JULY 10, 2014
Look To The Hills
Read: Psalm
121
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help
comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. —Psalm
121:1-2
Atop Corcovado
Mountain overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, stands Christ the
Redeemer, one of the tallest statues of Christ in the world. Standing 30 meters
tall, with arms spreading 28 meters, this sculpture weighs 635 metric tons. It
can be seen day or night from almost anywhere in the city. One look to the
hills brings this figure of Christ the Redeemer into view.
The New Testament
tells us that Christ is not only the Redeemer, but He is also the Creator of
the universe, and that Creator is in view in Psalm 121. There the psalmist
challenges us to lift our eyes to the hills to see God, for our “help comes from
the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (vv.1-2). He alone is sufficient to be our
strength and to guide our steps as we make our way through a dangerous and
troubled world.
We lift our eyes to
the One who keeps us (v.3), guards us (vv.5-6), and overshadows us in the face
of all types of danger. He preserves us from evil and keeps us safely in His
care for all eternity (vv.7-8).
In faith, we lift our
eyes to the One who is our Redeemer and Creator. He is our help and our hope
and our eternal home.
O God, our help in
ages past,
Our hope for years to
come,
Our shelter from the
stormy blast,
And our eternal home!
—Watts
Christ was lifted up
that He might lift us up.
Insight
The superscription for
Psalm 121 is “A Song of Ascents.” This designation is actually given to the
collection of psalms that includes Psalms 120–134. Called “a psalter within the
psalter” by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, these songs were sung by Jewish pilgrims
making their way to Jerusalem for the three primary feast times of the year.
The reason for calling them songs of “ascent” is that Jerusalem is the highest
point in Israel, so people going to Jerusalem were always going up.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
