Psalms 121:3-8 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 Jehovah is thy keeper: Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul. 8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth and for evermore. Psalm 122 A Song of Ascents; of David.

Yesterday we learned that God is our protector. Today’s verses from Psalms 121 Chapter 121 1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come? 2 My help `cometh' from Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 Jehovah is thy keeper: Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul. 8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth and for evermore. Psalm 122 A Song of Ascents; of David. also portray Him as our keeper.

“He who keeps you will not slumber” (v. 3). Many young children are fearful in the dark. If they awaken when everyone else is sleeping, they might feel alone and scared. Our Caretaker needs no sleep; He is always alert and attentive to our cries, even when our feelings seem to tell us otherwise.

“The Lord is your keeper ... He will keep your soul” (vv. 5, 7). When parents have to leave their children for a while, they choose a trusted person to put in charge. We often say that this individual is “keeping” the kids. The babysitter is expected to protect and provide for the children. How much more invested and capable is our heavenly Father! Besides preserving us physically and spiritually, He restrains us from wrong thoughts, harmful words, and inappropriate actions. His Holy Spirit gives warnings to keep us from evil, and He also provides guidance so we’ll grow in godliness.

“The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever” (v. 8). God is sovereign. He is with us always—protecting, pointing the way, and teaching us. He accompanies and leads even in the small tasks that seem insignificant.

When we grow up, many of us feel sadness and a little fear as we leave the safety of our parents’ home. But we never leave the precious love and care of our heavenly Father. God is our keeper, and He cares for us better than any earthly mom or dad ever could.

Bible in One Year: Job 5-8 Chapter 5 1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one. 3 I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them: 5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapeth for their substance. 6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7 But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward. 8 But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause; 9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number: 10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields; 11 So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety. 12 He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. 14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. 15 But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty. 16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth. 17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole. 19 He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20 In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword. 21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22 At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing. 25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season. 27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good. Chapter 6 1 Then Job answered and said, 2 Oh that my vexation were but weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances! 3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas: Therefore have my words been rash. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up: The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. 5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? Or loweth the ox over his fodder? 6 Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7 My soul refuseth to touch `them'; They are as loathsome food to me. 8 Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grant `me' the thing that I long for! 9 Even that it would please God to crush me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 10 And be it still my consolation, Yea, let me exult in pain that spareth not, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11 What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is mine end, that I should be patient? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? 13 Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven quite from me? 14 To him that is ready to faint kindness `should be showed' from his friend; Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. 15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the channel of brooks that pass away; 16 Which are black by reason of the ice, `And' wherein the snow hideth itself: 17 What time they wax warm, they vanish; When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 18 The caravans `that travel' by the way of them turn aside; They go up into the waste, and perish. 19 The caravans of Tema looked, The companies of Sheba waited for them. 20 They were put to shame because they had hoped; They came thither, and were confounded. 21 For now ye are nothing; Ye see a terror, and are afraid. 22 Did I say, Give unto me? Or, Offer a present for me of your substance? 23 Or, Deliver me from the adversary's hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors? 24 Teach me, and I will hold my peace; And cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25 How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what doth it reprove? 26 Do ye think to reprove words, Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are as wind? 27 Yea, ye would cast `lots' upon the fatherless, And make merchandise of your friend. 28 Now therefore be pleased to look upon me; For surely I shall not lie to your face. 29 Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice; Yea, return again, my cause is righteous. 30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern mischievous things? Chapter 7 1 Is there not a warfare to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling? 2 As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow, And as a hireling that looketh for his wages: 3 So am I made to possess months of misery, And wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. 5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh. 6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. 7 Oh remember that my life is a breath: Mine eye shall no more see good. 8 The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more; Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be. 9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more. 10 He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more. 11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me? 13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint; 14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me through visions: 15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than `these' my bones. 16 I loathe `my life'; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity. 17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him, 18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment? 19 How long wilt thou not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? 20 If I have sinned, what do I unto thee, O thou watcher of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee, So that I am a burden to myself? 21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be. Chapter 8 1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 2 How long wilt thou speak these things? And `how long' shall the words of thy mouth be `like' a mighty wind? 3 Doth God pervert justice? Or doth the Almighty pervert righteousness? 4 If thy children have sinned against him, And he hath delivered them into the hand of their transgression; 5 If thou wouldest seek diligently unto God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty; 6 If thou wert pure and upright: Surely now he would awake for thee, And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 7 And though thy beginning was small, Yet thy latter end would greatly increase. 8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out: 9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow); 10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, And utter words out of their heart? 11 Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water? 12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness, `and' not cut down, It withereth before any `other' herb. 13 So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish: 14 Whose confidence shall break in sunder, And whose trust is a spider's web. 15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure. 16 He is green before the sun, And his shoots go forth over his garden. 17 His roots are wrapped about the `stone' -heap, He beholdeth the place of stones. 18 If he be destroyed from his place, Then it shall deny him, `saying', I have not seen thee. 19 Behold, this is the joy of his way; And out of the earth shall others spring. 20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, Neither will he uphold the evil-doers. 21 He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with shouting. 22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more.