The LORD Your Keeper

The LORD is your keeper. (Psalm 121:5)

The Hebrew word for “keep” is shamar, and means to keep, guard, watch over, hedge about, protect, observe.

The psalm writer declares, “The LORD is your keeper.” Actually, the “is,” in most translations, is shown in italics, signifying that there is no word behind it in the Hebrew text. It was added to smooth out the sense in English. Literally, it is “The LORD your keeper,” a crescendo to the build-up presented in verses 3 and 4:

He will not allow your foot be to be moved;
  He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
  Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

What is described in these verses is given to us as a name of God in verse 5. He is called, “The LORD Your Keeper.”

The Lord will not allow your foot to be moved. Regardless of whatever may happen, when the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, you will still be standing.

The Lord is never caught off guard. He does not fall into deep sleep; He doesn’t even “cat nap” or “rest” His eyes. He is ever vigilant, always watching out for His people.

Now, all of this depends upon whether we trust in Him. That is always how we appropriate His blessings and benefits, by trusting in Him and not depending on our own strategies and resources. The Lord will never turn His eyes away from us, though we may take our eyes off of Him and move away from the place of protection He has prepared for us. But if we will ever turn to Him, we will find that what Isaiah said to the Lord is true: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what happens, you can always call on Him as The Lord Your Keeper, and know that you are going to be alright.