Verse 3 is a vivid description of personal suffering: “The plowers plowed upon my back, they made long their furrows.” ... Why would the Psalmist use plowing as a picture of personal suffering?

For one thing, he felt as if people were treating him like dirt. ... If we live for Jesus, we can expect people to treat us the way they treated Him. They treated Him like dirt.

The central truth in this picture is that plowing is presentation for a harvest. When people are treating you like dirt, when the plows of criticism and accusation dig in your back, remember: God is preparing you for a harvest. What kind of a harvest? Depends on the kind of seed you plant. If you plant seeds of revenge and hatred, the harvest will be bitter. But if you plant the seed of the Word of God, letting love and peace and patience reign in your heart, you can say with the psalmist that the Lord is righteous—He will resolve this problem. Then the harvest will be one of blessing, as in verse 8: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord!”

*******^*******

If you want a harvest in your life, you must plow, plant and water. When people treat you like dirt, when the trials of life go right through your life like a plow, get ready for the harvest. God has a harvest of blessing for you today, so remember to plant the right seed.

We don’t hear much these days about the fear of the Lord. All too often the Lord is looked upon only as a heavenly friend, someone who walks with us and smiles on us constantly. But verse 1 says, “Blessed is everyone that feareth the LORD;...”

What does it mean to fear the Lord? It means to be in reverential awe of Him. It means we don’t tempt Him. The Israelites did not fear the Lord. They tempted Him. So God had to discipline them.

God bless us in three areas of our life when we truly fear Him.

First, He will bless us in our walk (v.1). This means that our conduct and our character become holy.

Second, God blesses us in our work (v.2). When we are obedient to God, we are doing His work no matter what our occupation is and therefore can rejoice in it. When we fear the Lord, we can go to work and be happy.

Third, God bless us in our homes (v.3). This does not mean that everybody is going to have a family, let alone a big family. It does mean that you will be a blessing to your family (v.4).

*******^*******

Never become so “familiar” with God that you lose your reverence for Him. He is your personal God, but He deserves your awe and respect. The fear of the Lord is the key to His blessings. Fear Him. Walk in His ways and receive His blessings.

I feel like weeping when I think about the tragedy of more than 1 million babies murdered in their mother’s womb in the country every year. Abortion has turned the womb into a tomb.

I wonder what those presiding doctors and nurses would think if they read Psalm 127. The psalmist tells us that “children are wealth—inheritance from the Lord.”

What are we to do with wealth? First, we accept it. When our children come to us, we accept them. They are God’s gift to us, a treasure. We protect our wealth, and we ought to protect our children. It’s so wrong that many are not protected before they are born.

Then we are to invest it. We train our children, teaching them to live righteously. Their lives become as invested money, and the dividends start to return. One of the great delights of getting older is seeing those godly dividends. Children enrich our lives.

But children are also weapons—“like arrows in the hand of a warrior” (v.4) Who’s going to fight God’s battle if Christians don’t bring children into this world and raise them to know the Lord? In this world of sin, when truth is being attacked on every side, we need to raise our children to be able to stand with the authority and say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

*******^*******

Children are God’s blessing but also a great responsibility. Ask God for wisdom as you invest in and train your children or other’s children. Prepare them for the ministries He has for them and rejoice at the inheritance He has given you.

All of us are sowers and reapers. What must we sow to be happy harvesters?

First, sow the seed of the Gospel. The Bible contains many pictures of witnessing (II.Cor.5:20; Zech.3:2; Matt.4:19, 5:14). Reaching people with the Gospel is like farming. It requires cooperation, because one sows and other reaps. Are you a part of the harvest? We need to pray for the harvesters. You may be weeping today over unsaved loved ones, but one day you will rejoice. Those who sow Gospel will be happy harvesters.

Second, sow your wealth to the glory of God. The way we use our money is like sowing seed. We reap in the measure that we sow (II.Cor.9:6-11). Many people are wasting money on foolish things, while missionaries are waiting for support, and churches are waiting to be built or expanded. Paul says we can be a happy harvesters if we sow the seed bountifully.

Third, sow to the Holy Spirit of God Gal.6:6-8, 5:16-23). How do we do this? We take the things of the Spirit and put them into our hearts. When we memorise and meditate on the Word of God (Ps.119:11), we cultivate a spiritual harvest. The heart is like a garden, so we must weed it. That’s repentance. Take time to be holy, to pray, to meditate on the Word and to plant the seed in your heart.

*******^*******

You are sowing today in all you do; be sure you sow the right seed.

Confidence in the principle of sowing and reaping.

Did you know that each one of us is a sower? Each of us today sowing seed that will produce a harvest. Some people are sowing to the flesh. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:8 that those who sow to the flesh will reap corruption. Psalm 126 tells us to be careful what and how we sow, because we’re the ones who will reap the harvest (Notice what the Psalmist said in vv.5-6).

God’s people weep as they sow, but they will reap in joy. As a Christian, you are to sow the seed of the Word of God by sowing good deeds, truth and His love. You plant the seed that produces the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Life is often serious and difficult. That may cause us to sow with tears, but we will reap in joy. Non-Christians are not like that. The Devils crowd goes out and sow with laughter. Oh, they have a good time. But when the harvest comes, they will reap in sorrow.

Each of us has a decision to make: Are we going to get pleasure now or wait until the harvest of the Holy Spirit? “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal.6:7). In fact, we will reap more than what we’ve sown, because seed multiplies.

*******^*******

If Today you are living for the pleasure of sin, the harvest will bring weeping. But if you are leaving for the will of God, the harvest will bring joy. Ask God to help you sow the seeds that will bring His fruit in your life and in the lives of others.

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is around about His people from henceforth even for ever” (v.2). We don’t have to know much about geography to understand what the Psalmist is saying. It’s a declaration we can believe and put to work in our own lives today. God is compare to many things in the Bible. For example, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb.12:28) Or, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps.46:1). Here the Psalmist says God is like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. That was the most special city to God and the Jewish people, and it still is. And when the psalmist looked at the mountains surrounding the city, he said, “That’s the way God is.”

How is God like a mountain? First, a mountain has stability. He is stable, dependable. He doesn’t change. God is the same yesterday, today and for ever (Heb.13:8).

Second, a mountain offers security. God surrounds and guards us. He is like Mount Zion to us. Verse 1 says, “Thos who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.” In other words God can make you to be like a mountain also” —stable and secure because He is your refuge and strength.

Therefore we should trust Him. Those who trust in the Lord have ability and security. They have all they ever will need (v.4).

*******^*******

The next time you need a refuge, remember that God has a special way of caring for His people. The strength and security God gives His people is solid and unchanging. Trust Him.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Paul asked in Romans 8:31, and we know the answer. No one can be against us if God is for us. That’s the theme of Psalm 124. (vv.2-3).

Because God is on our side, men cannot devour us. The Psalmist compares his enemies to ferocious lions or bears who might come down upon him and eat him. There are people who would like to “eat us up” also. When men are determined to devour you, remember that God will stop them.

But it may not be that men are devouring you. Perhaps circumstances are drowning you (vv.4-5). Life seems to drown us And sink us as the waters rush over our souls. But because God is for us, circumstances cannot drown us.

The psalmist changes the picture from swallowing and drowning to escaping from a trap (v.7). God not only keeps us from drowning and being devoured, He keeps us from being deceived and trapped by the devil. He doesn’t just set us free; He breaks the snare. In other words, the Devil can’t trap us again as long as we are following the Lord.

Don’t let life devour you. Don’t let life drown you. Don’t let the devil deceive you. If God is for you, who can be against you?

*******^*******

On those days when you feel overwhelmed by people or circumstances, you must never forget the truth that God is on your side. You have the promises of His Word. Look past your circumstances and place your confidence in God alone. He will protect you.

If the outlook in your life is disturbing you, try the uplook. That’s what the psalmist did. “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens” (v.1).

What does it mean to lift your eyes to the Lord? first, it means to acknowledge His sovereignty. We lift our eyes because He is higher than we are. Isaiah (6:1) focused his eyes on the throne of God and saw Him “high and lift it up” in the Temple. He is sovereign. He is the Master; we are the servants. He is the Creator; we are the creatures. He is the heavenly Father; we are the children.

Second, we admit His sufficient (v.2). We look to Him because of His sufficiency. Whatever we need, He is able to provide. “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:19).

Third, we lift up our eyes to the Lord, we can accept His generosity. God is generous, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, (Matthew.7:11).

*******^*******

Acknowledge the sovereignty of God today. He is in control. Recognise His sufficiency. He can give you what you need for this day. Then accept His generosity. He enjoys giving to those who trust Him and glorify Him in all that they do.

Are you glad when it’s time to go to the house of God to worship? Are you really happy when, on the Lord’s Day or any other day, you can go to church? The psalmist was. “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” We worship the Lord privately as well. I trust that every day you read His Word and pray and worship Him. But Christians belong to each other. We are the sheep of God flock. We are the children in His family, and we should want to worship Him together.

The house of God is a place for praise (v.4). We also go into the house of God to praise Him, and how much we have to praise Him for! Charles Spurgeon used to say that “Christians are prone to write their complaints in marble and their blessings in the sand.” How soon we forget what God has done for us. The next time you go to the church, praise Him for all He has done.

God’s house is also a place for prayer. The psalmist says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I hope you are praying for God‘s people, Israel and for peace in Jerusalem. I hope you also are praying for peace in your congregation and your community and for those who are in authority. We are also to pray for prosperity— riches of grace and spiritual blessing (v.6). The psalmist is also prays for God’s people (v.8). We should be praying for God‘s people and seeking good for them (v.9).

*******^*******

Do not take your privilege of worship for granted. God’s people should gather to praise Him and to pray to Him. When you do this, you become a vehicle through which God can give His peace to others.

This Psalm 121 is very special to me. When I‘m ready to leave on a trip or vacation, I often read Psalm 121 and then pray. Sometime we became accustomed to hearing the words, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. God is our Helper. You don’t have to go on a vacation or drive on a busy highway to know that.

Where does your help come from? The psalmist lifted his eyes to the hills. The most stable, secure thing the Jews knew where the mountains around Jerusalem. Then the Psalmist lifted his eyes higher and said, “No, I don’t get my help from the hills. I get my help from the heavens. God is my helper.” What ever your need or task is today, your help will come from the Lord, the Creator of the heaven and the earth. A God big enough to make this world and keep it going is big enough to help you with your problems today.

God is also our Keeper (vv.3,4). This is a dangerous world we live in. Enemies would like to attack and destroy us. But as we walk in the will of God and depend on His power, He is there as our Keeper and Preserver (v.7). This verse doesn’t say we won’t have pain. It doesn’t say we will never suffer or sorrow. Though we may be hurt, we won’t be harmed (vv.7,8). God will be your guide even unto death.

*******^*******

Jesus Christ is your Helper and Keeper. No matter where your path in life leads, if you walk in His will, He will preserve you. Walk with confidence today. You have a Helper, a Keeper and Preserver, who will see you through.