The scripture reading this morning is another psalm of thanksgiving. It is Psalm 136. And if you'd like to follow along then as I read Psalm 136. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods For his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever. The sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever. The moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever, and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever. With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who divided the Red Sea in two, For his steadfast love endures forever, and made Israel pass through the midst of it. For his steadfast love endures forever, but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. For his steadfast love endures forever. To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever. to him who struck down great kings. For his steadfast love endures forever and killed mighty kings. For his steadfast love endures forever. Sihon, king of the Amorites. For his steadfast love endures forever. And Og, king of Bashan. For his steadfast love endures forever, and gave their land as a heritage. For his steadfast love endures forever, a heritage to Israel his servant. For his steadfast love endures forever. It is he who remembered us in our low estate. For his steadfast love endures forever. and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever. He who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. You read that and you can imagine that they probably had two choirs set up, and each time the one choir would declare something that the Lord is or that demonstrates his steadfast love, and then the other choir would respond with that repeated phrase, his steadfast love endures forever. So we look down through the history of the people of God, of the church, and see that it really is true, and look at your own life to see that the steadfast love of the Lord endures, endures forever. Well, as we come to a closer look at that psalm that we just sang, Psalm 121, let's ask the Lord's blessing upon the ministry of his word. Father, we come now to your word. And we pray that you would, by your spirit, open our eyes to the truths that are contained in this great psalm that is a psalm of assurance, great assurance to your people. We pray, Father, that we would be freed from anxiety, wherever it come from, as we are reminded that our helper is the maker of heaven and earth. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Psalm 121. This is, as we've already said, the season of Thanksgiving. For the Christian, really for all people, but certainly for the Christian, Every season should be the season of thanksgiving, giving thanks to the Lord for his goodness. We spent the first hour this morning listening to that video that tells us at least probably a pretty accurate account of the history of thanksgiving and how the pilgrim fathers of our nation, why they came to this nation, why they came to America and left the comfort of their homes for what they would call a howling wilderness and undergoing great dangers and hardships. Many of them died. Half of them died. in that first year. So we're learning to give thanks and they gave thanks as well. We have many, many, many reasons to give thanks to God in this year of 2024. The world is in a mess. Our nation is in a mess. He has sustained us even though We've endured wickedness of corrupt leaders these last, especially these last four years. There's probably always been corrupt leaders in the nation, but it certainly has come to a head in these last four years. And in spite of the sins of the nation, which are many, The Lord has given us some hope on the horizon, and we owe him thanksgiving. It would be very good for the nation to be called to to a day of Thanksgiving after the first of the year. But the theme of Thanksgiving is very, very much emphasized in the Bible. You see it in the Old and the New Testaments. One of the objects or reasons for the Christians' giving of thanks to God that we see in the New Testament. The apostle Paul mentioned it over and over again. He would be writing an epistle to some church. And even though they could be kind of a pain in the neck for him at times, like the church at Corinth, Paul will most typically say, I give thanks to the Lord for you. And that's one aspect that the New Testament makes very evident, that one of the things we can give thanks for is for one another, for his church, for the fact that God has called us out of darkness and into light. One of the fundamental sins of mankind is unthankfulness. And you see Paul emphasize that. in Romans chapter 1. Man in his sin is typically and constantly unthankful, and especially what that means is he refuses to give thanks to God. He refuses to acknowledge God. He refuses to give thanks to him. Man the sinner lives as if God were irrelevant. That's probably the characteristic sin of our nation today, living as if God were irrelevant. You have people who might be very moral people and do apparently good things as well. But to them, God is irrelevant. And Paul says that the wrath of God abides on them. The wrath of God is incited by their unthankfulness. Well, as Paul also says in Romans 1, we are immersed in evidence, clear proof that God is and that he is our creator, that we are his creatures. We are surrounded by evidences, proof of not only his power, but of his goodness. There is enough proof in one of your fingers to demonstrate the existence of God. and to tell us that he is good and that he is our creator. Listen to John Calvin expand on that. He says, if a man had the mind to consider how one of his fingers is formed and how well proportioned and perfect it is, he would have already learned sufficiently well that there is a God who has been at work here and that it did not happen by chance. All profane people have always tried, at the devil's leading, to erase the certainty that we have concerning the creation of the world. That's why they prefer to say that the world came together by chance. Interesting, huh? Calvin's writing this in the 1500s. Charles Darwin didn't come along for 300 years later, but already Calvin's seeing this. He says, that's why they prefer to say that the world came together by chance and that there were tiny objects tumbling around the sun used for building the moon and the stars, the earth and the trees, and even men. Could anyone think up a scenario more stupid than that? So let's pay close attention to this word create, and what he means is in the beginning, God created, all right, and be armed against all diabolical, devilish illusions. Let us be steadfast in resisting them and steadfast in the knowledge that everything was made from nothing because there is no existence except in God alone, and that we have from him. All that we have and are. That's from Calvin's sermons on Genesis chapter 1. Well, reason enough to give thanks to God that he is our creator and sustainer. Listen to this psalm, Psalm 121, that we sang earlier, which is also a psalm of thanksgiving, a reason for God's people to be giving thanks then to God. I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does 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. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on 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 forth and forevermore." That's probably one of the If you could say one psalm is greater than another, that's probably one of the greatest psalms. H.C. Leupold, he was a theologian, not a riflescope maker. But he was a theologian, H.C. Leupold, and he wrote a commentary on the psalms. And in regard to this psalm, he said, it is a psalm of trust. It counsels men to trust in the Lord in all situations of life. It exhorts us to trust in the Lord in all conceivable situations of life. Many hearts have been strengthened for the pilgrimage of life by this song, by this psalm. Think now how the psalm opens. I lift my eyes to the hills from where does my help now the answer to that question if you are not a christian if you don't know the lord if you're still dead in your sins and going your own way right the answer to the question from where does my help com the answer is you haven't got a helper it comes from nowhere there is no There is no helper, you see. But for God's people, for those who are in Christ, the answer is to that question, as we shall see, my help comes from the Lord. Now, what is the setting of this psalm? It's called a psalm of ascents. It's as if the writer is ascending up to Jerusalem. And maybe they had processions there. At times, they would announce, recite this psalm, as they did. But here he is, traveling along, approaching, perhaps, Jerusalem. He sees Mount Zion, I guess. He sees this city set upon a hill, Jerusalem. And he just says that he lifts his eyes to the hills. And that sight causes him to start meditating on this question, from where does my help come? Now, there could be a few other things going on here in his mind. We know elsewhere in scripture, that the hills are portrayed as a dangerous thing, as a threat. If you think of enemies come sweeping down on you from the hills. And the hills are used, such as in Isaiah chapter 2, as images of high places raised up against the knowledge then of the Lord. Lots of times, you know, the idol sanctuaries would be set in the high places. That's where you got to get up high so the God will hear you. That sort of a thing, you see. And so he's thinking about that, the hills around. Where is my help? From where does my help come? His focus then goes to Mount Zion and goes to Jerusalem. Well, this is a question that is universal, isn't it? All of us have asked this question because we all need help. Where is my help going to come from? Or you might say, What or whom am I going to look to for help? What is going to be my help? This word appears, that's translated keep, appears six times in this psalm. He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel The Lord is your keeper. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in. Now, the ESV consistently translates that Hebrew word as keep, all right? He will keep you. But it can be variously translated. The New American Standard seems to have made an effort capture all the nuances here, because in this same psalm, it translates that same Hebrew word by three different English words, to protect, to keep, or to guard. And the basic meaning of this word, to keep, is to exercise great care over, to give careful attention to the obligations of a covenant to tend to a garden or a flock. So here's the psalmist, and his eyes go up to Jerusalem. And he begins to think, and he's thinking like, who will be my protector? Who will keep me? Who will be my guardian? That's what's going through then his mind. And he's giving praise in this psalm and thanksgiving to the Lord because my help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. Once again, H.C. Leupold comments, it was commonly known in the later days of Israel's history that the place that had been appointed by Yahweh to be the central sanctuary of the nation was on the temple hill at Jerusalem. There, God had promised to dwell among his people. But that one hill in the complex of what made up the city of Jerusalem was one of a group of several others, thus the hills became synonymous with the holy city where the Lord dwelt. And so as we've said, here's our pilgrim traveler, the psalmist. He's ascending to Jerusalem. And he's overwhelmed with these. From where does my help come? Who will be my guardian? My help comes from the Lord. And then he contemplates upon just who this guardian is. My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, maker of heaven and earth. The creator of the universe is my keeper, my guardian. And that theme is found so often in the Psalms. Psalm 23, the Lord, I should read it this way, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I won't lack anything because the Lord is my shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. See, this psalm is saying basically the same thing as Psalm 121. a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." See, there's the answer to that same question, where shall my help come from? Well, it's from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. He is our shepherd. If you know Christ, then the Lord is your guardian. If you don't, he is set against you, you see. I don't need to tell you that this world is a fearsome place. I think it's getting more and more difficult. for people to say, it seems like I used to run into this more often in at least the generation that went before me is, well, you know, there's a lot of good people in this world. You know, the world is really, bottom line, the world's a great place. I don't think quite as many people believe that anymore. If anyone does, they need to go see a therapist. I don't think they get their head straightened out, right? The world is a fearsome place. It's a place of anxiety and trouble. People will talk about, I'm just leading a carefree life. Boy, that's me. I'm on the road, and I'm just leading a carefree life. I don't have any worries. But they're lying. They're lying to you. They're lying, then, to themselves. Our pilgrim traveler here in this psalm, in addition to just daily cares that we all meet, he had many enemies. I think he's thinking about that as he's looking to the hills. He loved the Lord. He served the Lord. And as a result, he had many enemies. And so the question comes, who will be our guardian? Who will be our helper? shepherd to protect us from the conspiracies and strategies of the evil one who hates us because of Christ and wants to destroy us. And so we lift up our eyes to the hills and we realize, yes, but our help comes from the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my guardian. He's the maker of heaven and earth. And he's at my right hand. The psalmist will say that in a minute. He's right beside me. Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I won't fear any evil, for thou art with me. You are with me. You notice there in Psalm 23 that the pronoun changes from third person to second person. He walks along, and the Lord is my shepherd. But all of a sudden, it's as if he's turning to the Lord and talking to him. For you are with me, you see. Then he's right there at his right hand. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you, guards you, protects you, will not slumber. Our friend loopholed again. The Lord made all things, and therefore the conclusion is very correct, that all the parts of the whole, the whole of creation, are fully under his control. And to help us is an easy matter for him, no matter what we're facing. It's an easy matter. Listen to Psalm 124. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say, translate that, let the church now say, right? If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive when their anger was kindled against us. Then the flood would have swept us away. The torrent would have gone over us. then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. So let's bring this right around and apply it not only individually, but let's apply it, for example, to this church, our church. How many times has the devil over the years tried to destroy this church? Well, a lot. The stories of those attacks would And there's probably been attacks and strategies that we didn't even know about, right? But the Lord has known about it. And yet, here we are. He has preserved us. He has not permitted our foot to slip. Who is our help? The Lord, then, is our help. As the psalmist said here in Psalm 124, if it hadn't been for the Lord as our protector, they would have swallowed us alive. And their anger and hatred were kindled against us. You see the violence of the enemy. They would have torn us apart with their teeth. We would have been destroyed. But the Lord was faithful. He broke the snare, and we escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord. And that certainly is cause for us to reflect upon, and give thanksgiving then to the Lord. You can apply these truths to your own personal life if you're a Christian. Had it not been the Lord who was on your side, they would have swallowed you up, right? Had it not been for the Lord, in fact, who sustains our faith, our faith would have come then to nothing. But the Lord doesn't allow our foot to slip. And this guardian of our souls, he's awake all the time. He doesn't doze and he doesn't sleep. He doesn't get tired then. If it weren't for the Lord protecting us from slips, How many missteps would we have taken with great, great harm? The imagery here in the psalm is probably something like maybe the pilgrim is walking along a rather dangerous section of road or trail, maybe by some great precipice on the edge. And that's a picture of life in this world as we follow the narrow way then for Christ with dangers all around. We saw this described and pictured for us, didn't we, in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Here he's walking around certain sections of the trail that are especially treacherous. And in fact, you remember that at one point, Christian took a wrong turn and got into big trouble. Was it faithful that was with him? And they ended up there in the giant's dungeon and locked up and so on. But the Lord delivered them from it. He was their guardian. He was their protector. And he brought them back to the right way. Walking in the right way, guided and directed by the Lord. Classic passage, Proverbs 3, trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him. And see this now? He will make straight your paths. He's ordering your steps. You're walking along. You're a pilgrim. And you're traveling as a pilgrim through life in this fallen and evil world. And he is directing you. And we need to be certain of that. We're listening to his direction. People get in trouble. They get in trouble fairly often nowadays because they're following a GPS. Verla and I have run into a couple of times now big trucks coming across from Willamina through the hills on that Bible Creek Road. And there's no place for a semi truck. And in fact, one guy you could tell was kind of lost, and he pulled over there, and I pulled up behind him, and I went up and talked to him, and I told him, because this had happened before, I said, you're following your GPS, aren't you? Yeah, it got me. I don't even know where I am, you know, and so some people have died as a result of it, because they end up in some mountain pass buried in the snow. But the Lord will never allow us, then, to get off track. We will never slip so as to fall, you see. He watches over every single then one of our steps. You can look back over your life. I think you should be able to anyway. Oftentimes we don't realize it when it is happening, but as you grow in the Lord, you learn you can look back over your life and you can recognize, oh man, I was that close. I was that close to slipping. And the Lord preserved me through it. One of the things that we can thank the Lord for so much is not only protecting us from the schemes of the devil, but protecting us from our own sins. He protects us from our sins. He keeps us, then, on path. Here's some more psalms, another psalm and proverb along that. Psalm 91, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. There is such a thing as guardian angels then, you see. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Proverbs 3, then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Why? Because your protector doesn't slumber or sleep. He's on watch. Do not be afraid of the sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Well, the psalmist continues in Psalm 121. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night. Now, we have to sleep. That's an interesting thing, isn't it? That the Lord created us that we had to sleep. I don't know if Adam and Eve had to sleep. I'm not sure. I don't know about that. I don't know. But we have to sleep. And in fact, a lot of times, what do we call it? Daydreaming. I'm just not checked out. I'm just kind of dozing. or something, plus sleeping at night. But we're told we need to be on the alert. And we need to be on the alert because we live in an evil world. And we're in enemy territory. We need to be. But the Lord doesn't slumber, and he doesn't sleep. We're warned about our enemy. Classic verse, 1 Peter 5, be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. seeking someone to devour. And oftentimes we get careless because we don't really believe that. Our faith is required to see that which is not visible. But in fact, all around us, here's Satan and he's just looking for a chance then to get at us. But the Lord never ceases to watch. In peace, Psalm 4, in peace, I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. You battle with sleeplessness sometimes, so do I. It's like, I've seen some cartoons and memes, a guy lying down in bed and then there's like this, cloud over his head and there's a brain in it. Brain starts, as soon as he starts to doze off, his brain starts talking to him, you know. Hey, you remember that time when you made an idiot out of, you know, this kind of a thing that going on and accusing him or things that come in, he can't sleep then. And part of our fallen nature. But if we trust, if we trust in the Lord, you know, When we start dwelling on our past, certainly a person who's not a Christian needs to dwell on their past a bit, right, quite a bit, and repent of it. But when we know the Lord, our citizenship is in heaven, and we're supposed to set our minds on things above and things ahead. And not keep looking back because, you know, it happens to me, happens to you. You'd be thinking about something happened that I did maybe 50 years ago. And you think, man, that was so sinful or I was so stupid or whatever. Well, you know what? That guy that lived 50 years ago, he's gone. I'm not that person anymore. That's not who I am. And so we don't need to keep going back there. In peace, I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Now the imagery here, first of all, we have the shade and the sun and the moon, right? What is this all about? The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. Well, how is the sun and the moon, for example, a threat to us? How are they an enemy? Well, first of all, shade is a picture of protection. And that's just a way of the psalmist saying, the Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your protector. And he's right here on your right hand. He strengthens your right hand, and he's present with you at your right hand. He's right there. But what about the sun not striking us, or the moon not striking us? What is he talking about there? And I think what that is is imagery of day and night. And it's saying, look, nothing in the daytime and nothing at nighttime is going to harm you. And perhaps there's also some reference here to the fact that the pagan nations around Israel, idolatrous nations, they worship the sun and the moon. So you have these false gods of the enemies, of these enemy nations. And the psalmist is saying here, because the Lord is my keeper, none of those false gods of my enemies are going to be able to touch me at all. They are as nothing. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. What is our soul? It's our life. He will keep our life. He will guard our life. Here's a great passage from Isaiah. We've got this on one of the posters around here somewhere. I think it might be on the back door. Isaiah 54. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage. It's the inheritance. It's the right. of the servants of the lord and their vindication from me declares of the lord no weapon that's fashion against you is going to is going to stand you understand you understand that the words were reading here in isaiah and the psalm this isn't just some person waxing eloquent with some kind of flowery language and and uh... poetry This is certain truth from the Lord. This is the Lord's promise. No weapon that's fashioned against you shall succeed. It won't do it. The Lord is your keeper. Psalm 91 again, because you've made the Lord your dwelling place. Now remember, these promises are only for those who are in Christ. If you've made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. 2 Timothy 4, Paul very practically puts it, the same truth this way. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. That promise, that Paul's experience, is the same as the experience of every one of God's true people. Here's our pilgrim ending. His psalm, the Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. He's not a temporary guardian. He's not, well, I'll do this for a while. Then you're on your own. No, no, he will do this from this time forth and forever then, you see, are going out and you're coming in. Now, think about that. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in. Now, what's that? Well, every morning when you get up, you go out, right? You go out the doors of your house and you go out and you go, And you go to work. And after that day, you come back, and it is your coming in. And so this is the Lord's way of telling us and promising us that no matter where you are, at home or abroad, it doesn't matter where you are, I'm going to be your keeper. And I will always, always be your keeper. You see, always, no matter where you go. He then is there. So we have to admit as we think about these things and really meditate on them, we have to confess to the Lord, you know, I don't think enough about these things. That's why I'm anxious. And I also don't think enough about these things and that's why I'm not I'm thankful. I can go out in the morning and the things that are just, oh, I got to get this done. I'm going to dive right into it. And I don't even give a thought to the Lord. I don't even give a thought to him when, in fact, he should be the first one that comes to mind, that he's preserved me through the night, that he's provided for me, that I have another day, and I'm going out. and that he's going to watch over me all through the day then, you see. What's the cure for anxiety? You know, I'm just an anxious person. I'm a worrywart. I worry about things all the time. Well, if you're a Christian, it's unnecessary, and you need to open up your Bible when that happens. Go to Psalm 121 and start reading it over and over and over. In fact, we probably all ought to have it memorized. And to recognize these are these promises, right? The Lord is my helper. I'm in this mess. I'm in this fix. Where is my help going to come from here? And usually, what do you do? You look to yourself. That's why you're worried, because it's all on you. But the Lord's promise here is, no, it's not on you. It's I am me. Don't be anxious. Cast your burden. Put your burdens upon him because he cares for you. You see, that's where it needs to be. In essence, our problems are the Lord's problems. And he carries them along. The 107th Psalm also answers this question, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region. They did not find a way to an inhabited city. They were hungry and thirsty. Their soul fainted within them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way to go to an inhabited city. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. That is why we have a Thanksgiving Day, to remember to give thanks then to the Lord. Father, we do give you thanks. We ask your forgiveness for how often we, in lack of faith and unbelief in your promises, we worry And we're anxious, and we just don't look to the hills and remember that the Lord dwells in his temple, that you are with us, that you are a helper and our guardian and our protector, and you're always on duty. You've appointed yourself a sentry to guard us. We pray, Father, that you would enable us then to be thankful. that we can lie down and sleep. And we pray this all in Christ's name, amen.