“I lift up my eyes to the hills,” begins Psalm 121, “from where will my help come?”
While no one knows the exact circumstances that prompted this cry, the image I’ve always had is of someone in a dire crisis, anxiously scanning the horizon for assistance … but not being able to find any—at least not up in the hills! Ultimately, what this distressed soul discovers is that the true source of our help “comes from the Lord, who made both heaven and earth.”
Still, have you wondered why this individual is looking to the hills in the first place? I’ve heard of people heading for the hills when they are in trouble, but never looking to the hills. What on earth did this person expect to find? What would be perched up there in the high altitude that would be of any benefit at all?
The answer lies in the fact that at the time when this psalm was written, Palestine was literally being overrun with pagan worship. There was a veritable smorgasbord of religions from which to choose … and many of them were practiced up on the hilltops. Elaborate shrines were erected there to entice people into making the difficult climb in order to be closer to the gods. If you were uncertain about this season’s harvest, pay a visit to the rain god. If you were looking for an heir, try the fertility goddess.
So, in effect, what the psalmist is asking, as he looks up to the hilltops, is: “To whom shall I go for help?” Baal? Asherah? Serapis? Or to state it in more contemporary terms, “Where are we going to find true security?” Our stock portfolio? Our high-powered corporate career? Our clean bill of health?
What the psalmist finally concludes is that it’s none of the above. Simply put, we don’t have to look over hill and dale for help, because our help comes from the One who is already looking over us. God is the creator of both heaven and earth—and what God creates, God completes.
That might be worth remembering the next time we find ourselves in a dark valley—anxious about our circumstances and staring up at the hilltops for help. The truth of the matter is that even in the darkest of valleys, God is not way up there out of reach … God is right here beside us!
While no one knows the exact circumstances that prompted this cry, the image I’ve always had is of someone in a dire crisis, anxiously scanning the horizon for assistance … but not being able to find any—at least not up in the hills! Ultimately, what this distressed soul discovers is that the true source of our help “comes from the Lord, who made both heaven and earth.”
Still, have you wondered why this individual is looking to the hills in the first place? I’ve heard of people heading for the hills when they are in trouble, but never looking to the hills. What on earth did this person expect to find? What would be perched up there in the high altitude that would be of any benefit at all?
The answer lies in the fact that at the time when this psalm was written, Palestine was literally being overrun with pagan worship. There was a veritable smorgasbord of religions from which to choose … and many of them were practiced up on the hilltops. Elaborate shrines were erected there to entice people into making the difficult climb in order to be closer to the gods. If you were uncertain about this season’s harvest, pay a visit to the rain god. If you were looking for an heir, try the fertility goddess.
So, in effect, what the psalmist is asking, as he looks up to the hilltops, is: “To whom shall I go for help?” Baal? Asherah? Serapis? Or to state it in more contemporary terms, “Where are we going to find true security?” Our stock portfolio? Our high-powered corporate career? Our clean bill of health?
What the psalmist finally concludes is that it’s none of the above. Simply put, we don’t have to look over hill and dale for help, because our help comes from the One who is already looking over us. God is the creator of both heaven and earth—and what God creates, God completes.
That might be worth remembering the next time we find ourselves in a dark valley—anxious about our circumstances and staring up at the hilltops for help. The truth of the matter is that even in the darkest of valleys, God is not way up there out of reach … God is right here beside us!
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
10:31 PM
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