Notes From the Pastor's Desk
May 3, 2026
Help from the Holy Hills
Psalm 121:1,2 says, “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.” As the Psalmist writes these verses, we need to remember he was away from Palestine, a prisoner in distant Babylon. Babylon had a level landscape, so after being used to mountains and hills, the Psalmist longed for the hills of Jerusalem, especially the mount where the Lord dwelt. The hills of his homeland were calling him.
I. We Need Spiritual Help
The pressures the flesh produces in our life brings us to the point of our need of God's help. The only way to overcome the flesh is by the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). In addition, prodding of the world necessitates God's help (Rom. 12:2). We are not to allow the world to squeeze us into its mold. There are also the attacks of the devil that make us see our need of God. Our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4).
II. We Can Obtain Spiritual Help
We must realize where our help proceeds from in this life. It does not come from the world, the flesh or the devil. God is willing to help us (Isa. 41:10,13,14). To “help” means “to defend, cover or surround.” The primitive root of the word comes from the idea of “terror, dread, or horror.” We should not wonder that we are told by the Lord to fear not when we consider just what the Hebrew word help means. God works to help us (Phil. 2:13). The word “worketh” is in the present tense, which indicates that God is constantly and continually working in our behalf. “Worketh” is the Greek word from which our word “energy” or “power” proceeds.
III. Jesus Is the Source of Our Help
When the Psalmist thought of the hills, he thought of Jehovah God. Jesus is our Jehovah and our Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23). Our Christianity should have the spirit of the mountains in it. We need a “deep” hope, one as deep as our sins. The Bible speaks of the Lord taking us out of an “horrible pit” (Psm. 40:2). No matter how deep in sin a sinner may be, the Lord has the grip and the reach to take the sinner out of the pit. We also need a “high” hope one that is as high as the throne of God. It is only through the Gospel of Christ that you and I can find the height and depth of God's everlasting strength and help. If we will lift up our eyes unto the hills, toward Christ, then we will soon find we are not far away from Christ.