Weekly Devotional 21st of February 2025
by Bruce Billington
We will continue our series on hearing God through the Psalms by examining the rest of Psalm 121, which we began in the last session.
Psalm 121:5-8 – “The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.”
God gives Himself a wonderful name for us (verse 5) – He is Jehovah, our Keeper. This reminds us of the beautiful promise in Psalm 23 – that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil, for He is here with us and will never abandon or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Spurgeon notes that “God is as near to us as our shadow, and we are as safe as angels.” He neither sleeps nor experiences weariness; His eyes are always open, watching over us.
We can enjoy His protection in all our journeys and voyages, whether going out or coming home, just as He kept Israel in the wilderness during their travels and rests. He will protect us in all our endeavours, both at home and abroad, from beginning to end. This is a lifelong protection that is never out of date. The Holy Spirit, our preserver and comforter, will stay with us forever.
As true sons and daughters of the Living God, we ought not to depend on the powers of the earth, the strength of the hills, or on princes and prominent figures who occupy the earth and boast of their ability to subdue this world. Our confidence must rest in God—and God alone—to assist us in times of need and sustain us in times of blessing and abundance.
We must continually remind ourselves that God created this world by just speaking His Word, and everything He made was good. If we trust in God and walk in His ways, we will be safe under His protection, and no real evil will befall us. No affliction will come upon us except what God deems good for us and will work for our benefit.
Yet, wait, there is more! He not only protects those He is the keeper of but also refreshes them: He is their shade and shelter, which Isaiah describes as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land (32:2). Psalm 16:8 says that He is at our right hand and 1 Samuel 2:9 says He will keep the feet of His godly ones.
This is just a brief summary of the many wonderful promises in the Scriptures, which tell us the advantages of having God present with us. As life often reveals, we may be subject to many of the ills and miseries encountered in this life, yet we can always be comforted by the fact that He is always at our side, guiding us through every situation.
Although the comments in this and other Psalms may seem somewhat repetitive, we often need this constant reassurance, as tough times may lead us to feel that God has abandoned us. We must learn from what is constantly repeated in Scripture: that God always watches over us, is firmly established in our hearts, and encourages us to rely solely on His guardianship while casting aside all the empty hopes of the world.
God bless you.
Bruce Billington