The Lord Will Protect

Commentary

This song (psalm) expresses assurance and hope in God’s protection day and night. He is not only all powerful but He is personal as He watches over us. The writer says that the Lord looks after you as a shepherd looks after his sheep. The Lord does not sleep; he never lets you go, and never lets your foot slip (v. 3). The Lord is your keeper (v. 5). He never rests, he never leaves his post, he never goes off duty, just as he never goes to sleep. We are safe. We never outgrow our need for God’s uniting watch over our lives.

Today, in our western culture, the gentleman walks on the traffic side of the lady to protect her from all harm. God is the true Gentleman; He walks with all pilgrims on the hot sunny side of the road to keep them cool in His shade (v. 5). The Lord will keep you from all evil, including the so-called power of a moon (vv. 6-7). The Lord, as they have just been reminded, is the Creator of the whole cosmos (see verse 2 and compare Acts 2:20), and as such will keep your life (body, soul and spirit), guarding you against all that can kill the soul. So you can forget your superstitious worries and fears. He who gave you “journeying mercies” on your road here, and who keeps your soul, will surely never let any harm befall you in days to come (v. 8). The Lord will keep your going in and out (of “church”) and he will do so from the present moment on, and on even into all eternity.

Application

The fact that we today can continue to live on the edge of a volcano, in the midst of a secular society, is a tremendous miracle in itself, one that I should thank God for. I know that He is watching over  me and protecting me many times when I am not even aware of it.