Road Song
Photo by Eddie & Carolina Stigson on Unsplash
When the Jews, for generations, traveled to Jerusalem for the major feasts throughout the year, it must have been quite an effort. Imagine corralling your family, closing up your house and setting off to meet with God and his people at the center for all of their worship and sacrifice, the Temple in Jerusalem.
Whether it took an afternoon or numerous days, the folks would sing road songs both to pass the time and to prepare their hearts for what was ahead. These short songs were collected in our bibles and are found in Psalms 120-135.
Craft a picture of groups of families traveling together on the upward roads from every direction toward the city, perched on a high hill. Parents trying to keep the kids in line and making them aware of what was happening, friends aiding the less able to stay with the pace of the group, stopping along the way to eat or sleep, all fill out the scenes of preparation to meet with God. And as they walked, they sang. These short songs of reminder and challenge might well prime the pump of worship.
One of the songs I routinely return to is Psalm 121. As you read this, craft the picture of travelers singing this song of reminder and assurance.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains, will my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—he who keeps you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade on your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forever.
On my journey there are plenty of days when it all seems uphill. I trudge along slippery paths. The sun can be relentless and seems to suck the energy needed for one more switchback climb. At night, rest is sometimes elusive as my worries take over what should be time for rest.
Days like these can be just plain hard, and right then is when I benefit from remembering a song like this. I don’t know the tune, but the words step in front of my circumstances with true truth dressed in poetry. The four lines lead me to him.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains, will my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
Line 1: We know from the scriptures that Jesus is the creator of all things, from subatomic bits to the Tetons that dwarf their surroundings and out to the ends of the expanding universe. This tells me I am best when I set my anchor in him and not in even the most grand expression of his creation…or in what I think I can pull off apart from him.
He will not let your foot slip—he who keeps you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Line 2: It seems at times like God is napping while I struggle. But this song speaks with confidence that he will not allow our foot to slip as we stay on the path, working out our salvation in the midst of our days. Danger and the uncertain times are givens in life, but the Spirit snuggles up and moves his beloved through the danger as we travel toward our true home.
The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade on your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
Line 3: Circumstances can feel like a blazing sun or a crazy full moon but need not crush a believer. These are the tools used to mold us, refine us more as apprentices of Jesus. God himself, your good, good Father will provide moments of respite and refreshing, like welcomed shade along the way. He says we can count on it.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forever.
Line 4: The God of the universe, Father, Son, and Spirit, have their eyes on each of us individually for our good. When you flourish, heaven rejoices. When you stumble, the godhead grieves with you and stands ready to welcome you back home. When you bow low with the weight of life, Jesus offers you his yoke of a different way to live.
And this will go on today, tomorrow, and forever. Forever.
You are his beloved. You are cared for and watched over. You will experience all of life, just not alone, ever.
Now that’s good news for your upward path today. Try singing a new song like this one to lighten your load and encourage your heart. And, who knows, someone listening in might just get a bit of a boost hearing you trust…and go on another day.
And…music for the week
How about a couple of bad jokes…
Everyone in the wedding ceremony was watching the radiant bride as her father escorted her down the aisle to give her away to the groom. They reached the altar and the waiting groom; the bride kissed her father and placed something in his hand.
Everyone in the room was wondering what it was that she handed to her father. He felt the suspense in the air and all eyes were on him to divulge the secret and say something.
Therefore, he announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen today is the luckiest day of my life."
Then he raised his hand with what his daughter had given him and continued, "My daughter finally, finally returned my credit card to me."
The whole audience, including the minister, started laughing.
For some strange reason, the poor groom did not...
__________
Although he was a qualified meteorologist, Hopkins ran up a terrible record of forecasting the weather for the TV news program.
He became something of a local joke when a newspaper began keeping a record of his predictions and showed that he'd been wrong almost three hundred times in a single year. That kind of notoriety was enough to get him fired.
He moved to another part of the country and applied for a similar job. One blank on the job application called for the reason for leaving his previous position.
Hopkins wrote, "The climate didn't agree with me."