"The Motherly Care of God" (Psalm 121)

Life can seem very difficult and complex at times. When we look at our own situations, or the situations other family members are in, or just at the world in general, we can easily have a sense of dread. This is where Psalm 121 has its context.

Possibly the psalmist was in exile, removed from familiar places, unable to worship as he had been previously in the habit of; unable to sense any hope, or any factor that could change the situation for the better. Perhaps the psalmist was just lost in the complexity of life.

Psalm 121 commences with a question that expresses the feelings and concerns we have just considered. The good news is that the rest of the psalm answers this question.

The psalmist it seems has thrown his hands into the air and raised his head to the sky, and then looked about filled with exasperation. This is what life can do. How many parents, how many mothers, can relate to this level of desperation when they feel ill-equipped or too tired to
respond to their child’s need, with so much hanging on their response! How often people who have lost their job would feel such disappointment and frustration! Here in verse 1 we have a needy soul desperately looking for help in a difficult situation.

Sometimes, when the situation is so grave, we are not too fussy where the help might come from. It is suggested of this psalm that the very idea of raising one’s eyes “to the hills”, suggests a cry for help from any available source, even if this be one of the false religions that existed where the people of Israel lived. Sometimes we will look for answers in the wrong places, and certainly our young people can be prone to seek guidance from places where there is simply no light to be found.

Yet, despite the deep level of exasperation expressed at the beginning, no sooner than the question is put, just about in the same breath, the answer – the one true answer, comes back to the psalmist’s mind! There was a quick ‘ah hah’ moment – he already knew what to do!! Whenever we have a problem, we should go to the One True Living God – the Creator of everything, the God of Israel and the God who sent his Son Jesus to save the whole world.

This is how it might go down. “I am at my wits end … I am without answers … what shall I do? I know! I know!! My help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth and me. Now this is a very mature response, especially as it came so quickly and decisively. It may not have come so quickly and decisively once upon a time, but fortunately it does now. This psalmist has learnt well. This is the sort of maturity that people need to consciously desire and progressively develop … that leads them to such instant and decisive common sense responses.

This wasn’t a bad question at verse one, just very human. Life can be quite hard, especially for parents bringing up children, or any of us dealing with loss or change, and we are going to get frustrated and tired and scared and feel short on resources – and we are going to cry out for support. The part of this which is so instructive is how quickly the psalmist realised that help was close at hand. Christians (followers of Jesus), will be seen to be growing in maturity as they are able to immediately recognise the ultimate source of help … and go there!

Now often God will choose to bring us help through the hands and feet and mouths of our fellow life travellers, most effectively through those who have the same orientation to God as we have. Thus maintaining our fellowship within our Church community will be important and life-giving. But ultimately God is the source of all good resolutions to our problem areas. We can be assured of this. Then there is a release of anxiety. Trust grows. Experiencing joy is possible again.

Let’s now look at some of the ways God cares for all of us. Of course, just like there needs to be a level of maturity that quickly knows where our ultimate source of help comes from, there needs to be a willingness to allow God to fulfil these types of roles in our life. God does not force himself on us. God’s love, mercy and help are offers to be taken up! So in times of apprehension, we first acknowledge who God is for us, and then say ‘yes’ to what God is offering to bring into our lives.

(1) A Good Foundation (verse 3)

God will help us build our life on a firm foundation from which we will not be easily moved. Our lives will be built upon the rock, and our home will be known for serving the Lord. We have good behavioural boundaries that mean that we are helpful, reliable, caring, loving, sensitive people who are always interested in the welfare of others. We have strong inbuilt attitudes that can only benefit our community and world and never harm it. No matter how strong the winds blow, our house will not be blown down – for a careful building process has been undertaken, with God as architect, Jesus as project manager and the Holy Spirit as building inspector.

(2) A Constant Watch (verse 4)

Apparently giraffes only sleep between 10 minutes and 2 hours per day. Now just one night as sleep deprived as that and I could hardly function. But being able to survive well with just an hour or so of sleep per day would mean that giraffes are very good observers of what is going on around them – they would be specialists in seeing what was happening while others slept. God, of course, never sleeps. God chooses not to sleep, nor even to take a cat-nap, nor indulge in forty winks, so that he can watch over us.

Lighthouses protect ships as they travel close to coastlines at night. I sometimes think of God as a lighthouse, high on the hill, shedding light onto dark places, so that the danger involved in my life will be minimised. But God is not just high on a hill, but also close-by as my constant companion. I think of the celebrities who when they go out in public have a couple of bodyguards or security personnel accompanying them. Often you can’t see them but they’re close by and vigilant nonetheless. We know that the guards protecting the US president have to be prepared to take the bullet aimed at the one they’re protecting. Doesn’t that remind us of Jesus’ commitment to us! G. Campbell Morgan wrote that God keeps his children safe in “the faithfulness of his tender vigil”. This ‘watching over us’ is never oppressive (nor even controlling), but rather tender and loving.

And God does not easily let us go once we have turned our heart to him. There are various references in this psalm to God “keeping” us or being our “keeper”. God wants to so much keep us as his children. This not like a ‘zoo-keeper’ who ‘keeps’ us in a cage, but God does offer us defining boundaries and protective fences within which we can live. God offers this benevolently and in our best interests. This of course remains a matter of choice for us. We might want to escape from God’s view for any number of reasons, and we can decide to go off track in our own direction, but because of the special interest God has developed in us, it is so very difficult for God to let go of us.

(3) Provision for Completing Life’s Tasks (verse 5)

When working hard out in the hot sun, God can provide what is most needed, a little bit of shade, just to make the toil a little easier. The help we receive in our daily responsibilities is personal, wise and immediate. Before the words ‘help me Lord’ are out of our mouth, in some form or another God is there. Especially when you are well out of your comfort zone, as a parent, at work, or in serving God amongst others, God provides remarkably and brings about good outcomes. God is there opening and closing doors, so that we find ourselves in the places of blessing. God has always got plenty of time to offer to us to our benefit, as long as we don’t start wasting that precious time on trivialities.

(4) Protection against Adverse Conditions (verse 6)

In the day that this psalm was written, it was believed that harmful influences came from the moon. So here is also a promise of protection from the power of adverse influences, whether this be from known or unknown dangers. God is constantly seeking our good; this is not a promise of a cushioned carefree existence (as we well know), but rather brings the opportunity of a well prepared life – a life ready to face and cope with any impending ‘dark valleys’.

(5) A Defence against the Negative Energy of Evil (verse 7)

God well knows the overpowering forces of violence that exist in the world. As the insulation in our house protects us from the rages of heat and cold, our general daily sense of peace and well-being needs to be insulated from any outside evil! God hugs us tightly, most especially concerned for the inner life of our soul. God does not want evil to touch us so that we lose our joy and become distrustful or bitter or removed from active social interaction. God wants to preserve our human worth and dignity.

(6) Guidance over our Passage through Life (verse 8)

God and his guidance is available to us in all times and all places – all of “our going out and our coming in”; from our home base, out into the affairs of life, back home again – God is with us all the way. Ultimately our relationship with God is a matter of our freewill, but God seeks to be involved, and once involved … is fully involved in all our ventures and enterprises.

So we emerge from this psalm with such a confidence in God. God draws deeply into the difficult circumstances and challenges of our lives, and we discover him helping us. Our response can only be worship! When we accept God’s invitation of his company, God will not be passive where we find ourselves in need. God is continually advancing forward toward developing a living relationship with us.