5/20/07

The Essence of Christ in the Psalms: He Is Our Keeper

 Psalm 121:1-8 

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come?  [2] My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.  [3] He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.  [4] Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.   [5] The Lord is your Keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.  [6] The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.  [7] The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.  [8] The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.  

Last week in our study of the twenty-third Psalm, the presence of Christ is revealed as the Shepherd of the sheep.  We would see Him as our ultimate Provider.  If we look at the twenty-third, in light of our study this morning we could say that He is also the “Keeper” of the Sheep.  Whether the author of the Psalm we are looking at today is or is not David, the presence of Christ is still evident.  As a Shepherd, He would be a natural Keeper. A Keeper as Provider and Protector.  Whatever the author of the Psalm imagined in the concept of a Keeper is culminated, perfected and fulfilled in Christ.  The imagery that the Psalms present as our  Sustainer, Provider, the One Who abides with us, our Deliverer, the Forgiver, etc. is the “shadow” and the promise of Who was to come, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Who is it that gives us help in times of trouble?  The question is asked.  Isn’t it a natural response when looking for answers to particular questions to move our eyes to the horizon or upward.  The writer was not saying that he was looking to the mountains to provide the help needed.  Instead, the writer was probably looking at Mount Moriah, God’s mount (Zion), upon which the Temple sits.  “From where will my help come from?”  We can know that because he then says, “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”  He says that there is only one place where the help that all men need comes from and that is from the Creator of all things. 

Isn’t it comforting to know that the God of Creation is actively involved in our lives?  He is not only the Originator of the “story”, He wrote how His creation began and knows how it will end.  He casts all the players and their roles.  He produced and designed the set from nothing (ex nihilo) and is the Director.  How could we imagine that God, who created everything with such grandeur, perfection, and with such preciseness, would somehow stand impassively by without direct action and intervention in the very lives of those whom He has created?

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [17] that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. [18] "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, Jude 1:24

He is our Keeper.  The word “keeper” in the Hebrew, shamar, has meanings that include “to hedge about, preserver, care-taker, watcher, protector, defender.”  As such, even Psalm twenty-three could have actually been written substituting the word “keeper” for “shepherd” because each of the synonyms for “keeper” would logically and practically apply to the meaning of “shepherd.”

Whatever might come our way in terms of life struggle, suffering, etc., cannot deter the promises of God to us and the purposes that reveal and define His glorious kingdom.  He is our help.  He is the One who holds us up.  It is in His righteousness that we stand.  It is in Him that we place our hope.  He is in us to bring about His Sovereign purpose.  Therefore, He makes us to stand.  Our footing is not on shaky ground.  His foundation is firm.  Our standing in faith is sure.  We cannot slip because He is the One who holds us in His hand.  One reason we can be absolutely certain of this is because:

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. [29] "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. John 10:27-29

For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. [11] Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Ephesians 6:10-13

We have the addition security in His keeping us.  Since there is no time with God, and since He is does not “slumber or sleep”, we know that He is careful to be our Protective, Sustaining Keeper.  He is not only the author of our faith, but He is the Perfector of it.  He is the beginning and the end.  That implies that since He was in the beginning before there was anything, and since He is eternal (meaning that He has to be in the end to judge the world), everything in between is under His control, as well.

Verse five and six widen our confidence even more. He is the One who is at your right hand…to protect you.  The phrase “your shade on your right hand” symbolized the fact that He is at your right hand to protect you even from the sun’s rays, if needed.  The sun and moon are respective objects that reveal the destructive elements to the body (heat and cold). 

For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Isaiah 25:4

I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  Psalms 16:8

He has chosen to be for us what we cannot be.  We cannot become what He desires us to be in our own strength.  We need Him to stand in our stead as our “advocate.”  He is in one respect, and I don’t mean in any way for this to be disrespectful of His Lordship, our “right hand man.”  He is at the “right hand” of the Father interceding on our behalf…always. 

So why do you need a right-hand man? Well, because you can't do it all yourself. If you have ambition and you want to grow, you eventually need help. You need to surround yourself with people you can rely on, people you know will keep the boat sailing straight.

Chosen well, a right-hand man will act as your interim replacement, your diplomat, your man of the "people," your ear to the ground, your enforcer, and your sounding board.

A right-hand man is crucial to expanding your power base. He can strengthen your position as leader, give you credibility, and act as an advisor.

Choosing the perfect right-hand man is a bit like choosing the perfect suit. You want him tailored to your specifications, you want to be able to breathe and be comfortable when he is around you, and when you need him to make you look good, you want to know you can rely on his quality and polish.  Traits He must possess:

Loyalty: Rev. 19:11

Completes our weaknesses:  2 Cor. 12:10

Competent: Mark 7:37

Quiet leader: Is.53:7

Gets his hands dirty: Phil. 2:6-8

Jesus is not only our physical Protector, but He is our spiritual Keeper.  He protects us from evil.  Jesus said that we are to make this a matter of prayer in our daily life.  We need to be reminded that we are sinful.  We are not “good people.”  We are sinners that have been tremendously blessed by the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God.  Though we have been made righteous by the shed blood of Jesus Christ through our faith in His atoning sacrifice, we still have the propensity to sin.  However, we must remember that it is not in our confession or repentance of sins that keeps our soul from danger, it is based solely upon the finished work of God, in Christ.  I am not forgiven, made righteous or able to walk in a manner worthy of the call because of religious activities that I do. 

Jesus Christ is not only the Keeper of our souls and our Protector, but He is also the One who is with us always…as we are going out and our coming in, forever.  Isn’t it a great thought that Jesus is always present.  Remember our study of Psalm One…He is our Abiding Presence.  He is able to Provide, Sustain, Forgive, Keep us because He is with us wherever we are.  He is more than a “right hand man.”  He is in us.  He guards over our thoughts, motives, intentions and attitudes that might be destructive.  He reminds us that He has established a place of peace.  Because we have been justified by faith we have an abiding peace.

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

Wherever we go there is an established and on-going relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit, which should leave us at all time with a confidence of His Keeping power.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 2 Thessalonians 3:16

“and certainly, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:20