Thursday, February 11, 2010

God protects you each day

"The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore." Psalm 121:8

We noticed, in verse 7, that "preserve" means to hedge about, as with thorns. Verse 8 uses the same Hebrew word, and mentions two occasions of protection: when you go out, and when you come in.

What do the seven words, "your going out and your coming in", mean?

In the original Hebrew, the root word "going" is translated "to go out" or "bring out" and can also mean: come abroad, depart, escape, go to and fro. Primarily, the Psalmist is talking about our going out from our dwelling at the commencement of the day.

The Hebrew root word "coming" means to go, or come, and can also mean: abide, bring in, cause to enter in. And so we see that our coming in is to return to our dwelling at the end of the day.

The seven words can have further meaning: they can mean going out to the house of the Lord to worship, and returning home again.

They can also mean leaving (departing, escaping) a former sinful lifestyle and returning to God. Surely the Lord will make a hedge of protection around the one who recognizes that his help comes from the LORD (verse 2) and is coming back to Him! (Read Luke 15:11-24.)

From this time forth - What time period is the Psalmist talking about? From the time that you realize that your help comes from the LORD, and you turn your life over to Him. (See Proverbs 3:5, 6.)

And even forevermore - God is with us, like He says, "even to the end of the world", after which we will be with Him forever - when time, as we know it, will be replaced by eternity.

So, when you leave your house this day, ask the LORD to bless your going out and your returning, knowing that He is with you, and will bless all that you do. He will be with you and protect you with a hedge of thorns as you go out and as you return home. What an Awesome God!