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Christian Resources Library
Psalm 121
Second Sunday of Lent
Sermon preached on Sunday 20th February 2005 by
The Reverend Dr James Woodward
This is one of the so called travellers' hymns meant to reassure the
pilgrim as he journeyed most likely to Jerusalem. This is a Psalm of
assurance that we are not alone, no matter where we are on our journey,
and whether we are awake and fully conscious or asleep. God is with
us even in our loneliest and most fearful moments
There is some solace in knowing and believing that the God who is capable
of creating an entire world also knows and cares intimately about each
of us. We are not alone. God will be beside us and will journey with
us.
I will lift up my eyes to the hills
There are numerous images that mountains bring to mind. Perhaps they
represent a place of safety or refuge or they may be foreboding and
dangerous. In our own lives the walls of our homes and rooms protect
us but they also inspire fear and isolation. The colours of the walls
and their pictures and memories can offer us solace and hope, reassurance
but also they can overwhelm us with anxiety. In our lives we need both
to look at ourselves and beyond ourselves.
So on our journeys do we see ourselves drawing closer to God or feeling
estranged or distanced from God? The Psalmist promises that our fears
can be overcome by hope and reassurance.
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
For all of us each day brings a range of things we have to negotiate;
obstacles and disabilities that confront us. We ask how will we get
through it and what might be the source of our help?
The Lord is your shade at your right hand
One of the greatest obstacles to our sense of well-being is our deep
feeling of diminishment and uselessness. These feelings are often associated
with age; as Christians perhaps we all need to appreciate the wisdom
and holiness of age and of a life filled with experience. Wisdom can
only come with age and with a God who at every stage of our lives is
with us, including our journey through ageing.
The Lord shall keep you safe
The Psalmist answers his own question! The God who chooses to create
is contained within the world and certainly will not abandon us. Everything
and everyone is enthused with God. When we open ourselves up God is
there waiting and wanting to be with us. Day after day God creates and
cares, cares and creates.
The Lord shall keep watch over you
This is a rather beautiful image! God who dwells in the highest and
lowliest of reaches is with us each step of our way. If we choose to
stay open and receptive to him, he will not let us stray from the right
path. Though we may momentarily stumble or stray, he will be with us
and not let us fall or lose our way. This infinitely caring God is a
God who requires no sleep; he is eternally vigilant. Twenty four hours
a day, day after day, year after year, generation after generation -
God watches and cares and guides us on our way.
The Reverend Dr James Woodward
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