My Help Comes from the Lord

You turn when you need help depends on the kind of help you need right today on Truth for Life Alastair big explains why when circumstances are beyond our control, we can confidently trust in God's promises to us.

I was thinking of the prayer by the old Yorkshire foreman after farmer where he would he would ask God, he would say to God, keep me Keep me Believe me throughout the day and then I was thinking about the some and so I decided right around 5 o'clock well what I'll do is I'll just turn us to Psalm 121 we have just on it and we will take these closing moments before a final song together to allow the words of this familiar son to be. If you like our benediction on the day and hour direction for the week that lies ahead so I read them in your hearing, the psalmist says. I lift up my eyes to the hills from where does my help come my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your food be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper of the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and you're coming in from this time forth and forevermore one of the questions in the Psalms of Ascent that is unanswered, and particularly in some hundred and 21 is not where is the psalmist looking because he tells us where is looking but in what direction is he looking sensor called the Psalms of Ascent and since you always make your way up to Jerusalem, the alley in the Hebrew language it. It is customary for us to think that the psalmist is now writing is one of the Pilgrim group that would be going up in order that they might celebrate in the Temple in Jerusalem and that may well be the case but it's interesting that verse eight engines you're going out and you're coming in and know you're coming in and you're going out and there is at least a possibility that the picture is of a returning program that he has behind him. The temple and all that is representative security. There, and as he looks out on the hills and anticipates his departure, he lifts up his eyes to the hills and he asked the question. Where does my help come from now. It may well be that the reason the answer is my help come from is because he looks to the hills as is simply a place of a blessing, but it also may be that he leases. I lift my eyes to the hills and Isaac.

Where does my help come from because the hills may not actually be for him a place of protection or place of menace that certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves that stripped him of his raiment of the party leaving him half dead. That's the journey that's the place. So whether it is in anticipation of security, whether it is in the prospect of menace he is looking in that direction.

I lift up my eyes to the hills and then he asked the question, of course, where does my help come from wonderful question so routine question is a question that I asked myself with frequency. It may be a question that you've been asking yourself, particularly in this last week. I don't know the circumstances of your life.

All of us are in need of help all of us are in need of more help than we often realize that we are would you be honest enough to say that often, particularly when the wind is against those that were tempted to look for help in the wrong place and to try and find the answer in someone or in something that is unable to suffice the answers. Of course his own question in verse two, which is good because they were not left to wonder where does my help come from. He says my help comes from the Lord. My help comes from the Lord. And then he adds, who made heaven and earth, so another words he saying my help comes if the hills represent longevity of the hills actually let represent lasting significance. I actually have my help. Founded and grounded in the one who made the hills before the hills and orders Studer, Eric, received its frame from everlasting, thou art God two endless years, the same my help comes from the Lord, who created everything, who created everything is in an area in which I am particular need of help.

There is nothing that is beyond the bounds of his of the scope of his understanding of his omissions of his omnipresence of his capability. He is unable God is a God in Ephesians 483 who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can ask you live in a much it would be wonderful tonight. And to be able to have Mahalia Jackson a finish off our service just in light of this, neither cover songs.

I love to hear her sing and if I had her here tonight and I was a single one that begins who made the mountains, who made the trees who made the rivers run to the season who put the moon in the starry sky. Somebody bigger than you are. I overheard her say, it puts the chills up your back. He lights the way when the road is long.

He keeps me company with God to guide me.

He walks beside me, just as he'll walk with you here tonight you're actually saying the psalmist goodness gracious where my going to get my health from now will save the psalmist. My help comes from the Lord. He made heaven and earth and incessantly between verse two and verse three there's a shift you see that I lift my eyes to the hill. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Now look at this, he will not let your food removed acknowledgment from the first person the second person question to whom is he talking. We don't know.

It may be the way in which this Psalm would have been song is a bit along the lines of having a presenter so that he is the presenter would say in verses one and two. I lift my eyes to the hills.

It is my help come from and then he would sing out to his congregation. In this way. It's possible I wonder if he's not just talking to himself to talk yourself if you talk yourself.

Make sure you talk sense to yourself. It's okay to talk to ourselves.

If we talk sense to ourselves is very unhelpful if we talk nonsense ourselves.

But I like the thought of the psalmist knows talking to himself. I lift my eyes to the hills with my help come from my help comes from the Lord.

This is not limited just to have a talk with myself. He will let your food be moved.

He will let your food be moved. He would keep. She will not slumber the people of Israel of all of the people of God will neither slumber nor sleep well, of course, if you remember the conflict in that on Mount caramel between the profits of bail and Elijah and the living God. Remember that one of the taunts of Elijah to the profits of bail as they worked themselves up into a terrible shoe because there was no response from the bail to whom they made their appeal and Elijah says that men and in the context of other things he says a perhaps is asleep.

Perhaps you need to go and waken, because he's nothing is no one he can hear he can see he can no he can do. He can't help but he says to himself. Now my help comes from the Lord. He created the heavens and there he will let my food be moved. He's always available to is not simply that if that is that he saying the equivalent of you know, he never turned his phone off at night or he has a kind of adult version of a baby monitor, such as when you have your children or your grandchildren staying over with your allowed to go to sleep in the hope of the baby monitor will work that's understandable, but is far more significant than that. He never sleeps. He never dozes off.

He never slumbers he may be called upon anytime and anyplace in any circumstance. He is the one who not only hears but keeps it by that verb. To keep comes in verse three verse 447 verse eight. Repetition is important in the Bible and the reason the psalmist repeats it here is so that we might understand and that's why I've had that thought in my mind keep me He keeps you. Verse three he keeps Israel. Verse four is your keeper verse five the Lord will keep you verse seven. You keep your going out in your coming in seems to be saying that you want, you'll never even trip. Can it really mean that. What about this. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. Gartner is very helpful in his tiny little commentary but he says you know what you have here in verse six is out a pair of opposites to include everything in between is very helpful sun. The sun you will die of sunstroke, nor will you become alluding and be moonstruck. I think maybe something is not actually the lunar cycles and psychology. Although it is conservative populist notions.

There is a reason why the word lunatic is in the dictionary God. He says the one who watches over me he keeps me body mind soul, spirit, and fight in verses seven and eight.

He is describing the totality of our human existence, you keep you from all evil. You keep your life you keep your going out your coming in, but how are we to understand this. How we to understand he will let your food be moved by the slough of despond from this morning wasn't wasn't pilgrims food moved. Then he slip into the slow dinner get covered in mud as he did so, what happened was he really doing some bad sins know you have to be one of Job's counselors to bring. That is the conclusion when you know it was heading to the heavenly city slid in their on another occasion he looked over the fence and he said this matter over here is so beautiful so wonderful Eileen. We are to go over the wall and into the metal and over the wall and into the meadow he went disco bypass meadow in Pilgrim's progress and it is in that context. 30 runs into Apollyon is a picture of the devil and wrestles make big time with appalling support he remained he will not let your food be moved.

What is it me, he will keep you from all evil seems to be saying almost nothing bad will ever happen to the camping that because lots of bad things do happen to us with all live long enough to know that there is no exemption from the rigors of life our loved ones die. We get sick.

Businesses go kaput. Children disappoint us. We disappoint one another.

So when you read something like this. That seems to be so categorical. And you said yourself, how does this work you know what to do. Don't stand further back from the picture stand further by taking what the Bible says in the context of all that the Bible reveals. You can do this on your own money just get you started.

Save yourself, how would Joseph saying some hundred and 21 in the pit. He will not let your food be moved as this work stripped naked and sold as a slave he will give you from all evil, who sold into the home of Potiphar, despised by his family as he was the answer will answer of course is provided by Joseph himself when he greets his brothers at the end and he says you know you intended all the stuff for evil but God intended it for good, so that in the economy of God, even the evil. Even the bad. Even the difficult and even the disappointment is actually employed by God, so that from the vantage point of eternity and it will in many cases take eternity to grant resolution to this for many office the work we will all take questions into eternity. If you if you if you found somebody who want to have them come and talk to me. I have to meet.

We will inevitably take questions into eternity, but from the vantage point of eternity. It will be apparent that God employees evil deeds and intentions to defeat evil itself, and if there is nowhere else to go to resolve than simply go to the cross of Jesus Christ and there you have it. Some 23. The anticipation is of the shadow of the Valley you expect the shadow of the Valley but you expect to be able to face the Valley in the gospel of Luke. When Jesus is speaking to his followers, and he is assuring them of the minutest care of God for them. He says to them, even the very hairs of your head are numbered. Go look at the context and where does he say that he says it right on the heels of the fact that you become my follower, you will be persecuted and a number of you will be martyred. But remember this, the hairs of your head are number you kidding me. I thought they hears my every number will never be persecuted on never be martyred know you don't get. He won't let your food slip. He will not let your soul be lost. He knows what he's doing is why Luther and that great him you know is able to say, but though they take my life goods on her children, wife yet is there profit small. Why is it small because Luther says all I have is Christ you see where this goes. Go south for us is if we have not come to the point where all we ultimately have is Christ you see it. If my security. My confidence is in my wealth I put it that way another's much work but it may relive it if it's in my wealth or if it's in my health or if it's in my wife that if you take my wife my wealth or my health is a disaster. It has to be but if my security is in Christ than the other.

Take my wife goods children life then is there profit small, why because my help comes from the Lord who made heaven under because it's in that context that we understand everything that is really real or actually last forever, was that I would stop and I will stop but I been thinking about that you note Jesus as singing this thinking about because we have the record of him in the garden of Gethsemane and if you been in the garden of Gethsemane. You know that under certain vantage points.

There would it would be possible to do as the psalmist owes here and say I lift my eyes to the hills that we know part of the conversation between Christ and the father father if there's any way that I can do something other than this program right now if it if if it is possible, let this cup pass from me and then you find in pondering and saying hi to the hills will lift mine eyes as my help come from my help comes from the Lord, perhaps singing Psalms 16 I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices in my flesh also 12 secure for you will not abandon my soul to shield or let your holy one see corruption is nobody can really pray that as Christ prayed, you want abandon me father you won't let me see corruption. Why you made known to me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of joy in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

That is not conjecture on my part.

Certainly relationship to some 16 I have it on good authority because if you go to acts chapter 2 Peter there on the day of Pentecost says that it is in the lips of Jesus that we have Psalms 60 because he says of Jesus, it was not possible for death to hold him. It was impossible for death to hold him. He says, quoting Psalm 60, he says, quoting Jesus you show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy your right hand are pleasures forever and and so Jesus's sake, I'm good. I'm coming home to your father and I bring in a whole ton of brothers and sisters with me because he Zürich. God is already said to him ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, here I am. He says father, the ones that you have given me all of the moving. Not one of them is been lost.

There are no MDC there are no no-shows because I live they live because death cannot hold me, it cannot hold them because you have held me fast, they remain in my glass.

Why, because God is faithful to the promises of his word and his promises both of the execution of his justice and the assurance of his love are expressed finally and seemingly in Jesus who, like the Highland Presbyterians had only one am with 150 songs in it called the sounds of David and Shirley. Jesus knew all the sounds of my heart.

Jesus probably knew the whole Old Testament of my heart. So when we read it as material reminds us read it as a whole Bible. And when you say my help comes from the Lord you find its focus saving me and ultimately in Jesus listing to Truth for Life weekend with Alistair Begg message titled my help comes from the Lord and we hope you'll keep listening. Alister will be back in just a minute to close with prayer. Let me take just a minute here to wish everyone of you a very happy new year. Glad you've chosen to start 2022 with us the new year is always a good time to establish or to recommit to good habits.

Habits that will draw us closer to God on our website. We offer a number of resources to help you get started in books and devotionals Bibles much more than that. You'll even find a daily Bible reading plan you can download that will help you work your way through both the old and New Testament. By the end of the year. Find out more when you visit Truth for Life.orc Truth for Life. We like to recommend materials that will point you to God and to his word and we found a great book to help you kick off 2022 that will do just that. The book is titled the all sufficient God book is written by Martin Lloyd Jones. He's well-known for mining scripture for all of the truth that contains in this book Lloyd Jones will walk you through chapter 40 from the book of Isaiah. Each of the nine chapters in this book contains material originally preached by Lloyd Jones is a sermon's passage for the Scripture marked his ministry that he was known for unpacking God's word.

Verse by verse in this book he consistently points to the gospel to God's glory and wisdom. Find out more about the book the all sufficient God.

When you visit our website at Truth for Life.orc now here is Alister close with prayer.

We thank you father that your word we can never exhaust. We thank you that we can go to it again and again we want to affirm tonight as we end this day together, your faithfulness to us. Your kindness and your grace and we pray that as we prepared, apart from one another, we may do so with with joyful hearts if we have heartaches and concerns, let's turn around and share them with someone before we go, and to discover again that a burden shared is a burden half if were full of joy and rejoicing. Let's share that to for a joy shared to surely enjoy double the rest in your faithfulness throughout all these generations and we pray in Jesus name above Lapine. Thanks for listening when you're in a crowd.

Do you prefer to blend in order to stand out next weekend will find out why Christians are supposed to be noticeably different from the surrounding culture. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living