28 April, 2020
💞 Dear Royal Praying Priests, shalom!
💎 “A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psa 121)
In the midst of such difficult and uncertain times, we wake up every morning for a new battle in our minds, hearts and lives. Where do you turn for help? When we keep looking around, we easily feel confused, struggling, impatient, weary, discouraged or cynical. However, if we look up to the Creator of heaven and earth, faith, hope and strength arise within us because He is our great Keeper and He guards our body, mind and spirit.
In Psalm 121, the Hebrew word translated “watch over” and “keep” comes from the same root word שָׁמַר (shamar). According to the definition of Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, שָׁמַר (shamar) properly means to hedge about as with thorns, and generally means to protect and attend to. The first mentioning of שָׁמַר (shamar) in Bible is in Genesis 2:15 when God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and “watch over” it. It also appears in Genesis 30:31 when Jacob “tends” the flocks for Laban, in Song of Songs 3:3 when a watchman “guards” the city, and in Genesis 17:9 when Abraham is instructed to “keep” the covenant of God.
The Hebrew word שָׁמַר (shamar) is to keep, guard, watch, give heed, and protect. The omnipotent Maker of heaven and earth takes extra care over us! He preserves and strengthens us (v1-2), He will not allow our foot to slip because He knows the way we should go (v3), He guards us and He will never doze or sleep (v4). Even when we stumble, as soon as we fix our eyes on Him, He raises us up to stand on mountains and walk on stormy seas! He keeps us safe in His care and protects us day and night. We are shielded from sunstroke and sheltered from moon stroke (v5-6). He protects us from every evil and He guards our life (v7). His power is far greater than any darkness, disease, hardship, crisis or death! The God of Israel watches our coming and going both now and forevermore (v8)!
What a great Protector we have! Let us encourage one another not to look around or look down, but always look up to Him! Amen.
Psalm 121 in Hebrew (Live at the Tower of David, Jerusalem)
🙏Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for your constant and extra care over us! You are our Protector and You neither slumber nor sleep. Thank You for helping us to face the daily battles in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We trust that no evil will overtake us because You watch over our very life! We are completely safe in Your hands and we have decided to lift up our eyes to You from the earthly distractions and troubles. We believe You have the plans for shalom and not calamity, and You give us a future and a hope. We entrust our families, our friends, our cities, and our nations to Your perfect care. In Yeshua’s name we pray and bless You, Amen.