Psalm 121

Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, and boys and girls as promised there will be a number of times I'll refer to you in this sermon so you can listen and follow along as well.

Let's read the psalm again.

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved.

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper.

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil.

He will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Father God, our help is in you, the maker of heaven and earth.

And so we pray that you would come now and by your spirit illuminate our minds, conform our wills,

and stir our affections for your Son, our Saviour,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever praised, world without end.

Amen.

Life is tough, but so are you.

Life is tough, but so are you.

That's a quote I came across.

I think it was a tweet.

Life is tough, but so are you.

I thought the first part was refreshingly honest.

Life is tough.

Sure, there are happy moments and fun moments, but there are also sad moments and hard moments.

Life is tough.

Just think about your daily routine or just think about the things you need to do each day.

It's hard work, isn't it?

But then add to that the daily experiences of life.

The relational problem with that colleague at work.

The longing for companionship in marriage.

The hidden pain of infertility month after month.

The worry over a particular child or a strained relationship with a parent.

The boredom of an uninspiring job.

The financial constraints of a lack of a job or money.

The hassle involved in moving house.

The physical pains of old age or a chronic illness.

That issue in your marriage you keep arguing over.

The heaviness of depression.

Or the panic of anxiety.

The daily experiences of life make life hard going at times, don't they?

Life is tough.

And then there are the unforeseen crises of life.

The sad news of some terrible illness.

The breakdown in a relationship.

The sudden shock of the death of a loved one.

The daily routine of life is hard work.

The daily experiences of life are hard work.

And the unforeseen crises of life can be heartbreaking.

Life is tough.

I think the first part of that quote is refreshingly honest.

Life is tough.

Wouldn't you agree?

But the question is, what do we think of the second part of the quote?

Life is tough, but so are you.

Life is tough, but so are you.

If the first part is refreshingly honest, the second part is incredibly telling.

Not because I think it's true, but because I think it captures an underlying attitude in our secular culture.

And that is that you have the resources within yourself to deal with whatever life throws at you.

Life is tough, sure.

But so are you.

It's like that classic song by Billy Ocean.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Right?

Or that Chumbawamba song.

I get knocked down, but I get up again.

Okay?

And boys and girls, have you seen the Trolls movie?

Remember it?

Or you're a very sanctified lot.

It's got that great song, Get Back Up Again.

Hey, I'm not giving up today.

There's nothing getting in my way.

And if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again.

And if something goes a little wrong, well, you can go ahead and bring it on.

Because if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again.

That is what our culture teaches us.

Life is tough, but so are you.

And when you get knocked over, you just get yourself back up again.

Tweets like that, and song lyrics like that, reveal one of the great pillars of our secular culture.

Another word, self-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency.

Boys and girls, that just means that you have the power to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it.

There's two pillars of our secular culture.

Autonomy.

Do what you want, when you want.

Because you're the master of your fate, the captain of your soul.

And the second pillar is self-sufficiency.

You have everything within yourself to be who you want to be, to do what you want to do, and to overcome whatever life throws at you.

Autonomy.

Self-sufficiency.

And when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

When you get knocked down, you just get back up again.

Well, there's one thing this psalm does for us this evening.

It's that it affirms the first part, and it denies the second part.

Life is tough, yes.

But so are you.

Well, no, says this psalm.

It says, no, our help is in the Lord.

Psalm 1-2-1 concerns normal life.

Everyday life.

It affirms that first part.

Life is tough.

You see in verse 3, the reference to our foot.

It speaks of a journey we're on.

Verse 8 speaks of comings and goings.

That's our life, our normal life.

And the psalm affirms that normal life is tough.

Verse 3, our foot sometimes slips along the journey.

Verse 6, the sun and the moon can strike us.

Verse 7, there is evil all around us.

So this normal life, life under the sun and moon life, everyday life is tough.

Life is difficult.

It's dangerous.

It's tough.

That's what this psalm affirms.

But then here's the thing the psalm denies.

Our culture says, life is tough, but so are you.

And this psalm says, life is tough, but our help is in the name of the Lord.

Life is tough, but our help is in the Lord.

Our world tells us to be self-sufficient.

This psalm tells us to be God-dependent.

And the psalm communicates that truth in two ways.

Number one, life is tough, but the Lord is our helper.

Life is tough, but the Lord is our helper.

Verses 1 and 2.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Now this verse 1, I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come from?

That's been interpreted in different ways.

Some people think, I lift up my eyes to the hills.

It carries an ominous tone.

Hills were places of danger, where thieves and robbers would lie in wait in the mountain passages.

Or hills were places of idolatry, where idols were worshipped on high places.

So some people think this has got a negative connotation.

But I don't think that's the case.

In the Psalms, the hills of Israel, especially Jerusalem, has a positive connotation.

John Calvin thought that the hills symbolize might and strength.

And so the logic here is contrastive.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

Where does my help come from?

Well, not even from something so great and mighty as the hills.

But from the Lord, the maker, not only of the hills, but of heaven and earth.

And that's definitely a possible reading.

But I don't think the hills are meant here in a contrastive sense.

I think they're meant in a complementary sense.

Just look, if you just take a look at the heading of the psalm.

A psalm of ascents.

And Psalm 120 to 134.

These are 15 psalms of ascents.

There's some debate what that means.

The psalms of ascents.

But I think the most sensible explanation is that it's a reference to the psalms they would sing as they made their way up to Jerusalem.

Which was on a hill, on a mountain.

And they would sing these psalms as they went up.

And if you've ever been to Israel, you know that Jerusalem is on the top of this mountain range.

When you fly into Tel Aviv, you're down by the sea.

You get on the bus and you just slowly make your way up to Jerusalem.

And you just keep going up and up and up and up.

Jerusalem was set up in the hills.

Your eyes as you drive up to Jerusalem are lifted up to these hills.

Now think of what that eye lifting up experience signified for an Old Testament Israelite.

As they walked up to Mount Zion, what were they looking at?

God's home.

His temple.

It was situated on the top of the hills in Jerusalem.

And so this psalmist is saying, I lift up my eyes to the hills.

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the God who lives in those hills.

The God who lives in his temple.

The hills of Jerusalem have a positive sense here.

I think they're complementary.

Our help is in the hills.

In the God who lives in the hills.

But in order to make sure we don't just domesticate God to the hills of Jerusalem,

the psalmist adds,

Who made heaven and earth.

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

The God of the hills of Jerusalem is the maker of heaven and earth.

He is not a domestic deity.

Heaven and earth is what's called a mayorism.

It's two parts that make a whole and everything in between.

My help comes from the Lord who made everything.

And this is the reason why God can help us with anything.

Because he made everything.

God can help us with anything.

Because he made everything.

Our God is our helper.

Because he is first our creator.

The reason why the gods of all other religions cannot help us

is first and foremost because they have never created anything in their life.

Never mind the heavens and the earth.

The gods of the nations are created, not creator.

They are made, not maker.

And that is why they cannot help people.

Because they were made by people.

But the great claim of this psalm

is that the God of Israel, the Christian God,

the God whose name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

is able to help people

for this one basic fundamental reason.

He made everything.

He created everything.

And that's why he can help us with anything.

God is our helper because he is first our creator.

And that is what we need to remember.

Whatever happens in our lives,

whatever life throws at us,

whenever life gets tough,

our help is in the Lord who made everything.

When life gets tough,

it's so easy to look into ourselves

or around to others.

It's so easy to experience a difficulty in your life

and to turn to Google

before you turn to God.

But what this psalm says to us this evening

is don't look in,

don't look around,

but look up to God.

When life gets tough,

the Lord is our helper.

That's the first thing this psalm shows us.

And then second,

life is tough,

but the Lord is our keeper.

Life is tough,

but the Lord is our helper.

Verses 1 and 2.

And now,

life is tough,

but the Lord is our keeper.

Verses 3 to 8.

Now it's important to note

that verses 3 to 8

are not a prayer for protection.

Did you notice that?

Psalm 1 to 1 is not a prayer for protection,

it's a promise of protection.

And the promise is made sure

by the Lord,

who is our keeper,

our guard,

our protector.

That's the key word through these verses.

It occurs six times.

The word keep or keeper.

Verse 3,

verse 4,

verse 5,

verse 7,

verse 8,

six times,

the word keeper,

keeper is used.

Life is tough,

but the Lord is our keeper.

And we can see that in four ways.

Number one,

the Lord is our personal keeper.

The Lord is our personal keeper.

Did you notice how the psalm shifts

from the first person,

in verses 1 and 2,

to the second person,

you or your,

in verses 3 to 8.

Now some think that this is antiphonal singing.

Verse 1 and 2 would have been sung

by one group of pilgrims,

and then verse 3 to 8

would be sung by another group.

I think that's possible.

I think a better way to think of it

is that verses 1 and 2

is sung by the king of Israel,

and then verses 3 to 8

is sung by the priest,

or by the people,

to the king.

And I'll come back to that

at the end of the sermon.

But notice,

for now,

how deeply personal this sermon is.

The words your,

or you,

are repeated over and over.

Alright, boys and girls,

perhaps you can help me here.

I'm going to read out these verses,

and as I do so,

I want you to count on your hand,

okay,

with your fingers,

how many times

you hear the word your,

or your,

you say in England,

or you.

Okay,

so listen very carefully.

He will not let your foot

be moved.

He who keeps you

will not slumber.

The Lord is your keeper.

The Lord is your shield

on your right hand.

The sun will not strike you

by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you

from all evil.

He will keep your life.

The Lord will keep

your going out,

and your coming in,

from this time forth,

and forevermore.

How many did you get?

Ten.

Very good.

Ten times

in six verses.

Ten times

in six verses.

The psalmist is saying,

the Lord is your keeper.

He will keep you.

You see how personal it is?

Boys and girls,

it's a bit like that

kid's song you sing,

you know,

he's got the whole world

in his hands.

You know that song?

He's got the whole wide world

in his hands.

That's like verses one and two.

God is the maker of everything.

He's got the whole world

in his hands.

And then the second verse,

he's got you and me,

brother, sister,

in his hands.

He's got you and me

in his hands.

That's like verses three to eight.

God's got the whole world

in his hands,

verses one and two,

because he made everything.

And he's got you and me

in his hands,

verses three to eight,

because he's our keeper.

He's looking after us.

The creator of the universe

is our personal bodyguard.

He's got us in his hands.

So that's the first way

we see that he's our keeper.

He's our personal keeper.

Second,

he's our persistent keeper.

Verses three to four,

our persistent keeper.

He will not let your foot be moved.

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold,

he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The foot slipping here

is not merely referring

to tripping up on a path.

That would suggest

that Christians

are not exposed

to the normal accidents

and tragedies of life.

And we know from experience

that we are as Christians.

Rather,

the foot slipping imagery

in the Old Testament

speaks of someone

falling off the path

to eternal ruin.

So for example,

Psalm 73 speaks of God

setting the wicked

in slippery places

so that they are swept away

and utterly destroyed.

And the promise here

is that

that will never happen

to the Christian.

And the reason

why it will never happen

is because the Lord

is our persistent keeper.

He does not slumber

or sleep.

There's perhaps

a progression here

in those verbs.

Slumbering is like

dropping off

for a wee nap

after a heavy meal.

I had a wee slumber

this afternoon.

Or a sleep.

It's like a deep sleep

at the end of the day.

So the verbs

may just be

a slight progression

from a micro nap

to a deep sleep.

Or,

they might just be

saying the same thing.

In either case,

we get the point

God's protective care

of us

never stops.

It covers day

and night.

God never nods off.

He never has

a micro sleep

while he's looking

after us.

The reference

to Israel

here in verse

4

indicates that

God is not just

our creator

but also our redeemer.

He redeemed

his son Israel

out of Egypt.

But the reference

to corporate Israel

doesn't take away

the personal nature

of God's protection.

If he's the keeper

of corporate Israel,

that means he's

the keeper

of individual Israelite.

He is the keeper

of the church

as well as

the Christian.

So this is

the second thing

we see.

The Lord

is our

persistent

keeper.

And this is why

as a church

and as a Christian

we can enjoy

our sleep

just like Jesus did.

Have you ever

noticed that?

Jesus enjoyed

his sleep

even in the midst

of a storm.

Why did he sleep

in the storm?

Because he knew

that his father

neither slept

nor slumbered

over him.

Our sleep

can be sweet

because God

does not sleep.

Alexander the Great,

the king of ancient

Greece,

was once asked

why he slept

so well

while he was

on his military

campaign.

In those days

for a king

to sleep in his

tent in the midst

of a war

was a great risk.

His own men

could come in

and kill him

or the enemy

could come in

and kill him.

But Alexander the Great

was asked

why do you

sleep so well

in your military

campaigns

and he replied

because Parmenion

does not sleep.

Parmenion

was his bodyguard

and that's why

he slept so well

because he knew

that Parmenion

never slept

when he looked

after him

and that is

what God

is like to us.

He is like

our personal

bodyguard

and he does

not sleep.

Our anxiety

about life

in general

could be lessened

if we would

just remind

ourselves

that God

does not

sleep

or slumber

in looking

after us.

He is attentive

and he is

our personal

persistent

keeper.

Well third

he is also

our present

keeper.

The Lord

is our present

keeper.

Verse 5

and 6

the Lord

is your

keeper.

The Lord

is your

shade

on your

right hand.

The sun

shall not

strike you

by day

nor the

moon

by night.

Now the

reference here

to the sun

and the moon

are intriguing.

Obviously the

sun and moon

are not known

for dropping

out of the

sky like

some meteorite.

Have you seen

that recently

boys and girls?

Being hit

by a star

have you recently?

Walking along

the street?

No.

The sun and moon

don't really fall

out of the heavens

do they?

So I don't

think this is

a physical

literal meaning.

I think it's

symbolic.

Just as the

hills were

symbolic of

where God

lives,

where our

health is,

just as the

foot was

symbolic of

slipping in

an eternal

sense,

so the sun

and the moon

here are

symbolic of

danger.

Danger by

day,

danger by

night.

The daytime

dangers and

then the

nighttime

dangers.

Perhaps the

moon here

could refer

to moon

stroke,

imagined

danger by

a person's

unstable

mental state.

Perhaps those

of us who

suffer from

anxiety or

panic attacks

can identify

with that.

But whatever

it means,

this daytime

danger or

nighttime

danger,

we get the

point that

nothing can

strike us

a deadly

blow.

And that's

because of

what's in

verse 5.

The Lord

is your

keeper,

the Lord

is your

shade at

your right

hand.

Notice that.

It's not that

God sends us

an angel,

it's that

God sends

us himself.

He is so

close to us

that he is

our own

shade.

Now boys

and girls,

I don't know

if you've ever

tried to

chase someone

else's shadow

and stand on it.

Have you ever

tried to do

that?

The sun,

yeah?

And what

do you have

to do if

you're going

to stand

on someone

else's shadow?

How close

do you have

to be?

You've got to

be very close.

You can't do

it 20 yards

away, you've

got to get

close to

them.

And if the

Lord is

our sheath

at our

right hand,

then that

means that

we are close

to God and

God is close

to us in

order for

him to be

our sheath.

If in

verse 2 he's

our creator,

and if in

verse 4 he's

our redeemer,

here in

verse 5 we

might say that

he's our

companion.

He's the

one who

comes and

walks close

beside us so

that we live

in his

sheath.

The Lord is

your sheath on

your right

hand.

So we have

those three

pictures of

God here,

creator,

redeemer,

and companion.

Sounds a

bit like the

Trinity,

doesn't it?

God the

Father creates,

God the

Son redeems,

and God the

Spirit comes

alongside us.

Psalm 121 is

the Holy

Trinity

incognito.

And it's

this aspect of

God's companionship

as our ever

present help

that is

highlighted here.

Life is

tough,

but the

Lord is our

personal keeper,

he's our

persistent

keeper,

and he is

our present

keeper.

He stands

beside us

and is

our shade

at our

right hand.

And then

fourth,

the Lord is

our perpetual

keeper.

The Lord is

our perpetual

keeper,

or eternal

keeper.

But we

needed a

fourth P,

didn't we?

The Lord will

keep you from

all evil,

he will keep

your life,

the Lord will

keep your going

out,

and you're

coming in

from this

time forth,

and forever

more.

We see the

totality of

his care

in these

verses.

Do you

notice that?

The Lord

keeps us

from all

evil,

the all

encapsulates

day and

night.

Verse

7,

our life

in all

its fullness

is kept

by God.

Verse

8,

he keeps

our going

out and

our coming

in,

another

merism,

two parts

to communicate

the whole

of life.

God watches

over our

everyday

wanderings,

our comings

and goings,

from womb

to tomb.

God watches

over us.

His care

is total,

but also,

notice the

final words,

his care

is perpetual,

it is

eternal,

from this

time forth

and forever

more.

God's keeping

does not end

in this life

and in this

world,

it continues

into the

next world.

When we get

to heaven,

God's

protecting care

of us is

not over.

You could

say it's

only just

beginning.

When our

loved ones

get to

heaven,

God does

not stop

keeping

them,

he is

still

keeping

them.

The

Lord is

our

perpetual

keeper

from this

time

forth

and

forever

more.

So those

are four

aspects of

God as

our

keeper.

He's

our

personal

keeper.

Remember

boys and

girls,

how many

you and

yours

were there?

Ten.

He's

our

personal

keeper.

He's

our

persistent

keeper.

He doesn't

sleep or

slumber.

He is

our

present

keeper,

but he's

the shade

at our

right hand,

and he's

our

perpetual

keeper.

He will

keep us

forever and

ever.

And this

is the

second

great truth

that this

psalm gives

us in the

midst of

life's

difficulties.

Our

culture says

life is

tough,

but so

are you.

This

psalm says

life is

tough,

yes,

for the

Lord is

our

helper.

The

Lord is

our

keeper.

In

closing,

I want

to ask

what does

the Lord

keeping our

goings and

comings

actually mean?

What does

it mean for

him to

keep us

from all

evil and

to keep

our life?

What does

it mean that

the sun and

the moon

will not

strike us?

What does

it mean that

our foot

will not

slip in

verse 3?

Is this

some kind

of health,

wealth,

and prosperity

gospel?

Is it

the Christian

life is

trouble-free?

Well,

no.

We walk

along the

same paths

in life as

unbelievers

do.

We live

out our

lives under

the same

sun and

moon,

and we

encounter

the same

evils that

they do.

Life is

tough,

whoever you

are,

wherever you

are,

and being a

Christian doesn't

make it less

tough.

So what

exactly is

this keeping

that the

psalmist

promises us?

Because

remember,

it's a

promise,

not a

prayer,

that God

will keep

us.

Well,

the answer

to what

the Lord's

keeping means

is in

those final

words,

from this

time forth

and forever

more.

Let me

unpack those

words by

telling you

about a

Vietnamese

pastor and

translator

called

Hien.

After

Vietnam

fell in

the 1970s,

Hien was

captured by

the Viet

Con and

imprisoned and

tortured.

his captors

beat him

continually,

they forced

him to

clean the

toilet latrines,

they brainwashed

him with

communist

material,

and eventually

after some

time he

cracked and

stopped

praying and

he became

an atheist.

But a

couple of

years later

the guard

put him on

toilet duty,

and as he

was cleaning

out the

toilet he

saw a

piece of

paper that

had been

used as

toilet paper.

he noticed

some writing

on the

top corner

of it,

Romans.

He rubbed

off the

human excrement

that was on

it, folded

it up and

put it in

his pocket,

and that

night in

the darkness

of his

cell he

switched on

his torch

and he

read these

words,

And we

know that

in all

things God

works for

the good of

those who

love him,

who have

been called

according to

his purpose.

What then

shall we say

in response to

this?

If God

is for

us,

who can

be against

us?

He who

did not

spare his

own son,

but gave

him up for

us all,

how will

he not

also along

with him

graciously

give us

all things?

Who will

bring any

charge against

those whom

God has

chosen?

Who shall

separate us

from the

love of

Christ?

Shall

trouble,

or hardship,

or persecution,

or famine,

or nakedness,

or danger,

or sword?

No, in all

these things we

are more than

conquerors through

him who loved

us.

For I am

convinced that

neither death

nor life,

neither angels

nor demons,

neither the

present nor the

future, nor any

part, neither height

nor depth, nor

anything else in

all creation,

will be able to

separate us from

the love of God

that is in Christ

Jesus our Lord.

God.

He began to cry.

And then he said

these words,

Lord, you would

not let me out of

your reach for

even one day.

You would not let

me out of your

reach for even

one day.

That's the kind

of keeping that

Psalm 121 is

talking about.

It's the

preservation of

God's people in

relationship with

him now and for

eternity, come

hell or high

water.

The next day,

Hien asked if he

could do toilet

duty again.

And would you

believe it, he

recovered the

whole book of

Romans from the

toilets.

And his faith was

restored.

He later escaped,

became a pastor to

Vietnamese people in

America.

Psalm 121 is to

Old Testament

saints what Romans 8

is to New Testament

saints.

It's the

reassurance that

nothing in this

life or the next

life can separate

us from the God

who has redeemed

us in his son,

Jesus Christ.

The help and

protection promised

in Psalm 121 is

the promise never

to be separated

from the love of

God that is in

Christ Jesus.

Because that is

where Psalm 121

finds its

fulfillment.

Because every

benefit we receive

in this life,

including protection,

comes to us

through Christ.

And only when we're

united to Christ

do we receive the

benefits.

And those benefits

are only ours

because they were

first Christ's.

Remember earlier I

said that one way

to read the shift

from the first

person in verses

1 and 2 to the

second person in

verses 3 to 8

is to see verses

1 and 2 sung by

the king of

Israel and then

verses 3 to 8 sung

by the people to

the king.

And I think that's

the best way to

read that.

Here's the king of

Israel saying,

I lift up my

eyes to the

hills.

Where does my

help come from?

My help comes from

the Lord who made

heaven and earth.

And then the people

sing to the king,

yes, he will not

let your foot slip.

In other words,

Psalm 121, it was

sung by Christ.

Remember, he sung

the psalms.

These experiences

were his experience.

And the psalm is

first for the king,

for Christ, and

then for the

Christian.

Because think about

it, Christ sung and

experienced what is

in this psalm.

The Lord was his

helper.

The Lord did not

let his foot slip

in battle with

the devil.

The Lord watched

over him.

The sun did not

strike him by day

nor the moon by

night.

The Lord kept him

from all evil.

He resisted the

devil's temptations.

The Lord kept his

life.

He raised him from

the dead.

The Lord kept his

going out from

heaven and his

coming back into

heaven.

Christ experienced

Psalm 121 as

the faithful

Israelite as

Israel's faithful

representative king.

Verses 1 and 2

may well be a

statement of faith

with his people

then speaking the

promise of

protection over him

in verses 3 to

8.

And because Christ

was kept by his

father, he can now

keep us.

He is after all the

good shepherd who

said, my sheep are

in my hands.

None shall pluck

them from me.

because I am in

my father's hands.

He was the one

who first experienced

God his father as

helper and keeper.

And that is where

our trust should lie

tonight.

Not in ourselves,

but in the Lord who

made heaven and

earth and sent his

son to be our

savior.

Life is tough and we

are not.

Just think of

Hien, the Vietnamese

pastor.

When life got tough,

he did not get

going.

When he got knocked

down, he didn't get

back up again.

When life got tough,

Hien did not get

going, but God did.

God did not sleep

nor slumber over him

because God never

slept nor slumbered

over his son, Jesus

Christ, when he was

on earth.

It is just as Hien

said after he read

Romans 8 in the cell

that night, Lord, you

would not let me out

of your reach for

even one day.

Nothing shall

separate us from the

love of God which is

in Christ Jesus our

Lord.

That is what it means

for God to be our

keeper.

So brothers and

sisters, when life

gets tough, and it

will get tough, we

don't get tough.

When life gets

tough, our help is

in the Lord, the

maker of heaven and

earth.

Let us pray.