This Psalm is oft referred to as The Travelers Psalm as it promises God's care and protection for one on a journey in dangerous and difficult territory. When kept in its context as a Pilgrim Song its significance deepens significantly.
When
one turns from Meshech (or any city in Israel) to head for Jerusalem he is
faced with the realization that Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains. He will have to traverse them to get to the
sanctuary. Hills represented
difficulty. There were ups and downs,
some very steep. There were dangerous
wild animals. Hills were often the place
where thieves did their work.
In the
Psalms ahead of us the pilgrim will face ...
Ridicule (Ps. 123)
Satan's traps (124)
A long and tiring trip (126)
Family threats (127)
Lifelong hang-ups (129)
Past failures (130)
Selfish pride (131)
He
will discover that as Jesus said, the road is narrow and difficult (Matt.
7:13-14). Two thoughts must be
reconciled.
A. You cannot draw near God because of the problems.
These
kinds of problems are sufficient to take you off the pathway to God. The broad path to destruction is filled with
those who one time thought they might take the narrow road, only to find it too
difficult. They could not stand being
laughed at or being considered dead by their families. They could not get past traumatic events in
their childhood or the guilt of yesterday's sins. This journey to God is not easy and the hills
will be too hard.
B. You cannot draw near God without the problems.
This
may seem a paradox but it is true. The
very hills that will stop your journey are the life-situations through which
you will grow in the knowledge of God.
They will motivate you to want to know God, for when we are at ease we
generally turn away from God. The hills
give God the opportunity to make Himself known.
In our weakness we experience His strength.
Thus,
at the outset of his journey, the pilgrim settles the issue. The journey will be hard, but his Help will
be the one who made the hills, the Maker of heaven and earth. He believes that the God who wants to be
known will keep him on the journey. And
indeed He will!
Matt.
7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for
wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are
many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way
which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The
one who seeks to journey to God is on a narrow, winding, difficult road. There is no other way. But there is a confidence that he will have
all the help he needs from the Lord Who
made heaven and earth. And the
traveler will call on Him often (Ps. 124:8; 134:3). When he does, how will the pilgrim be helped?
God watches over
the pilgrim, v3-4. The idea of slipping
refers to a time of great insecurity or calamity. The fact that God will neither slumber nor
sleep solves a critical issue since, while in the mountains, the traveler will
need sleep. His Help will not be caught
off guard.
God protects the
pilgrim, v5-6. He is our shade. In this picture the sun is the enemy and it
will sap our strength, burn us, cause us to overheat. But note what the term shade means. It means first that God is walking with us,
and second, that His shadow will be cast over the pilgrim.
God guards the
pilgrim, v7-8. Here the concern is harm
of any sort that might come. God will
guard us, not by always keeping us from difficulty, but by limiting the
difficulty and giving us an escape (1 Cor 10:13). Remember Stephen in Acts 7 who died joyfully
at the hands of evil men. He showed the evidence of one protected by God; his
body was killed but his soul rejoiced as he entered heaven.
The
pilgrimage will lead through one difficulty and then another. It must be!
But rejoice in the Help who is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. You will never be out of his sight. He can and will keep you.
Jude 24: Now to
Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
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