"Shall I lift up my eyes unto the hills? From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)
Popular hymnology, based upon the common rendering, "I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence comes my help," has made the hills--the supposed abodes of the deities of the heathen mythology--a source of help and hope for the Christian. But in God alone is his help. As the prophet Jeremiah has said, "Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel." (Jeremiah 3:23)
God is the help of those that look unto Him. He says, "Look unto me and be you saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:22)
But it is in vain to seek for salvation without looking to Him. We must know where He is, and not be looking to some place where God is not; for there are many places which appear to be the sanctuary of Omnipotence, which are but the deceptions of that evil one whose aim is to turn man's eyes away from God, to look unto himself.
All earthly sources of help are of this kind. There is no help for the sinner but in creative power; and therefore his help comes only "from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:2)
Many are the men that look up to the hills, to the groves and the temples of their pretended deities, but they do not experience the working of creative power. Only God can send creative power into the heart, and answer the longing of the sin-burdened soul for a new creation. Only He can answer the prayer: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
This is the power that we feel when we look to the right Source of help. If we do not experience it, we are not looking as we should.
The hills and the mountains shall melt and disappear, together with all that is earthly and of human origin, and in that day God will be the hope and refuge of His people. In that day it will be said, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." (Psalm 46:1-2)
The prophecy is about to be fulfilled which foretells the transfer of the kingdoms of this earth into the hands of Him who shall "break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O you kings; be instructed you judges of the earth." (Psalm 2:9-10)
Cease to trust in the power of man, and look to Him who is the Source of all authority and power, and the Refuge of His children. "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." (Psalm 2:12)--Present Truth, September 28, 1893--Psalm 121:1-2.