Psalm 121: Helper, Keeper, Preserver: an ode to my Aji

- July 24, 2023

Psalm 121

After the very lengthy 176 reasons in Psalm 119, encouraging the reader to meditate and live according to the Word of God, one comes across a series of short Psalms from 120 to 134. Each of these are like pools of water, placed strategically along our pilgrimage journey of faith and trust, to "help" refresh, renew and restore us. Psalm 121, a very familiar Psalm, is like one such pool. The reader can feel God's embrace surrounding him as he wades deeper into the beauty and assurance of this Psalm.

Recently, I visited a stair-well which had several underground floors. As water levels lowered in the surrounding desert area, the seeker would find waters in the deeper levels. Likewise, Psalm 121 takes us to three levels of God's providence and faithfulness for our lives. It reminds us that God is our Helper, Keeper and Preserver.

Level 1: God our Helper:

"1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep."

I spent my younger days in a hill town surrounded by the majestic Himalayan mountains. I would often wake up early in the morning to witness the morning sun's rays colour the mountain peaks from pale grey to deep red, to dazzling orange, to shining gold and then to a mesmerizing white, all in a matter of a few minutes. Those were also days of my early faith, and the beauty that surrounded me would remind me of the maker of heavens and earth. That my help came from the maker of the mountains, as a song we would sometimes sing would remind me: “This is my story, this is my song, look around you people of the mountains, for the God that you know is so near. What do the mountains tell us of God? that he who made them is mighty and strong, and his love endures for ever.”

(a borrowed clip of the sun rays painting the mountains from YouTube)

Level 2: God our Keeper

5 The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

Our English teacher once explained the difference between the three words: catch, hold and keep. The word “catch” suggested a momentary possession. Much like the outfielder catching a cricket ball to “catch-out” the batsman. “Hold” meant a longer duration. Just as we hold the bus railings when we don’t get a seat. “Keep” the teacher said, suggest permanence and responsibility. When a friend presented a precious gift and said: “please keep this, this is yours”, it meant, that the gift now belonged to me. When the matter to keep is with us, then we have the added responsibility of taking care of it and ensuring it is not harmed, damaged, or lost.

My early days takes me again to my grandmother’s home in Kalimpong. My “Aji” would “keep” bees with the utmost care and sincerity and “honey-day” for us meant a super-day of fun with bees swarming over our heads, and my grandmother would identify the queen-bee, separate her and place her back after the honey-harvesting was done. Sometimes, when it was safe, I would be allowed to “hold” the bottle with the queen bee, and later enjoy fresh-dripping honey. Along with the honey-comb, my grandmother would “keep” a garden with a wide variety of flowers and fruit trees, that would cater to the bees and give us some of the best fruits in their seasons. Psalm 121 rejuvenates memories of my childhood and reminds me that “The Lord is my keeper”: I belong to Him and He takes care of my every need, in every season.

Level 3: God our Preserver:

7The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Now, we have reached the deepest level, where there is always water in the pool. The water that spans time and place and flows from eternity to eternity. It’s the place that enables us to face the severest drought. The place that “preserves” our soul, from all evil.

I am reminded once again of my Aji as I think of the word “preserve”. As we would visit Aji only during our holidays, there were a couple of fruit trees in her orchard, whose fresh fruits I never got to taste. Somehow the mango season never coincided with our holidays. Yet, tucked in her pantry would be huge bottles of, yes you guessed it right, mango pickles, preserved so optimally that one bite would transport us to the soul of the mango, succulent, juicy and tangy.

Regardless of our situation, sometimes seasons of death, want and disease, the Psalm reminds us of God’s ability to preserve us.

I am thankful for the New King James Version, whose translation brought out these three words in this Psalm. Other versions use different words, but these three words “Help, Keep, Preserve” have been use so appropriately in this translation.