October 09, 2021

Spurgeon on Psalm 121 - Jehovah Our Great Helper

Psalm 121: 1 - 2

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the LORDthe Maker of heaven and earth.

Below taken from Charles Spurgeons' Treasury of David:

What we need is help, --help powerful, efficient, constant: we need a very present help in trouble. What a mercy that we have it in our God. Our hope is in Jehovah, for our help comes from him.

Help is on the road, and will not fail to reach us in due time, for he who sends it to us was never known to be too late. Jehovah who created all things is equal to every emergency; heaven and earth are at the disposal of him who made them, therefore let us be very joyful in our infinite helper. He will sooner destroy heaven and earth than permit his people to be destroyed, and the perpetual hills themselves shall bow rather than he shall fail whose ways are everlasting.

We are bound to look beyond heaven and earth to him who made them both: it is vain to trust the creatures: it is wise to trust the Creator.

We have been going through the Psalms of Ascent at our church for the past few weeks, and Psalm 121 has been particularly poignant for me. I had always read the first verse as David looking to the mountains for help, but our pastor taught us that instead the mountains were actually a form of dread and fear, that they provided no comfort. 

In an increasingly consumer-driven world, we are told to put our trust in our possessions, but we know how futile this is. The secular world does too, that's why there's such a huge fixation on nature and "getting back to your roots". But while there may be a temporary sense of awe if one focuses on creation itself, it is temporary and unsustainable. Instead, as believers we recognize that the beauty and majesty of creation pales in comparison to its Creator. And the best part is that the Creator of heaven and earth has made a way for lowly sinners like us to commune with Him through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without His grace & mercy, we would run and attempt to hide from Him. 

Like David, let us recognize that our best help and comfort is from God, not from ourselves, the things of this world and the world itself. Soli deo Gloria!