Sitting on the overlook at the
City of David, looking across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives with the
Temple Mount to the north, these verses took on new meaning for me. The
psalmist was not thinking of some distant mountain range as I do, picturing the
Rocky Mountains in my mind. He was looking to a large hill right in front of
him which protected his precious city from destructive east winds and which
provided refreshing, nourishing rains. It was not the majesty and strength of a
15,000-foot jagged summit but the effects of a gentle 2,600-foot slope which
imaged the protection and provision of Yahweh to him.
It was over this slope that the
morning sun would appear, promising a new day. It forced the clouds and
moisture coming from the Mediterranean up once again to give a drink of water
to the valley below. And it offered a buffer to Jerusalem from the dust and
heat of winds driven across from the Arabian Desert. All of this from a
relatively small mountain; small, yet powerful.
How often do I think that the
provision and protection of God needs to come in some 15,000-foot majestic way
when all around me he has provided powerful 2,600-foot slopes? Meals shared
with friends and family, open homes when I need a place to stay, the nourishing
refreshment of prayer. In all these ways, Yahweh is protecting and providing
for me in the midst of some deep personal valleys.
“I lift up my eyes to the
mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the
Maker of heaven and earth.”
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