The Lord as Keeper
What Psalm 121 Teaches of God’s Provision
Introduction
Likely sung as a hymn during the pilgrimage of the Jews back to Jerusalem after their exile, Psalm 121 was intended to instill confidence in the Lord. This Psalm does so by correctly assessing man’s place before God. God is described as Keeper; His people are the kept. This Psalm will be explored by examining (1) man’s place before God, (2) God as Keeper, and (3) man as the kept.
A Humble Realization
This Psalm begins with the psalmist lifting his eyes up to the hills. Pride, a sin all humans are guilty of, often causes the haughty to look down on others from their “high horse.” In contrast, this Psalm begins from a low place of humility, looking upward. The author says:
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
Asking this humbling question, the Psalmist acknowledges his need for help. He understands that he is in no position to succeed on his own; things are beyond his capabilities, and he refuses to depend on himself. He says:
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Lifting his eyes up, the singer understands his place before God. He is insufficient and inadequate; God is completely sufficient and adequate. The Psalmist accepts the reality of his own lacking and seeks for the Lord’s filling. By acknowledging God’s creative work, the singer, who is a mere mortal amidst the grand universe, stresses God’s universal and unbound power.
The Lord as Keeper
In humility, the Lord is seen as He truly is. Instead of trying to use God to fulfill one’s own will, a man in humility realizes that the only will worth accomplishing is that of God’s. In turn, the Lord can finally be Keeper over man.
God cannot be Keeper over man unless man chooses to be kept by God. This is because God loves humans and wants a personal relationship with them. He will not force anyone to accept Him; He desires for people to come to Him freely.
A keeper is someone who manages and takes care of something or someone else. God is uniquely perfect at this task, as He is infinite and all-knowing and all-powerful. He is also perfectly wise and loving. By definition of His character, literally nobody else can be a better Keeper over creation than the Creator Himself.
God the Keeper will not force others under His perfect keeping. Man can be kept by God only if He comes to God willingly. Such a willingness is the result of man humbling Himself and accepting His place before God. When man acknowledges that His help is from above, then God can start His work as Keeper.
What does it mean to be kept by the Lord? The Psalmist explains that under God’s keeping, one will have stability:
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
This means that the Lord becomes the firm foundation on which one can live their lives in a world of constant flux. When all seems to be going wrong, when there is nothing but chaos, those whom God keeps are uniquely at peace because of their guaranteed stability.
This stability itself knows no fluctuation. God’s keeping does not sleep or take rest; once man chooses to humble himself and subject himself to God’s governance and will, he enjoys an unending stable foundation which will never shift.
Continuing the thought, the psalmist, who Himself is a Jew, proclaims:
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
He affirms that as a chosen individual under God’s care, he can enjoy enduring protection and care from God. This idea is not limited, of course, to the Jews of the Old Testament. He is exclaiming a principle that applies to all of God’s chosen people — New Testament believers thus can lay claim to this promise.
Likely making his pilgrimage back to Jerusalem under the hot and bright middle-eastern sun, the Psalmist sings:
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The singer acknowledges God’s provision over his momentary needs and worries. A mere shade for the eyes of a single individual is small and insignificant in the grand scheme of the entire history of the universe, yet the singer affirms that God cares enough for him to take care of such a small and minute detail in his life. God cares not only for the eternal, but also for the particular and minute.
God knows every trial, temptation, and sorrow that each individual endures. The singer marvels that despite God having millions of others to watch over, He never for one moment forgets the him. For these reasons, the author is convinced:
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
If God cares about the smallest details of one’s life, imagine how invested He is in keeping his people away from the hands of evil. God is so dedicated in His keeping that He protects and manages the very life He has given to man. The Lord will look after every step that His kept people take.
Man as the Kept
What does it mean to be kept by God? It means to enjoy stable care from the ultimate Father. It means to submit to God’s will and believe that whatever the momentary trouble, there is a infinite eternal reality that underlies it. This underlying eternal reality brings an immovable foundation of peace. An infinite number of possible trials may arise, but the reality of God’s keeping shrinks them into literal nonentities. They are absolutely meaningless in light of God’s provisions.
A man kept by God is a man who need not fear stumbling. He has the unique capability to stay stable no matter what life throws his way. A man kept by God is one who has security at all points — He need not doubt that God will forget Him. A man kept by God trusts the Lord to provide him with his daily needs; he need not worry for food, clothing, shelter, or any other need — He has a confidence that God will provide.
A man kept by God knows that God loves him and does not doubt it. A man kept by God walks in protection from evil — even when evil trials and temptations reach for Him, He knows His eternal destiny is in the hands of his Keeper. A man kept by God need not fear death itself, for He knows that the Keeper gives him life. A man kept by God has all these things and more as long as he choses to submit himself to God’s keeping.
Such are the promises that Psalm 121 makes.
Conclusion
This Psalm was explored by examining (1) man’s place before God, (2) God as Keeper, and (3) man as the kept. God is the Keeper and His people are the kept. Psalm 121 correctly places man in a humbled position before God; man’s true place is indeed before His Keeper. An encouragement to the pilgrim Jews during their return from exile, this Psalm continues to bring confidence to believers in the Lord’s care for their lives.
