THE SLEEPLESS WATCHER

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand.  (Psalm 121:3-5 NKJV)

This Psalm has been called the traveler’s Psalm. When the pilgrims started forth from their distant homes to go up to the Temple, not one of them could forecast his experiences before he reached home again. There were perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils in the wilderness, and perils on the road from wild beasts. It was well, therefore, that they should commit themselves and their dear ones to the care of One who neither slumbered nor slept. It is not enough for the body to be kept; we need the soul to be kept from all evil, as we go out into the world with its microbes of temptation, or come back to the luxury and comfort of our dwelling. There is temptation everywhere; not for one moment are we absolutely immune.

There is a difference between slumbering and sleeping. The mother or nurse watching the child may sometimes get a few moments of slumber; it is not very restful, yet there is a brief pause of unconsciousness. But this never comes to God. Not for one moment does He slumber, or ceases His watchful care of us. God keeps us by besetting us behind and before, and lays His hand upon us (Psalm 139:5). As a sentry goes to and fro before the palace given to his charge, so God's peace, like a sentinel, keeps watch and care around the soul. We speak of the castle keeper, the inner circle of defense; so God's presence is our keeper. We think also of the safe, around which the fire may play, but cannot touch its contents; so the child of God may walk in the midst of peril and temptation, but God is round about him; he is inside the secret place of the Most High, and no weapons formed against him can reach that inner sanctuary. Let’s hand over the keeping of our souls to Him as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19).

The closing words of this Psalm remind us of John 14: 1-6. There will be one last going out and coming in, when the house of our life shall be left vacant, and we shall go forth to the Father, to the house of many mansions, to the great company which awaits us on the other side. Then in the transition between this world and the next, and amid all the mysteries that shall crowd upon us, we need fear no evil, for whatever eternity may bring to us, we shall always be sheltered and kept by almighty God’s care.

PRAYER

Almighty God! You know that I have no power of myself to keep myself. Keep me outwardly in my body and inwardly in my soul, that I may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul.  I plead it in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

God's Daily Promise

Promise #143:  
I will rescue the godly from all their troubles.

2 Peter 2:9 (WEB)
the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation
and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;