1 A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the hills--
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of a servant look to the hand of his master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so MY eyes look to the LORD MY God, until He has mercy on me. Lift up your eyes, Isaiah says to God on high...He has created the stars and brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one is missing. Jeremiah reminds us that truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains...our salvation is in the Lord our God. God is my helper...I will not fear...God holds my right hand. He is my support. He will answer me when I cry. I will walk in the way safely, and my foot shall not stumble, for the LORD is my confidence. My God goes before me and He NEVER slumbers. He stays awake to guide and guard my path. He is close by...my shade at my right hand. Like He was to Israel as they journeyed to the Promised Land, He is to me...a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.—Isaiah 49:10
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.—Psalm 91:5-10
The last verse of this Psalm has always been a favorite of mine.
The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Deuteronomy 28 says something similar.
Blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out.—Deuteronomy 28:6
So very thankful that He directs and guards my comings and my goings. Lift up your eyes this morning to the God that is greater than whatever you are facing and greater than anything you can imagine. See by faith the God who is above the sighs and above the skies, whose care for Your soul is from everlasting to everlasting.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.
8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
The LORD raises those who are bowed down;
The LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
10 The LORD shall reign forever--
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!—Psalm 146
