Please turn with me to Psalm 121, which again is the text this morning, and in addition we will also read from Romans chapter 8, the last few verses that we find there, verses 35 to 39 of Romans chapter 8. psalm 121 hear now the word of god i lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the lord the maker of heaven and earth he will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber indeed he who watches over israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. And beginning at verse 35 of Romans chapter 8, Paul says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Shall we bow together, asking God's blessing upon His Word this morning. Father, we do pray that You would bless Your Word which has been read, Your Word to be preached. Bless us, O Lord, with open hearts and willing hearts to receive and believe Your Word to us today. As well, Father, we pray that You would fill us with the comfort that indeed we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Father, we pray that through Your Word You would strengthen us and equip each one of us for grateful service, for more faithful service and grateful service to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Beloved in Christ the Lord, I'm sure that, like me, throughout this past week, many of you have heard a number of the news reports. You've seen the pictures of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. As well, you have certain images etched in your mind of victims, different victims involved that have been scattered over the television and the newsprint. And in some ways, the damage and devastation is also a reminder of the tsunami's path of destruction that took place in the first part of this year in another part of the world. As well, it's a little bit of a reminder of the losses from the San Diego fires about two years ago. In a sense, these disasters, whether they take place from hurricanes or tornadoes or fires or earthquakes, we might say, are somewhat of a regular or a natural part of life throughout this world. And as we see the pictures and as we read and hear of the loss, indeed, our hearts go out to those who have been affected, whether by the loss of life or the loss of all of their earthly goods. But at the same time, we have to be honest and say that we cannot help but to be glad that it didn't happen to us. Indeed, we feel so bad for the victims and we will do everything we can. We will give our blood, and as God blesses us, we will give of our gifts and offerings to help out wherever we can. But we are grateful, aren't we, that we have been spared from that kind of damage. And you know, as I watched some of the news coverage and listened to the reports this past week, I was struck by something, and that is the difference between what the world sees at this time and what believers see. You see, the world sees the work of nature. Something that is uncontrollable. Something that is unstoppable. As believers, we see the providence of God. The world sees the power and strength of Mother Nature, as I heard one news reporter say. We see the power and strength of Him who, as Isaiah says, has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand with the breath of His hand marked off the heavens, who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance. We see the strength and power of God our Heavenly Father, and even in those times of which we call natural disaster, beloved, we must hear the voice of God as He says, nothing happens by chance. I make no mistakes. But then how do we explain this to the world? How do we explain this to our unbelieving neighbors? I don't remember the exact event or where it happened in the world, but some years ago, a number of children died as a result of a conflict in another part of the world. And I remember a neighbor of ours in Michigan, as I was talking to him, he was a Christian, and he said, why would a loving God let innocent children die? Maybe some of us have had that same question. Maybe now, maybe at some other time. And the thing is, we may not always be able to give an answer, especially a reasonable answer that will make sense or that will satisfy the questioner. But in times like these, God does give us the opportunity, beloved, to give a reason for the hope that is in us. And as I watched and listened to the news reports, I was reminded of the words of the psalmist, My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Beloved, Psalm 121, a favorite of many, is a beautiful confession of my only Helper, who is my Creator, my Protector, and my Preserver. For some, this psalm has been known as the Traveler's Psalm. I read of accounts where families would read this psalm together before, for example, one of their children who had grown of age was preparing to leave the home or before the family would go on vacation together. And there are stories of many years ago of missionaries and soldiers back in the 1800s whose families clung to the truth of this psalm, the hope of this psalm, when their loved ones were far from home. If you ask Marianne von Skindel what her favorite Bible passages are, she will tell you that every day she reads, even in her 90s. Every day, she reads three psalms in particular, plus her other reading. Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and you guessed it, Psalm 121. Psalm 121 is the second of the songs of ascents, one of the songs sung as the people ascended Mount Zion for worship and for annual feasts as God's people made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, sometimes from a long distance. Jerusalem, we know, was physically located in the highlands of Judah. That's where the temple was with the Holy of Holies where God dwelt among His people. And there was comfort for God's people as they looked to the hill of Jerusalem where they were going to the dwelling of God. But the psalmist's comfort did not come from the hills or the mountains themselves, but from the one who dwelt there. Now, when we think of mountains and hills, we might think of might and power and majesty. You see, mountains, as you look at them, they're impressive and they are immovable. And when you gaze at some of the famous mountain ranges in the world, you stand there in awe of the grandeur of what your eyes behold. As we were coming back from vacation a month and a half ago, we were coming near to Mount Shasta. We'd never seen it before. I had never seen it before. And we would end up staying at the base of Mount Shasta for the night, but as we were driving, there it was, and filling up the whole front windshield of the van. And I said, look! And Landon, five years old, sitting right between the seats where he could see perfectly, looks up and immediately, wow! Wow! Impressive! For some, the hills and the mountains are a place of refuge. Still others take this reference to hills in the psalm to mean whatever is great or excellent in the world. But for the psalmist, these hills, as majestic and safe as they may appear, or the excellent things of the world, whatever they may be, are not the answer to his question, where does my help come from? The psalmist looks past the hills to the One who made the hills. In fact, the One who made heaven and earth. You see, beloved, this points to the providential care of our covenant God. The Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, is the only provider and helper of His people because He is the Creator of heaven and earth and all things therein, including you and me. The psalmist's eyes may have been fixed on the hills, but his focus was fixed on the Lord, the Maker. And if He has made all things, and if He cares for the sparrow, and if He clothes the lilies of the field, how much more will He care for us whom He has knit together in our mother's wombs? And even more than that, who are being remade in His image on account of the saving work of Jesus Christ. Our God who made us knows us perfectly and intimately. He knows what we need even before we ask Him. And He provides all that we need for body and soul. Paul was so certain of the Father's care over His people that he could say, as we read in Romans 8, that nothing, not trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, no created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And of course, those verses are pointing, we might say, to the quality or the comprehensiveness or even the detail of His care as our protector and preserver, as we'll talk about in a moment. But all of this is true because of who He is. He is the one and only true God, our Maker. But He is also our Redeemer through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, beloved, help in this life, this life which is temporary, means nothing apart from help for eternity. But His people are precious to Him because Jesus Christ paid that costly redemption price for the eternal salvation of those who believe by God's grace. Yes, God's loving kindness is good and free to you and me as believers, but it costs our Savior a dear price. There may be many things in this life to give the appearance of being a great help to you and me. Again, the mountains and the hills are strong. They're majestic looking. Money is powerful because, as we say, it talks. People in positions of power may seem to be helpful, but the truth is only God will do. Salvation comes only from the Lord. We don't know exactly why God directs the path of the hurricane in such a way that whole cities are wiped out, that people lose their homes and their jobs and maybe even their lives, and that looting and all kinds of riotous living takes place. But we do know that even through disasters such as this, as well as through many of the difficulties of this life, His call goes forth, do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save. Do not put your trust in governments and superpowers and man-made things, not even in the mountains. Oh, there are many things that God uses as means to help you and me. The government, superpowers, other things like that. But don't look to them. Don't place your trust in them. Look to the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. And beloved, we do know that even in this, whether we are affected directly or indirectly, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Jeremiah 3, verse 23 says, Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitudes of mountains. Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. The truth is, if God is not our only helper, if He is not our only helper, then no creature can help us. But if He is our help, if He is our only helper, then no one and nothing can hinder us. or hurt us. And our Creator, as our Creator, the Lord's help then is manifested in His protection. He is our protector. Verses 3-6 again, He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Now in these verses, there are two word pictures that describe the comfort of the Lord's help and protection. He is a vigilant and faithful watchman and He is a shade at our right hand. And you may have noticed in our translation the phrase watch over is used five times and the phrase keep you is used once in verses 3 through 8. But the Hebrew word used is the same word all six times. And it can be translated keep, watch, guard, Protect, preserve, and really probably the best translation is the word keep. In one Bible version, verse 5 begins, The Lord is your keeper. He keeps you. You might think a little bit of a young boy who finds a toad in the backyard and hangs on to that thing with all his might. He keeps it in his hand. The Lord is your keeper. And as your keeper then, He watches over you. He protects you. He guards you. He preserves you. And all throughout this psalm, the comfort of the psalmist is the safety and the security that he enjoys being kept safe and secure by none other than the Lord His Maker. See, one of the most comforting thoughts when we speak of the providence of God is that we think of living out of the Father's hand. Living out of the Father's hand. He's got the whole world in His hand. He's got me in His hand. He keeps His people safe in His hand. With His infinite wisdom and power, He knows what's best for us and He accomplishes what's best for us. His keeping and protecting of us includes the truth that He never slumbers nor sleeps. His attention over His people is constant. There is never a break. There is never a vacation in His care and His protection over us. Now, boys and girls, boys and girls, when we lay down to sleep for the night, or even if you still take a nap, we are unconscious as we sleep to the world around us. We are unconscious even to God. In other words, we have no clue what is happening during those hours of sleep. We might dream, but we have no idea what the reality is around us at that time. But God does. He does. No detail escapes His attention. Nothing can take place behind His back. And even when we sleep, again, we are always under His watchful eye. In fact, He knows the details of our lives better than we do. And He keeps us safe on our path or our life's journey, we might say. He will not let your foot slip. We walk without thinking. Unless we have lost the ability to walk, we take that gift for granted. We have no clue how many steps we take in a day, how many miles we travel in a day, but God does. He is not indifferent toward, nor will He disregard His children. Instead, He is always alert to protect their every step, their every moment. In fact, there is a comforting idea here with the Lord being your shade at your right hand. Indeed, in those lands, the sun beat down hot and heavy during the day and shade was welcome. He is not a God who is far away, you see, but He is one who is as near as your shadow. And just as you cannot be separated from your shadow, God is intimately and inseparably connected to His people. And this is every moment. He never removes His presence from us, whether in the heat of the day or during the terrors of the dark of night. He protects His children. And as the psalmist says in another of Marian's favorite psalms, Psalm 91, verse 1, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. As our shade at our right hand, beloved, God is the defense of and the defender of His people and His protection is against that which is known, that which can be seen in the light of the sun, and that which is unknown, that which is hidden by the dark of night. Now, of course, some might hear this and say, wow, you know, that sounds great. If only I believe in God, then He promises me a cushy life with no difficulties and no troubles and no sickness or anything else. No unpleasant thing. I'll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. But that's not at all what the psalmist is saying. That's not at all what the Bible teaches. And that's not at all what our experience reveals to us. When the psalmist says, My help comes from the Lord, he is saying that we will need help on our journey through this life. When he says the Lord watches over us day and night, it's because we need to be watched over. When Paul says that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, he's not saying that there will be nothing that will try to separate us from God. That whole litany of things listed there will try. Satan will try to use whatever trick he has. But in a sense, as one commentator says, he says Paul actually opens his arms to these forces and invites them to come forward saying that they will never succeed in detaching him from Jesus Christ. Beloved, Paul knew what he was talking about. He was no stranger to hardship and to difficulty and to persecution. We read what he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked I spent a night and a day in the open sea I have been constantly on the move I have been in danger from rivers in danger from bandits in danger from my own countrymen in danger from Gentiles in danger in the city in danger in the country in danger at sea and in danger from false brothers I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak? And I do not feel weak. Who is led into sin? And I do not inwardly burn. Yet at the end of the day, beloved, he could confess, as he says in 2 Corinthians 4, we are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. Why? How could He say that? Because of His eternal security in Jesus Christ. Beloved, believers, like unbelievers, do lose all of their physical belongings in hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes and floods and fires, even their lives sometimes. Believers, like unbelievers, do suffer financial setbacks when the stock market crashes. We do experience car accidents. Sometimes they're even our fault. We experience cancer diagnoses, heart failure, job loss, F's and other bad grades on tests. Friends who turn against us. Wrongful accusations. tragic death of loved ones, and anything else that you may have experienced that you can add to this list. In addition, believers suffer persecution for Jesus' sake at the hands of unbelievers, but in the midst of all of that, God, our Creator, protects us as He says, Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. And notice, brothers and sisters, this is not just temporary protection and comfort. The last two verses, 7 and 8, The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. The Lord, our only helper, is our Creator, our Protector, and our Preserver. And His preservation, you see, is for eternity. He watches over our life. This is also translated as soul. He will watch over your soul, your very being. In other words, God's protection and preservation of His own is over the whole of the believer's life. This life and the next. And that's why Paul's words are so comforting. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That means both now and forever. God's love endures forever. We shall never be separated from God. Instead, we look forward to greater fellowship with Him in glory one day. God gives His people a well-armed life. A well-armed life so that we can face the evil forces of danger clothed with the full armor of God. And we can face sickness and troubles and hardship with His peace that passes understanding. We can be content with whatever our lot in life because He is our shade at our right hand. And finally, in the time of death, we can confess, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. And again, as Paul says, this is all because of God's love for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Beloved, God flooded the cross of Jesus with His wrath as He poured it out on His only begotten Son against your sin and mine. And because of His saving sacrifice, all those who repent of their sins and look to Jesus Christ in faith are protected and forever preserved by the hand of God against the eternal floodwaters of the lake of fire. He is our keeper for eternity. Our only helper keeps us safe from the eternal snare of the devil and from the eternal torment of death and hell because we belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. No, we might not be able to explain the tragedies of life, but we do know that through them, God gives the call to look to the only Helper. And He takes His call seriously. Sadly, so many suppress that call and exchange the truth of God for the lie. Yet, that doesn't change the truth of God that as we sing, His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, even for you and me as believers, but for you and me as believers, sweet will be the flower. And we must confess, beloved, that sometimes we too, we let anxiety and fear and the troubles of life get the best of us. But then we too are called to lift our eyes once again to the Maker of heaven and earth, our only Helper, who created me, who protects me, who preserves me forever. Indeed, sometimes it's easy to say, I trust Him for my salvation. Yet at the same time, it can be difficult to remember that He also watches over us and keeps us safe in the midst of the earthly difficulty and pain, especially as we're going through it. But we must remember, beloved, that He who saves our souls, His grace is sufficient for us at all times. Yes, indeed, the hurricane has changed the lives of many, at least temporarily. And for some, their lives on this earth will never again be the same. And to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, the aftermath is nothing but death and destruction. And that's why it's so important that the message of the Gospel go forth, even in their times of hurt. That the Gospel go forth. Because for those who believe by God's grace and have confidence of being kept by God, the effects of this natural disaster are a vivid reminder of their salvation from the destruction of hell through Jesus Christ who changed our lives, not just temporarily, but forever. May it be for us that we would have nothing this earth affords and instead enjoy the riches of our God instead of having the riches of earth, but be without an eternal home and glory. And may our confession of our only helper ever be, my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Amen. Shall we pray? Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for that precious gift of faith so that, Father, when we cannot understand fully or explain things, we can rest assured in that precious faith in Jesus Christ our Lord that we know that indeed all things are in Your hands, that You make no mistake, that Your plan is perfect, and that You work on behalf of Your people, the church, that all things as well that take place in this life, even the disasters of life, are meant for the good of your people, the building up of your church, her preparation for glory. Father, we pray that you would strengthen our faith, especially in times of turmoil and doubt, that we might ever look to you as our only helper. In Jesus Christ, our Lord, alone we pray. Amen. Thank you.