The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in…
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in…
Psalm 121:7-8; The only premium you pay on this all-encompassing, eternal protection plan is your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
“The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.”
Psalms 121:7-8 NASB1995
With the way the world is (and has always been), don’t you feel like you need protection? Just driving to the grocery store or rec center can turn into a near-death experience, and that’s just one of the ways that we can be attacked by the world.
Psalm 121 is one of a pair of “Songs of Ascent” in the book. These were songs sung by travelers, particularly those who were walking to Jerusalem. Here, the psalmist (and the person singing the psalm) were showing their confidence in the Lord to protect them. Sure, they might still be waylaid by evil men, even robbed and murdered, but the Lord would keep (preserve) their souls. Spurgeon said of the Lord keeping the believer’s soul:
“Our soul is kept from the dominion of sin, the infection of error, the crush of despondency, the puffing up of pride; kept from the world, the flesh and the devil; kept for holier and greater things; kept in the love of God; kept unto the eternal kingdom and glory.”1
In these verses, the psalmist repeats his conviction that God will keep and preserve His people three times: “The Lord will protect you”, “He will keep you”, and “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in…”. Spurgeon comments that:
“Three times have we the phrase, ‘Jehovah shall keep,’ as if the sacred Trinity thus sealed the word to make it sure: ought not all our fears to be slain by such a threefold flight of arrows? What anxiety can survive this triple promise?”
The Lord’s promise to protect is better than any insurance! His people may trust in His power to protect all activities (“your going out and your coming in”) at all times (“From this time forth and forever.”).
From Spurgeon once again,
“When we go out in youth to begin life, and come in at the end to die, we shall experience the same keeping. Our exits and our entrances are under one protection.”
The only premium you pay on this all-encompassing, eternal protection plan is your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and trying your utmost to pattern your life after His.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer is appropriate for bedtime, and comes from Knowing Jesus:
Thank You Father for the many friends, family and loved ones that by Your grace You have placed in my life, and I lift them up to You tonight, praying that You would protect and care for each one during these hours of darkness.
We thank You that the angel of Your presence encamps around those that fear You and that our lives are hid with Christ in God.. so that nothing can pluck us out of Your hand – and no darkness, danger or perils of the night can come near us or harm us, for You are our Fortress and our Shield - our Stronghold and our Protector.
Thank You for the many precious promises that we can pray for our loved ones.. and tonight I thank You that those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Be with all those I love tonight and give each one the beloved sleep that You have promised to all Your children – this I ask in Jesus name,
Amen
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The Treasury of David: Volume 3" (Psalms 111-150) (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1988)