions right now?
Shelter: Verses 5-6
Where are you feeling stressed and in need of shade and rest?
How can 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 be an encouragement?
Keeper: Verses 7-8
What does it mean for God to keep you from all harm when you are going through difficult and painful situations?
God can keep us strong if we will keep our eyes fixed on Him. This week, read these Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 122 - 127) to help keep you in God’s care.
