Thoughts for the Day

I lift up my eyes to the hills -
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

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 on and for evermore.

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Years ago I was Vicar of three parishes below the Malvern Hills. All of us in the village could see the beautiful range of hills as we went about our lives. Because of this Psalm 121 was often chosen for weddings and funerals, using the King James version of the bible: 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help'. After a while I realised that we were saying this as though our help came from God who lived in the Malvern hills.

Psalm 121 is part of a series of psalms called "A Song of Ascents" and was probably used on pilgrimages when Jerusalem with its Temple on the hill could be seen in the distance (alternatively it's older still and reflects pagan worship of hills!). Modern translations however, have a question mark at the end of the second line, which leads onto the third and fourth lines:

'I lift up my eyes to the hills -
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.'

Today when rules and regulations are being relaxed yet Covid19 is still rampant, those who are older or with underlying health conditions, are very much at risk. We need to rely totally on God's help at this time, for our 'help comes from the Lord', and as the psalm says, 'The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in'.

Monday 8th June, follow up thoughts

Lord God,
our help comes only from You,
teach us to trust in You
at this time and in the future,
so that we may learn to do Your will
as your loving children.
Amen.