I Lift My Eyes Up

(A short break from the “On the Second Coming of Christ” series.  Look for “Part 2a and 2b—or not 2b” soon!)

The opening lines of Psalm 121 are very familiar to us as they have been used in a popular song:

¹ I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121

Now, it is obvious what the Psalmist is telling us to do: trust in the Lord.  BUT, to is not altogether obvious to our 21st century eyes what the Psalmist is telling us not to do.  Recall that the Bible often judges the righteousness of the kings of Israel and Judah based on how they handled idolatry.  Here is an accounting of Josiah:

¹⁹ Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the LORD; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel. ²⁰ All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem. 2 Kings 23:19-20

Note that when dealing with idolatry and the worship of false gods, Josiah “removed all the houses of the high places.”  The places to worship Ba'al and other false gods were up on the hills and mountains.  With this in mind, reread Psalm 121.  The Psalmist is making a distinction between the true and living God, Yahweh, and the false gods.  The Psalmist is going to put his trust in Yahweh.

So the next time you are singing the song, I challenge you to be thinking about the “false gods” that you may be trusting more than Yahweh.  Maybe think of some of following:

I lift my eyes up, up to technology,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to the government,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to our military,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to medicine,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to science,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to money,
Where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up, up to my job,
Where does my help come from?

My help comes from You,
Maker of heaven, Creator of the earth!