May 5, 2017
Psalm 121:1-5, 7, 8 (English Standard Version)
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
There are several Scriptures that deal with the question which the psalmist asks in Psalm 121:1, “From where does my help come?” Then he answers his own question, and adds more commentary, in verses1 through 5, 7 and 8 (English Standard Version):
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 foot be moved; He who keeps you will not…sleep. The
LORD is your keeper….The LORD will keep you from all evil; He
will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your
coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Indeed, “My help [our help] comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth…”! We dealt with the rest of these verses in our featured Scripture in the last blog. Let’s look at the related ‘several Scriptures’ mentioned above to see, “I am supposed to Depend On What?”
• Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
• Psalm 33:16-18, 20, 21 – “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy….Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.”
• Psalm 44:4-7 – “You are my King, O God….Through You we will push down our enemies….For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies….In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever.”
• Psalm 118:6, 8, 9 – “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear, what can man do to me?…it is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
• Psalm 146:3, 5 – “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help….Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God….”
• Proverbs 21:31 – “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD.”
• Isaiah 31:1 – “Woe to those who…rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD.”
• Jeremiah 9:23, 24 – “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this; that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.”
I am not going to comment or expand on any one of the above Scriptures! Every one of them speaks loudly enough on its own! But I will say this: taken together, it stands out that we dare not depend on our national military might, or the combined strength of all our allied forces! Sophisticated weaponry, even the most powerful nuclear bombs, won’t cut it……if God is not for us, we will not ultimately win!
Our United States national motto is “In God We Trust,” established as law in 1956, and signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It had been part of U.S. coinage for 92 years before then, first appearing on the two-cent coin in 1864. The Pledge of Allegiance was introduced by Francis Bellamy in 1892, but was not formally adopted by Congress until 1945. Having undergone two revisions since the 1892 original, the third and last revision was in 1954 when the words “under God ” were added.
But are we “…one Nation under God…”? And though “In God We Trust ” is our motto – Do we really trust Him as a nation? Depend On What? is the question we must consider. And from what the above Scriptures tell us, we had better depend on God for our very existence as a nation!
One more important thought: The only way to depend on God is to know Him! And the only way to know God is through His Son Jesus Christ! Please read and consider the following Scriptures:
• John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
• John 14:6 – “Jesus said…‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ”
• John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
• I John 5:11-13 – “And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life….”