These are pictures of the mountains of Israel. I pray that Israel, you may live forever! You, whom the LORD loves.



One of the most beloved Psalms of all time (besides Psalm 23) is Psalm 121. This is one of the Songs of the Ascents--most commonly thought of as a song sung by Israelite pilgrims making a journey to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the feasts unto the Lord.

I have struggled to rest upon the right sound and the right lyrics for Psalm 3. So, one night, at the suggestion of a father-like mentor, I just opened the Word to Psalm 121; started to play my guitar; I sang. This is what came.

Oh, how I want the Word to live on the inside of me in such a way that these Words would be more than mere words. I want them to be alive within me--piercing to the bone and to the marrow. For, God's Word is alive, and He is alive and well. I pray that this psalm would spur you on to the LORD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. May you know Your keeper is watching over you.

Psalm 121 (NASB)

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your comin in
From this time forth and forever.

(FOREVER!!! PRAISE YESHUA! My note: Emphasis added)

Psalm 121
Mary Beth Hough

Verse 1:
I lift my eyes up to the hills,
where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up to the hills,
where does my help come from?

(Repeat)

Verse 2:
My help comes from the LORD above,
Maker of Heaven and Earth.

My help comes from the LORD above,
Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Chorus:
You will not let my foot slip--
You do not slumber.

You are my shade by night and day.
You are my strength, forever.

(Repeat Verse 1 and Verse 2)

Bridge:
You are watching over me!
You are watching over me!
You keep watch over me!

You're the guarder of my way!
You're the guarder of my soul!
You are keeper, watcher of my soul!

Repeat Verse 1

How much we need to know Him...in every changing season, in every uncertain territory, He is our help. May our hearts lift up to Him.

I was made for another world. I was made for another world. I was made for another world.

My mind has been constantly thinking.

God's pursuit of man is ridiculous; the way that I defend my sin is despicable; my unwillingness to lose control is futile. I can fight the surrender, but it makes for a miserable experience: Because all of my efforts amount to pride--an unreasonable trust that I am able to satisfy myself. But, I can't.

I am a well--a deep, yet finite chasm that longs to be filled.

Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life."

Proverbs 20:5
"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out."

Psalm 42:7
"Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me."

There is only one whose glory has such a weight that the chasm becomes complete.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

The consuming nature of God's love is something that the more and more that I come to the LORD in keeping remembrance of the gospel, the more and more I "taste and see that the LORD is good" (Ps. 34:8).

Fire consumes. It's deadly. It burns.
It ruins houses, strips forests, and can bring great devestation. But, it is also a natural part of nature's course. It is actually ecologically needed to sustain this world in which we live. We can't live without fire, liturally and metaphorically...the heat, the passion, or the renewal that it brings.

There has been fire in my day...but, the fire has been in the form of what Paul writes as "flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). I was feeling useless, ineffective, tired, and confused. Why was this happening? Why do I feel so dreary? What's the matter with me? Why can't I be stronger?

My good friend said to me, "This is the anthem for the rest of my life: I fail, but the Cross is greater."

Today, I was realizing my failure: my failure to believe, my failure to hope, my failure to pray, and my failure to trust in the work of Christ to save me from my tormenting selfishness.

So, this is why I post this:



Jesus. Crucified. The Son of God absorbing the wrath of the Father who loved Him. For me. For me.

Oh, let my anthem be:
"Here I am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me.
And, Thou hast bid me come to Thee...
OH, LAMB OF GOD, I COME."

Psalm 2 (ESV)

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against His anointed, saying,
3 'Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.'

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD holds them in derision.
5 Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury saying,
6 'As for Me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.'

7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

***Okay, so that God would even invite us to know the Son, to kiss the Son with our allegiance is brilliant and wonderful to me! What a God! Oh, let us not delay our kiss upon Him who is worthy!

My Song:
Psalm 2

(This is probably my favorite song that the LORD has given me a melody and words for recently.)

Verse 1:
We, in foolish pride,
Stood against the LORD.
We took the yoke for our good
And tore it all apart.

Chorus:
Now, we're without protection
Before a Righteous God.
We deserve to be consumed
In the fury of His wrath!

Verse 2:
God has walked among us
To find is there's any blameless left.
There's no one who does good--
No, not even one.

Chorus:
Now, we're without protection
Before a Righteous God.
We deserve to be consumed
In the fury of His wrath!

Verse 3:
The issue of the LORD,
to the sons of man:
"I've delivered a Holy Son!
Now, take refuge in Him!"

Chorus 2:
Now, we have protection
before a Righteous God!
And, now we deserve to be consumed
in the fury of His love!

Now, we have protection
before a Righteous God!
And, now we deserve to be consumed
in the fury of His love!