March 8, 2011
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Where are you lifting up your eyes? Psalm 121:1-2
Psalm 121
1 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.From Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible:This psalm teaches us,
I. To stay ourselves upon God as a God of power and a God all-sufficient for us. David did so and found the benefit of it. 1. We must not rely upon creatures, upon men and means, instruments and second causes, nor make flesh our arm: "Shall I lift up my eyes to the hills?"--so some read it. "Does my help come thence? Shall I depend upon the powers of the earth, upon the strength of the hills, upon princes and great men, who, like hills, fill the earth, and hold up their heads towards heaven? No; in vain is salvation hoped for from hills and mountains, Jer. iii. 23. I never expect help to come from them; my confidence is in God only." We must lift up our eyes above the hills (so some read it); we must look beyond instruments to God, who makes them that to us which they are.
2. We must see all our help laid up in God, in his power and goodness, his providence and grace; and from him we must expect it to come: "My help comes from the Lord; the help I desire is what he sends, and from him I expect it in his own way and time. If he do not help, no creature can help; if he do, no creature can hinder, can hurt."I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~~ To what hills are you lifting up your eyes? ~
To friends?
To your boyfriend or girlfriend?
To your spouse?
To your family?
To your pastor?
To popular teachers?
To self-help books?
To support groups?
To twelve-step programs?
To doctors?
To medicines?
To counselors?
To psychiatrists?
To workers' unions?
To political parties?
To governments?
To your own skill?
To your own might?
To your own ability?
To your own wisdom?
To your own intellect?
To your own ingenuity?
To your own resources?~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~To the created – or to the Creator?
To the creature – or to the Creator?To the hills – or to the LORD?
Jeremiah 3:23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains;
Truly, in the LORD our God
is the salvation of Israel.From whence comes your help?
From the hills – or from the LORD?Can you say the LORD is your Lord if you are are not lifting up your eyes above the hills to Him?
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~Hebrews 12:1 ... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith...
~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~Psalm 33
16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.In whose strength are you trusting?
Do you fear the LORD?
Are you hoping in His steadfast love?
Are you waiting for the LORD?
Is the LORD your help?
Is the LORD your shield?
Is your heart rejoicing in the LORD?
Are you trusting in His holy name and no other name?
Does your soul wait for the LORD?
Is your hope in the LORD alone?During Sunday worship you may sing "There is no God like Jehovah," but what is your song the rest of the time?
~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~To the created – or to the Creator?
To the creature – or to the Creator?To the hills – or to the LORD?
From whence comes your help?
From the hills – or from the LORD?~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~
Hebrews 12:1 ... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith...
~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~Deuteronomy 33
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.27 The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’28 Then Israel shall dwell in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens shall also drop dew.29 Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.”There is none like God!~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~To the temporary – or to the eternal?
To the fleeting – or to the everlasting?To the hills – or to the LORD?
From whence comes your help?
From the hills – or from the LORD?~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~
People of God,
you will never be happy unless
you lift up your eyes above the hills
and lift your eyes to the LORD your God.There is none like God!
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~
Hebrews 12:1 ... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith...
~ From whence comes your help? ~
~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~Deuteronomy 4:19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
Hebrews 12:1 ... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith...
May we take heed, lest we lift up our eyes to the hills.
May we lift up our eyes above to the hills and look unto Jesus!
May the Psalmists' songs be our songs from henceforth and forevermore:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.Psalm 62
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah~ Where are you lifting up your eyes? ~
Related:
Are you wasting your life living like all the other nations? Ezekiel 25:8
my ministry & your attitude toward the Word of God
Naphtali News: God speaking to me about my failures & the one thing needful
trusting the eagles' wings (reliance on the Holy Spirit)
Is the Song of Moses your song?
when we're being shaken: let us look unto JESUS!
Be a sanctuary to me, O Lord (Isaiah 8:14)
Two Fountains ~ Where are you drinking? What is flowing? Don't waste your drinking!
"Going up?" | Discernment: "God's Breath ~ world's breaths" | my calling
All ye who hear ... Lazarus, come forth! Lazarus, take heed!
day of prayer, earthly governments & security ("For who is God, but the LORD?")
one Friend alone | letter 100 on assurance & fighting for joy
my dear single sister in Christ: Christ & Christ alone for your joy (Letter 62 on joy)
wives, your husband is not your Husband | letter 77 on assurance & joy
on our anniversaryPhoto Credit: Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pentland_Hills_From_Caerketton_Hill_II.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0
Scripture quotations marked are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.
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Comments (4)
I lift my eyes and my heart to God. He alone is able to sustain me and bring real lasting peace to my heart and mind.
Whenever I have looked to friends, leaders, financial institutions one of two things results. Either I put confidence in them and find them to fail or they refuse to help. But when I look to the Lord, my confidence is always rewarded by the help I need or the wisdom to ask for help in another way. He keeps me in perfect peace as long as I remain in His care. That peace soon evaporates when I go out on my own, thinking that I have things in hand.
So many times I have had to return to the Lord and ask His forgiveness and rededicate myself and my requests to Him. And He is faithful to forgive me and to restore peace in me.
@quest4god@revelife - Amen. Our greatest continuing struggle is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Thank God for His love, mercy and grace that keeps calling us back to Him when we have wandered!
I hope to write a post on this sort of subject some time soon. The general geist was to remove ourselves from the world, we would need to replace the world with something else. Where we crucify our pride, we need to replace it with humility lest we grow bitter. Where we crucify our self-esteem, we must replace it with trust in Christ lest we grow depressed. When we take our eyes aways from idols like you said, we must turn our eyes upon Christ.
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," Ephesians 5:18
@llamalima - Right, nature abhors a vacuum, as they say. Or, from Calvin: man's nature is a perpetual factory of idols. Or, from Jeremiah 8:5: Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
The devil is all about getting us to look anywhere and everywhere else – but to Jesus.
I count EVERYTHING as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
When we get even a glimpse of that worth, then we must do all we can to keep looking unto Jesus, and so we will remain on the everlasting way.