We are told that the children of Israel sang Psalm 121 as they were headed towards Jerusalem to celebrate one of their annual feasts. This Psalm is entitled “A Song of Ascents”, or “A Song of Ascending Steps”, because with each verse the psalmist ascends one step closer to the Lord, just as the people were ascending in elevation with each step, closer to the city of Jerusalem.

The Psalm begins with the psalmist taking his eyes off of himself, his sorrow, and his difficulties, and lifting up his eyes to the hills of Jerusalem. He could see the temple off in the distance, the dwelling place of the one true God, the place where God alone was found.

We all need help at times. People seek help from different places, but we, who have a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, know where our help comes from. Our protection, our direction, and our deliverance do not come from anywhere else except from the Lord, who is the creator of all things. He is the One who made heaven and earth. So in His faithfulness and in His power, in Him alone, our help is sure to come.

The enemy will try to misdirect our steps and divert our attention to anyone or anything else except to the Lord. The enemy knows that our God is more than able to help us in every situation in life, no matter how difficult or impossible it may appear to be. Just like the psalmist, we must look to God in hope and in confidence. We must look to the One who is always faithful, to the One in whom we trust.

Even though there may be some people who want us to fail or to fall, we are told that our God will not allow our footsteps to slip or to slide. We will not lose our footing and fall, never to rise up again. The path of life is full of hidden dangers and overwhelming difficulties, but our God sees all things before we do. We are in His divine, omniscient care. In the same way that eyelids protect our eyes, God Himself protects us and takes care of us in the frailty of this life.

God will not become tired, unresponsive, or unavailable, because the enemy of our soul never sleeps. The psalmist was certain that He who keeps Israel would also keep them safe and secure. Night by night and day by day we are always under the watchful eye of our Lord. We should take great comfort in this!

Nothing catches God off guard, nothing catches Him by surprise. He is the God who always leads us in the right direction, so we can travel the road of this life, the road to glory, step by step without fear. It is the Lord Himself who goes before us. He is the One who keeps watch over us from this day, all the way home to eternity.

It is the Lord who is our shade on our right hand, our shadow of protection, so that the burning heat and the blinding light of the sun will not overpower us by day. And the Lord will not allow the coldness, and the darkness, and the danger of the light of the moon to overcome us by night. The Lord will protect us from all evil and wickedness. We can continue on our journey through this life with Him as our shield of protection, with Him by our side.

He will keep watch over our soul, by not allowing pride to overtake us, by not allowing the influence of this world to infect us, and by not allowing the error of false teaching to lead us away from Him. We are kept safe and secure in Christ until the day that we see Him face to face.

What can man do to us, since we are kept by God Himself? The Lord will guard and take care of us, the psalmist concludes. He will keep watch over us as we go out during the day among the people of this world, and as we return home at night to rest. This is a promise of our eternal security and safety in Him. Our steps are firmly established by the Lord from this time forth, as we move one step closer to eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.