Psalm 121 (ESV)1I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

3He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

7The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

The moment we say no to the world and yes to God, all our problems are solved, all our questions answered, all our troubles over. If this is what you believe about Christianity then you are wrong. We live in the same world as people who do not love Jesus, and are subject to the same perils that face them.

Psalm 121 is a quiet voice gently and kindly telling us that we are, perhaps, wrong in the way that we are going about the Christian life, and then, very simply, showing us the right way. For many, the first great surprise of the Christian life is in the form of troubles we meet. Psalm 121 helps us deal with this discovery.

Travelers’ Advisory Three possibilities for harm to travelers are referred to in the psalm. A person traveling on foot can at any moment step on a loose stone and sprain there ankle. A person traveling on foot under protracted exposure to the sun, can become faint with sunstroke. And a person traveling under pressure and anxiety can become emotionally ill. In reference to these hazards the psalm says, “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber…. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day.” Any Christian who is honest is challenged by this truth. We have all sprained our ankles and been stuck in perils that have affected us. This psalm is not saying that we will not face any adversity, it’s saying that the evil of this world and the adversity we encounter will have no power over us because it has no power of God.

Help Form the Hills: A person of faith encounters trouble and cries out help. A look to the hills for help ends in disappointment. For all their majesty and beauty, for all their quiet strength and firmness, they are finally just hills. Psalm 121 rejects a worship of nature, a religion of stars and flowers, a religion that makes the best of what it finds on the hills; instead it looks to the Lord who made heaven and earth. The Creator is Lord over time: he guards you when you leave and when you return, in your beginnings and in the end. God guards you from every evil.

The promise of the psalm is not that we shall never stub our toes but that no injury, no accident, no distress will ever have evil power over us, that is, will be able to separate us from God’s purposes in us. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limits because He has no limits; He’ll always be there to help you come through it.

Three times in Psalm 121 God is referred to by the personal name Yahweh, translated as LORD. Eight times he is described as the guardian, or as the one who guards. He is not an impersonal executive giving orders from on high; he is present help every step of the way we travel. All the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us. From the point of our repentance God guards us from every evil.

The only serious mistake that we can make when illness comes, when anxiety threatens, when conflict disturbs our relationships with others is to conclude that God had gotten bored looking after us and has shifted his attention to a more exciting Christian, or that he is disgusted with our meandering obedience. Psalm 121 prevents this mistake: the mistake of supposing that God’s interest in us waxes and wanes in response to our spiritual temperature.

We know that God created the universe and has accomplished our eternal salvation. But we can’t believe that he cares to watch the soap opera of our daily lives. But Psalm 121 says that the same faith that works in the large things works in the small. As the psalmist says; “The LORD is your keeper….The LORD will keep you from all evil…The LORD will keep…”

Traveling Companion: The Christian life is not a quiet escape to a garden where we can walk and talk uninterruptedly with our Lord. The Christian life is simply, going to God. We will face dangers, and troubles, just like those who do not call Christ their Savior, or fall at the feet of God their King. The difference is that each step we walk, each breath we take, we know we are preserved by God, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God; and therefore no matter what doubts we endure or what accidents we experience, the Lord will guard us from every evil, He guards our very life.

Faith is the solid, massive, secure experience of God, who keeps all evil from getting inside us, who guards our life, who guards us when we leave and when we return, who guards us now and guards us always.

(This post is a summary and partial abridgement of Eugene Peterson’s book “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction.” It is based solely on Peterson’s work and any help that this content gives should be credited to God’s grace through Peterson’s effort. In other words, give God glory, thank Eugene Peterson and consider buying the book.)

Psalm 120 (ESV)1In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. 2Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

3What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? 4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!

5Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 6Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!

A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find motivation to set out on the Christian way. They have to be fed up with ways of the world before they acquire an appetite for the world of grace. Psalm 120 is the product of such a person. This person, sick with lies, and crippled with hate. Cries out with pain that penetrates despair and stimulates a new beginning—a journey to God that becomes a life of peace.

The fifteen Songs of Ascents describe elements common to all those who apprentice themselves to the Lord Christ and who travel in the Christian way. The first of them is the prod them gets them going.

Lies Without Error: I’m in trouble is the opening phrase. The last word is war. This is not a happy Psalm but an honest and necessary one. The distress that begins and ends the song is the painful awakening to the no-longer-avoidable reality that we have been lied to. The lie, everything is o.k. This lie covers up and perpetuates the deep wrong, disguises the violence, the war, and the rapacity.

Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie. Rescue me from the person who tells me of life and omits Christ, who is wise in the ways of the world and ignores the movement of the Spirit. They are lies because they claim to tell us who we are and omit everything about our origin in God and our destiny in God.

Lightning Illuminating the Crossroads: God, revealed in his creative and redemptive work, exposes all the lies. The moment the word God is uttered, the world’s towering falsehood is exposed; we see the truth. The truth is that God made and loves us. The point at which we need illumination is the point at which the paths of our lives fork. Psalm 120 is the decision to take one way over another. The people who follow the same path as the psalmist are people who take delight in God and are Christians.

A No That Is a Yes: The first step toward God is a step away from the lies of the world. We move away from things that are strange and hostile. We recognize that this world that we live is not our homes. The biblical word that describes our desire to say no to the world is repentance. Repentance is not an emotion. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been in the wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own God. It is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are no going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is the most practical of all the words, and the most practical of all the acts.

Repentance, the first word in Christian immigration, sets us on the way to traveling in the light. It is a rejection that is also an acceptance, a leaving that develops into an arriving, a no to the world that is a yes to God.

(This post is a summary and partial abridgement of Eugene Peterson’s book “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction.” It is based solely on Peterson’s work and any help that this content gives should be credited to God’s grace through Peterson’s effort. In other words, give God glory, thank Eugene Peterson and consider buying the book.)

The following content is a summary and partial abridgement of Eugene Peterson's book "A Long Obedience In The Same Direction." It is based solely on Peterson's work and any help that this content gives should be credited to God’s grace through Peterson’s effort. In other words, give God glory, thank Eugene Peterson and consider buying the book. DISCIPLESHIP: WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN RACE AGAINST HORESES?

The fifteen “Songs of Ascents" (Psalm 120-134) provide the study for developing discipleship in an instant society. The use of these Psalms is to aid in encouragement for a life of obedience to God. This obedience takes root over a long period of time and is often anything but instant. As you journey through these God-sung “songs” may your affections be stirred as you see your Savior and find in Him satisfaction in every sphere and season of life.

Tourist and Pilgrims: One aspect of the world that is harmful to Christians is the assumption that anything worthwhile can be acquired at once. It is not difficult in this environment to get someone interested in the message of the gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest. People have developed the lifestyle of a tourist and only want the high points. There is no desire to wait patiently and devoutly for a true relationship with God.

An essential thing in heaven and earth is that there would be a long obedience in the same direction resulting in something that makes life worth living. For recognizing the world’s ways there are two biblical designations for people of faith that are extremely useful: disciple and pilgrim.

Disciple: Says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing and learning relationship, always. A disciple is a learner, but not primarily in the academic setting of a school-room, but rather, at the work of a craftsman. We don’t just acquire information about God but skills in faith.

Pilgrim: Being a pilgrim means being a person who spends their life going someplace, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way of Jesus Christ. This is because Jesus is the “way and the truth and the life” (see John 14:5-6).

A Dog Eared Songbook: The shiray hammaloth, or Songs of Ascents, is a resource to guide people in the Christian way and direct people of faith in the conscious and continuous effort that develops into maturity in Christ. The songs are numbered 120-134 in the book of Psalms. These fifteen songs were likely sung, possibly in order, by Hebrew pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem to the great worship festivals.

However, the song was not only literal, it was also a metaphor: the trip to Jerusalem acted out a life lived upward toward God, an existence that advanced from one level to another in developing maturity. Three times a year faithful Hebrews would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. While doing this they refreshed their memories of God’s saving ways at the Feast of Passover in the spring; they renewed their commitments as God’s covenanted people at the Feast of Pentecost in early summer; they responded as a blessed community to the best that God had for them at the Feast of Tabernacles in the autumn. This picture of the Hebrews gives us a good look at life as a faith-journey. These songs convey a wide range of emotions and ideas to God. Singing them is a way both to express God’s amazing grace and to quiet fears. Since many essential items in Christian discipleship are incorporated in these songs, they provide a way to remember who we are and where we are going. Ultimately, the Songs of Ascents, teach us who we are in Christ because of the Gospel of Christ and that our ultimate destination is Christ so we can be with Christ.

Between the Times: Everyone who travels as a pilgrim needs assistance and encouragement from time to time. Christians will recognize how appropriate these songs are during the between times. They are songs of transitions, brief hymns that provide courage, support and inner direction for getting us where God is leading us in Jesus Christ. For those who choose to live no longer as tourist but as pilgrims, the Songs of Ascents combine all the cheerfulness of a travel song with the practicality of a guidebook and map.

"You then my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have hear from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others as well."

This is the ground and call. Strength from grace. Graced to grow others. Paul goes on and applies this grace worked out to men who embrace they are soldiers, athletes, and farmers.

"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him."

Battle. Fight. Fight for your cities. Fight for your families. Fight for your great grand-babies. Fight for those that have no voice. Fight for those who don’t even know how to fight for themselves. Battle that insidious enemy the devil. He has been crushed under the heal of our King. Battle in the gracing strength of the Spirit of God. It is not by might nor by power by [His] Spirit says the Lord of Hosts. You battle not in your power but of God Himself. May God keep your eyes fixed on the mission by keeping your eyes fixed to the Cross. May no civilian pursuits bewitch you. May the pleasures, riches, and cares of this world not choke the fruit God is growing.

Why fight? Why battle? Why labor as exiles and warriors here?

"Our aim is to please the one who enlisted us."

The one? Jesus Christ. Enlisted by His blood. We are blood bought soldiers for His glory by His grace in His strength.

"An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules." Labor well. Train hard. Don’t take shortcuts. May we be men who train and beat our bodies for a crown that will never fade. One given by our King. May we look forward to the crown of righteousness, which the righteous one will award to us, and not only to us but to all who loved His appearing.

"It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have first share of the crops." God has reminded me this week how lazy I can be, and how much time I waste. The farmer gets up early and labors until late with no one watching. He plants in faith. He waters in faith. Trusting that God alone gives growth. He weeds his field so what grows produces a great harvest. May God allow us to be hard working farmers who get to partake in the harvest.

May we plant the seeds of the Gospel. May we look at this globe as God’s field and ask Him where the field is largest, the workers fewest, and may we go work that ground. Holy Spirit bust up the dry and barren soil of our cities. Holy Spirit make ground ready for the Gospel to be planted. For your glory God and the good of your people.

"Think over what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." God by the Spirit please keep these verses in our minds and hearts. May we meditate on your word day and night. May we inhale these God-breathed Words and feel strong by your grace. Give us fire in our bones that bursts forth in preaching and planting of Gospel-centered Christ-exalting churches. For your fame, in Christ’s name. Amen.

The ESV Study Bible is one of the most helpful gifts given to the English speaking church that I can think of. I learn so much from the articles, maps, and running commentary throughout this incredible translation. For anyone looking to study and learn and eat and saturate in the Word of God would heartily recommend this resource. I am continually surprised by how much solid content is loaded in the ESV Study Bible. One of the articles I read recently that provides a great summary and strategy for reading the Old Testament Christotelically (and Christocentrically) is attached as a PDF. Spend the 30 minutes reading this overview it is well worth your time.

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