Psalm 121 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 121 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I lift up my eyes to the hills- from where will my help come?
Verse 2My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Verse 3He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Verse 4He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Verse 5The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Verse 6The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
Verse 7The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Verse 8The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
Devotion
It’s God’s grit in the soul. In a world of trouble, the Black preacher calls, “God is good!” The people declare, “All the time!” Then the people call, “All the time.” And the preacher echoes, “God is good!”
Psalm 121 is a declaration of faith, a recitation of trust in God, no matter what. This is divine assurance, not trivial optimism. The question is real, “From where will my help come?” The ground under the nation may be quaking. The voices of violence threaten by day and by night. Are the leaders of our communities sleeping? Is anyone watching over us?
When our daughter sends her children off in the morning with a hug, she makes the sign of the cross on their foreheads. God’s care goes with them. And with you too! Dangers come, and losses. But God is good, all the time. As the apostle attests, nothing “in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:31–39).
Prayer
Be with me Lord Jesus today, and with those I love, and with all who need your care. Today I am especially aware of _______ in your world. May we embody the love of the Lord who made heaven and earth. In your holy name, Amen.