Our help comes from where?

I want to share a meditation on the 121st Psalm, especially the first two verses of the Psalm. The verses read this way in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

A visit to a bookstore reveals that in our society self-help writings are a substantial industry. We as a people look far and wide for wisdom and counsel and advice that will help us become a success as we pursue various ideas of what success is, or which will help us to overcome debilitating stress, or will help us shake off negative habits. Although sometimes we deny any need for help or advice or counsel, and we may vigorously protest that we don't need anybody telling us what we should do or how we should handle our situation, we at the same time may be grasping at straws, relying on empty and superficial ways of proving ourselves, trying to secure approval from our peers, attempting to find ourselves by cultivating a certain self-image and self-presentation. Paying attention to advertising messages indicates that people are asking 'What will enable me to be the success I want to be, to look the success I want to look, to achieve the acceptance and admiration of my friends, to feel good about myself and about the style in which I conduct myself?'

The Psalmist, very possibly King David himself, began his meditation by referring to the hills, and then asking of the source of the help he needed in his course of life and in his tasks and responsibilities. In the King James Version of the Bible, his words were expressed as: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." In reading the meditation from the KJV, it is easy to overlook the question in the words "from whence" or "from where," so that one's first impression may be that looking to the hills is an answer to one's needs. Of course, the next sentence clearly states that the help needed for life is from the Lord, not from the hills themselves.

At this point I want to stick with the thought of the hills for a bit. Visions of the scenic hills can be quite inspiring. The hills have a certain appeal as places of rest and relaxation, providing sights and surroundings that may help ease and pacify the accumulated stresses and strains of an anxious soul. The mountains and hills provide an atmosphere of quiet strength, of sturdy stability, of seemingly unshakable might and steadiness. We may have found in personal experience that simply lifting our sights to the heights, or to the far horizon, has a certain steadying effect on our moods and a quieting effect on our emotional anxieties. Simply looking off to the distant heights has an effect on our perspective as we deal with our life situations, and may influence us to take a larger view and to see things from a more balanced perspective.

But, the very fact that the Psalm points out that the genuine source of counsel and wisdom in life comes from the Lord himself, is a caution to us about over-reliance on earthly things that may possess interesting and helpful symbolism, but which of themselves are not the answer to human need for purpose, for divine relationship, and for the long view and value of the eternal perspective. Many things around us are good for us, as far as they go. Healthy eating is good, but life is about more than what we eat. Bodily exercise is positive and helpful, but the excellent body does not the whole person make. Vacations in the mountains, or on the beach, or to the lake, or camping in the wilderness, or get-aways to the hills, may all be well and good, but a person aspiring to health of mind and soul needs more than scenery.

Vitamin supplements may at times be helpful to the healthy mind and body, but pills can also become deceptive crutches, inviting temptations to try to solve life's problems and challenges by swallowing pills, rather than discovering the resources of a spirit made whole and healthy through faith in God.

All around us in life are things that are attractive and good so far as they go. But they do not address the needs of persons made in the image of God. Our needs for life and relationship and fulfillment are not met by earthly scenes, or possessions, or peer approval, or earthly position or prestige. Psalm 121 is a call to see life in a larger perspective, to see our destiny and purpose as children of God, to consider that we are creatures intended for eternity. We are called to appreciate the creation, but to worship the Creator.

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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.