The Lord shall preserve you

(Ps 121:7, 8)

 

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help?" "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore."

 

This Psalm is called the Psalm of

Reservation:

As the word (The Lord shall preserve you) is

mentioned several times in it.

It is also one of the (Songs of Ascents) which are

prayed during ascending the mountain reaching the

Sanctuary.

This Psalm could also be prayed on some

occasions:

For biding someone farewell, blessing, a mother

when her son is outside home, she could tell him: The

Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall

preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your

going out and your coming in…

These words could be said to a person who is

traveling… as naturally he cannot know what would

happen outside his home. Unforeseen circumstances

might occur, so then he could find spiritual help in the

words of this Psalm, God will preserve him from all

evil, God will preserve his going out and his coming

in.

The Psalm means that God is the One who

preserves, he is the helpmeet.

Probably these words are prayed not from

humans or from some beloved persons, but by the

Angels for giving hope and support, saying to the

worshipper: The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve

your going out and your coming in, which means that

He is with you; don't be afraid…

This Psalm reminds me with the first Psalm

in the third hour prayer "May the Lord answer

you in the day of trouble; May the name of the

God of Jacob defend you" (Ps20:1).

It is also a Psalm of prayer and blessing, it was

said in the past to the King on his way to war. But it

could, as well, be said for anyone at anytime.

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The Lord shall preserve you from all evil:

Preserve you from the evil persons, from

conspiracies prepared against you. Preserve you from

the devils, from their deceptions, from those who help

the devils and from any accusations fabricated

against you.

God preserves you in your land of immigration.

God preserves you from illness, contagious

diseases and from pain.

God preserves you from road crashes, from any

accident of any kind.

God preserves you from troubles and from

improper relations.

God preserves you from doubts, from falling

away, departing from the living God and preserves

you from perdition.

And if you do well, God preserves you from pride

and arrogance, show-off; vain-glory. God preserves

you from sin in general.

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God shall preserve your soul:

Soul is different from body, soul is more

important than body is. That is why the Psalm says:

The Lord shall preserve you. He shall preserve your

soul. This means that God preserves your mind and

also your spirit. He preserves your life and your faith.

God permitted Satan to attack Job's health,

from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. God

told Satan" but spare his life"(Jb2:6). This means not

to harm his soul by any means. Job had a tiresome

and painful disease. But his soul was preserved within

the Hands of God till the time came when this trial

was over.

Also Paul the Apostle: God permitted Satan to

attack him when he was given a thorn in the flesh.

But still, God's grace remained with him. God told him

"My grace is sufficient for you" (2Cor12:9). God

preserved his soul: the body was aching of disease,

but his soul was preserved. Moreover, it was said

about Job that "so that even handkerchiefs or aprons

were brought from his body to the sick, and the

diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of

them." (Acts19:12)- All this happened despite pf the

Thorn in the Flesh which he was given!

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Jacob the father of all fathers: after he had

struggled with God and had prevailed, God changed

his name, blessed him there and He touched the

socket of his hip so he "limped on his hip" (Gn32:31),

most probably he suffered from his Sciatic Nerve

which is the nerve existing almost at the end of the

vertebral column, it extends to the lower limb…with

all the pain, he was blessed, the Angel of God

followed him through his life and redeemed him from

all evil (Gn48:16). God also rescued him from Esau

his brother.

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The phrase God shall preserve your soul,

implies also for the Martyrs and confessors: their

bodies ached so much of many diseases: whipping,

dragging along on the ground, cutting off their

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organs…but their souls were very strong. In all

their pain and throughout the stages of their

martyrdom, Angels were whispering in the ear of

each one of them saying: The Lord shall preserve you

from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.

A saint might have his hands and legs cut off, and

still his soul is safely spared.

St. Samuel the Confessor, one of his eyes was

torn, but his soul remained strong with the Lord. The

most importantly is the soul and how safe it is.

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􀂙 David for example, he faced many persecutions

by King Saul; he lived chastened by him from one

wilderness to another. But God preserved his soul. He

said to King Saul "as your life was valued much this

day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the

eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all

tribulation." (1Sm26:24). God preserved David's soul,

till He finally gave him to become a king.

􀂙 Fathers of the wilderness like St. Anthony the

Great. This Saint faced so many wars from the Devils,

with plagues and frightful sounds. But God preserved

his soul so the soul wasn't shaken and was never

confused. On the contrary, St. Anthony's soul was

very strong.

And so were the Hermits and the Anchorites, they

lived in the wilderness among beasts and creeping

creatures. But their souls were strong.

God may permit trials to take place; but He

preserves man from those trials or preserves

him from its consequences. God doesn't prevent

trials from happening, but He preserves man from all

evil throughout the trial.

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􀂙 Paul the Apostle: he suffered from so many

tribulations, but all through the way, God preserved

his soul. Angles were singing to him: the Lord shall

preserve your soul…

He says about himself and his persecuted

colleagues "persecuted, but not forsaken; struck

down, but not destroyed, always carrying about in the

body the dying of the Lord Jesus" (2Cor4:9,10), he

also says " For we who live are always delivered to

death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may

be manifested in our mortal flesh (2Cor4:11) " as

unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold

we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as

sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making

many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all

things.." (2Cor6:9, 10).

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􀂙 Heroes in Faith: as St. Athanasius, who was

exiled from his Seat four times, was forced to leave

his country, accusations were brought against him.

Despite all this, his soul was strong within the hands

of God, and was not harmed at all.

􀂙 St Sawerus Al Antachy: he was exiled away of

his throne four times. He came and lived here in

Alexandria. God preserved his soul and he remained a

hero of Faith.

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The second point which I want to talk about is the

verse of the Psalm which says:

The Lord shall preserve your going out and

your coming in:

It is a phrase which can interfere in our daily life

continually:

􀂙 When you're going out, God preserves your going

out. Then when you return home, God preserves your

coming in. it is such a nice thing that when you're

going out to work, Angels then whisper in your ears

singing: The Lord shall preserve your going out and

your coming in. and when you enter your work place

they say to you: The Lord shall preserve your going

out and your coming in. and so in every place where

you enter and leave…

􀂙 It happens also when you tackle some

issues: you start talking in a certain subject, the

Psalm then tells you "The Lord shall preserve your

going out and your coming in", which means that you

will come out with good result of the conversation or

of the discussion…

􀂙 When you're going to an interview or test for

instance, they will decide if you're good enough or

not, hence you hear the same phrase: The Lord shall

preserve your going out and your coming in. God

preserves your coming in, fearless and with no

confusion, He also preserves your going out relieved

with peace in your heart.

􀂙 You might be checking in a hospital, some

visitors of yours come and tell you: The Lord shall

preserve your going out and your coming in. God

preserves your going in to the medical examination

and to other medical checkups, and also preserves

your going out of them all.

In a surgical operation, you go to the operation

theater with them telling you: The Lord shall preserve

your going in to the theater and your coming out of it.

􀂙 When you are entering a courtroom for a law

case. The verse of the Psalm then also follows you:

The Lord shall preserve your going to the courtroom

and your coming out of it.

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All this reminds me of the blessed words of

Deuteronomy book (Dt28:2-6) for those who

obey God and fulfill his commandments:

"And all these blessings shall come upon you and

overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord

your God: "Blessed shall you be in the city, and

blessed shall you be in the country." Blessed shall be

the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground

and the increase of your herds, the increase of your

cattle and the offspring of your flocks. "Blessed shall

be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Blessed

shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you

be when you go out."

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The Lord shall preserve your going out and

your coming in, even in death and life:

The soul gets out of a human's body, and goes to

the waiting place. It holds the verse: "The Lord shall

preserve your going out and your coming in"…going

out of the body, and coming in to Paradise. In the

Day of Resurrection, you hear the same phrase: The

Lord shall preserve your going out of Paradise, and

your coming in to the body once more…

It is a phrase which is said to the spirit on going

out of this life on earth, entering the eternal life.

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􀂙 This same phrase was said to Prophet Jonah on

entering in the belly of the great fish, and on his

coming out of it. God preserved his going in, so the

great fish didn't harm him but on the contrary it

preserved his life. God also preserved Jonah's coming

out of its belly safely so that he could perform his

mission.

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􀂙 The same phrase also was employed with the

three Lads in the furnace: The Lord shall preserve

your going out and your coming in. God preserved

their going in so the burning fire of the furnace didn't

harm them. It didn't burn them or burnt even their

clothes. They were walking inside the fire in peace, till

God preserved their going out of it alive, with each of

them hearing the verse of the Psalm: The Lord shall

preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your

soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your

coming in.

􀂙 The same happened with Daniel the Prophet,

when he was cast into the den of lions. God preserved

his going in, so the lions didn't attack or devour him,

on the contrary Daniel was singing " My God sent His

angel and shut the lions' mouths" (Dn6:22). And so,

God preserved him on his coming out safely from the

den.

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􀂙 Noah, the father of all fathers, when he was

going into the ark, Angels were saying to him: The

Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming

in. that is how he went in and lived inside the ark

among the beasts till the great flood was over, this

flood which prevailed exceedingly till waters covered

the mountains. The ark moved about on the surface

of the waters with Noah and his family preserved

inside it.

Then the phrase came which says "shall preserve

your going out", when Noah sent a dove which came

to him in the evening, and a freshly plucked olive leaf

was in her mouth (Gn8:11). Then the ark started to

settle down till it anchored on Ararat Mountain.

Hence, God told Noah to get out of the ark with his

family. He went out and God preserved him in his

going out.

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􀂙 Lazarus of Damascus: on his going out from his

master Abraham's house for the sake of choosing a

wife for Isaac, he didn't know where he was heading

to. This verse had accompanied him before David the

Prophet even uttered it: The Lord shall preserve your

going out and your coming in. Indeed, God preserved

his going out of his country, and also preserved his

coming in-without acknowledging that- to the place

where his relatives lived. God also preserved his

meeting with Rebecca, and her approval on marrying

Isaac. And when they tried to kindly have him as a

guest for few more days, he said " Do not hinder me,

since the Lord has prospered my way (Gn: 24:56).

And how did God prospered your way? He preserved

his going out and his coming in.

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􀂙 That is what had happened as well with Jacob

the son of Isaac, when God told him" Do not hinder

me, since the Lord has prospered my way

"(Gn28:15). Indeed, God preserved him in his going

out from his father's house, and in his coming in to

his uncle Laban's house. God preserved him as well in

his going out once more from Laban's house and in

his coming in to Bethel…

􀂙 The same goes with the story of the people

crossing the Red Sea (Ex14), God preserved them

in their going in to the sea, so its waves didn't scatter

them apart. On the contrary it was like a fence

around them from sides, right and left. At the end,

God preserved their going out of the sea to the

wilderness of Sinai.

The phrase "The Lord shall preserve your

going out and your coming in" is being said on

many occasions:

􀂙 A person traveling by plane, he hears about

many plane crashes…and is frightened of what could

happen. Hence he listens to the sayings of the Psalm

"The Lord shall preserve your going out and your

coming in"… he goes in the plane with peace in his

heart, and goes out of it when it lands with a

courageous heart.

􀂙 Moreover, the Astronauts who had gone into a

spaceship and headed to the Moon and Mars. Their

family who say to each of them "The Lord shall

preserve your going out and your coming in".

􀂙 The Astronaut flies with his spaceship, he goes

out of the atmosphere reaching Moon or Mars while

they say him: The Lord shall preserve your going out.

He finishes his job there and goes into the spaceship

returning to earth, and they tell him: the Lord shall

preserve your coming in to your spaceship, and your

coming in back to your home.

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􀂙 Also the missionaries during the old days who

were sometimes preaching in Man-Eater Lands, each

one of those preachers-during his travel- they say to

him: the Lord shall preserve your going out of your

country and preserve your coming in , and preserve

as well your going out safely of those lands. You go in

there safely, and you safely come out.

􀂙 Some of them they travel to regions like Africa for

example, with all its chronic diseases and epidemics

of which Aids, Malaria and other kinds of viruses are

likely to be there. We send each one of those there

and say to him: the Lord shall preserve your going

out and your coming in. He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil.

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God preserves you also in the awesome Day

of Judgment.

When you stand at the pillar of the Just Judge:

how would you go in to that day? And how would you

come out of it? God preserves you…