Hello my friend,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in dogs.
Welcome as we continue our journey through the Psalms of Refuge.
Just take a moment now to settle.
Into this time of stillness.
Allow your body to rest.
Allow your breathing to just become gentle and natural.
Simply allow yourself to be here,
Present in this moment.
Become aware of your breath,
Notice the air entering and leaving your body.
Just notice the simple gift of being alive in this moment.
As you become aware of your breath.
Also become aware of the presence of God,
The God who is already here,
The God who is closer than your next thought.
The God who's never been absent.
Just take one more deep,
Slow breath.
And rest.
Today,
Our Psalms of Refuge journey continues with Psalm 121.
It's one of the most beloved psalms in all of scripture.
For centuries it's been preyed by pilgrims traveling difficult roads,
People facing uncertainty,
People leaving home.
People entering new seasons of life.
It's a psalm about trust.
A psalm about discovering that we're held by something greater than our fears.
So I invite you now to listen to the words of the psalm.
Psalm 121.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord.
Who made heaven?
And Earth.
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you.
Will not slumber.
He who keeps his rail will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper.
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in.
From this time on and forevermore.
Now the psalm begins with a question.
I lift up my eyes to the hills,
From where will my hope come?
This is a very honest and probably one of the most human questions.
Come from.
Where will my support be?
What can I rely on?
And a lot of us spend our lives trying to answer that question.
We look to all sorts of things.
Success.
Security,
Plans,
Our own abilities.
Yet those things can only carry us so far.
The Samas lifts their eyes and asks,
Where will my help come from?
Maybe there's an area of your life where you're asking that question right now.
Perhaps there's uncertainty or challenge?
Maybe a burden or a decision.
I just invite you to simply acknowledge.
What that is for you.
What part of your life is asking?
For help right now.
And then the psalmist answers the question,
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
And earth and Notice how expansive that answer is.
The One Who Helps.
Isn't just merely stronger than our problems.
The one who helps is the source of all things,
The one who made heaven and earth,
Who holds galaxies in being,
Who sustains every breath,
The one who is already holding you.
Now it's important to remember.
That faith isn't believing that God's going to do exactly what we want.
That we.
Say something in a prayer,
For instance,
And faith says,
No,
I'm just going to believe that God's going to do that.
Rava Faith is learning to trust the one who's already present,
Learning to trust the one who's carrying us even deeper.
When we can't feel it.
Just take a nice slow breath right now and imagine yourself resting in that larger presence,
Held.
Supported.
And carried.
And then the psalmist continues writing,
He will not let your foot be moved.
This is the language of a pilgrim,
Someone who's walking difficult roads,
Rocky paths,
Steep climbs,
Uncertain terrain.
And the promise isn't that the road disappears.
The promise is that we don't walk it alone.
And I think a lot of us spend our lives waiting for life to be made easier before we feel safe.
And maybe we think that that's what God's about,
Making things easy.
But the psalmist is offering us another possibility.
What if safety comes?
From companionship.
Rather than certainty.
What if peace comes from knowing that we are accompanied?
And that we're not alone.
Just notice your breath again.
Feel the support beneath your body.
And allow yourself to receive a simple truth.
You don't carry yourself alone.
And then comes what I think is one of the most beautiful images in this psalm.
The Samas writes.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
And I think here the psalmist is imagining a God who never loses sight of us,
Doesn't become distracted,
Doesn't forget.
A God whose presence doesn't come and go.
This was meant to create peace.
You don't have to hold everything together.
You don't have to remain endlessly vigilant.
You don't have to carry the whole world,
Friend.
God is already awake.
To what concerns you.
What would it feel like to sit down,
Even just for a moment,
The responsibility of holding everything together?
What if just for these next few breaths,
You allowed yourself to rest?
And then the psalm continues,
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Now for ancient people living under the hot Middle Eastern sun,
Shade,
Was not just a comfort,
It was protection,
It was relief,
It was shelter.
A place where life could continue.
It's a really beautiful image,
God.
As shade present,
Providing shelter and creating space for rest.
Just imagine for a moment yourself sitting under the shade of a giant tree.
The heat of anxiety,
The pressure of expectation,
The weight of all the trying that you do.
Under that shade it all begins to soften.
Because you've stopped carrying them alone and have allowed yourself to rest under that shade.
And then the psalm ends with these words.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in.
From this time on and forever more.
Going out.
Coming in.
Ordinary life,
Work and rest,
Beginning and ending,
Success and failure,
Joy and sorrow.
The psalm doesn't separate God from daily life.
God is present in all of it,
Watching over every step.
Accompanying every moment.
Holding us in every season.
And for the next few moments,
I invite you just to rest in that awareness.
You're held.
You're accompanied.
You're not alone.
Maybe.
As you breathe in,
Silently say,
I am held.
And as you breathe out,
I can rest.
Breathing in.
I am held.
Breathing out,
I can rest.
I am held.
I can rest.
I am hell.
I can rest.
Whenever your mind wanders just gently return to the words.
I am held.
I can rest.
As we prepare to finish here once more the heart of the psalm.
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Allow those words to take deep root within you.
The one who made heaven and earth isn't distant.
The One who made heaven and earth is present,
Holding you,
Watching over you.
Accompanying you.
Even now.
Be closed,
I invite you to join me in a prayer.
Loving God,
When we feel uncertain,
Remind us that we are held.
When we're weary,
Teach us to rest.
When we feel alone,
Help us remember your presence.
Watch over our going out and our coming in.
Help us trust that we don't walk this journey by ourselves.
May we learn to rest in your care.
And to find peace in your presence.
Thank you for spending time with me today in this prayer and reflection.
May you move through this day with a quieter heart.
May you remember,
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth and may grace,
Peace and love go with you today and every day.
Until next time my friend,
Go in peace.
Bye for now.
