Last week we tackled the word RA… EVIL. It was intense, but also very freeing to know that YHWH has a plan for evil. There is a victory coming which will defeat death and destruction, and in turn elevate goodness and love and eternal life everlasting. It’s part of the good news story!
This week we will take the time to learn a line from Psalm 121 (NASB). Let’s read through the entire Psalm first:
Psalm 121
A Song of Ascents.
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help comes from YHWH, who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
YHWH is your protector; YHWH is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night.
YHWH will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
YHWH will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever.
What is a Psalm (or Song) of Ascents? There are fifteen Song of Ascents in our Bibles (#120-134). These were songs traditionally sung by the Jewish pilgrims on their way to attend one of the Festivals in Jerusalem, including Shavuot, Sukkot, and Passover.
Psalm 121 was a song celebrating God’s protection over His people. Certainly this would have been comforting to sing on the long road (depending where you were coming from) to Jerusalem. Once they were in Jerusalem they would have continued to sing these songs as they walked up the shop-lined pilgrimage road from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple. These songs of praise would have hung in the air above all the scents and the sounds of the marketplace. It would have been a remarkable and exciting experience of praise and worship.
Psalm 121 gives a beautiful promise of God’s protection over all evil. Today the world seems filled with power hungry, war hungry, wealth hungry people who value control over compassion. Wherever you are in the world, you are not immune to people who hate what real Christianity stands for: love, compassion, forgiveness, and suffering for the sake of others. We are called to show love, to turn the other cheek, to place the needs of others above our own… but that exposes us. It makes us vulnerable. God, however, promises to protect those who have a heart filled with the love of God:
Psalm 121:7
YHWH will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
The word for protect and keep come from the same root meaning to keep, preserve, protect, guard. The two words should remain the same, such as:
YHWH will protect you from all evil; He will protect your soul.
YHWH will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul.
YHWH will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
YHWH will preserve you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.
In Hebrew this is:
יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ
YHWH yish’mar’ka mikkal ra; yish’mohr et naph’sheka
If that is too much to wrap your brain around, try just learning the first half…
YHWH yish’mar’ka mikkal ra… YHWH will guard you from all evil. It’s a promise that you can rely on! It doesn’t mean that evil won’t affect you, but it does mean that evil can’t destroy you. It can punch you, it can make you ache, but it cannot defeat your soul.
Next week: far away, distant
Hebrew Word Lessons 