My Help Comes From the Lord

Psalm 121…Matthew 4:1-11

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’  ”5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,’and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’  ”8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

HOMILY: I repeat the words which Sharon read moments ago from Psalm 121. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 121 is one of the Songs of Ascents. Pilgrims (on their way up to Jerusalem) sang this Psalm. It is a psalm for the road.  It is a psalm for the Jews to sing on their way to worship God.  It is a psalm for us as we continue our journey through life.

The hills around Jerusalem are beautiful. But they are also dangerous. Thieves and murderers lay in wait. The terrain is steep and arduous. One misstep can mean harm or even death.

So the psalmist is asking a serious and critical question.  As I ascend on my journey to worship God, who is going to help me?

And the psalmist answers his own question with a strong affirmation: THE LORD IS MY HELP. That is the general affirmation which echos down the corridors of Jewish history. The Lord is my Helper!

But then we come to Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness where another thief lies in wait with harmful intentions. His name his Satan and he is there to steal, kill and destroy Jesus.

He tries three times to interfere with the mission to which God has called Jesus. And Matthews tells us that in every case Satan fails in his efforts. But Matthew also reveals something very signifiant and very important for us to remember as we (like Jesus) find ourselves in vulnerable and weak moments

While the psalmist writes in verse 1 the general truth that God is the helper. Matthew tells us some specific ways that the Lord is the HELPER.

The first way God is helper for Jesus is not dramatic. There is no thunder. No earthquake. No visible army.

Instead—God helps Jesus through Scripture.

When tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus replies, “It is written…”

When tempted to throw himself from the temple, Jesus replies, “It is written…”

When tempted with all the kingdoms of the world, Jesus replies, “It is written…”

The Father’s help comes first through memory….through the memory of God’s Word which Jesus has hidden within His heart.

In Psalm 121 the poet tells us some results that occur when God is Helper.  For example in verse 3, he tells us that because God is the helper, God will not allow the foot of the psalmist to be moved.

This truth is evident for Jesus when he is tempted in the dessert. Because God is his helper,  Jesus is not moved.  He stands firm,  He stands firm not because of some dramatic rescue —but by the words which Jesus holds in his memory; words from the eternal living pages of Holy Scripture.  And isn’t that the truth which we have come to know in our own personal wilderness journeys.

Sometimes God’s help looks like Scripture rising to the surface just the right moment.

A verse remembered in the night. A promise whispered in the midst of our fear. A hymn line that steadies the very structure of our soul.

Our Helper does not always remove the wilderness. Sometimes He strengthens us to stand within the wilderness itself.

Then Matthew tells us something else that is beautiful; something we might miss if we read this story too quickly. So I repeat the words again that I read just moments ago.

“Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” Listen to those words again. Suddenly angels came and waited on Jesus.

Previously through memorized scripture God helps Jesus through three arduous temptations. Now after the temptations are over, the helper’s help becomes very visible. Angels come and continue to help keep Jesus safe.

What a marvelous truth that we are prone to overlook. Angels come and wait on Jesus. And when we begin to take an inventory of our own life’s journey, what Jesus experienced after his temptations rings true for us as well.  Allow me to share just one case in my own life.

We escaped the predicted snow blizzard of 2026 here on the Eastern Shore last Sunday. But I did not escape an unexpected snow blizzard on the lower peninsula of Michigan during the winter of 1964.

As a young airman,  I had stopped for a brief visit in Mt Pleasant, Michigan on my way back to K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base.  Somehow I missed the departure of my bus and was forced to hitch-hike the rest of the way just as a blizzard began to cover the road.  My Air Force raincoat—not designed for that kind of cold was the only shield I had.

The wind howled. The road was nearly invisible. My memory is a little fuzzy, but similar words to Psalm 121 entered my thinking as I stood shivering along the roadside. I began to think: “How am I going to survive? Who is going to help me in this white mess which had become my unexpected reality?

I was there for a long time. But then a car stopped. A woman—unexpected, unlikely in that storm—opened her door and offered warmth. safety. and transport. She took me all the way to the base gate, and then without a word she left.

To this day, I cannot fully explain it. I do not know her name. I do not know where she came from or where she went afterward. I have sometimes wondered whether she was entirely earthly.

Maybe she was an angel of sorts? Psalm 121 promises help. Matthew 4 speaks of ministering  angels. And sometimes angels do look like drivers in the middle of snowstorms.

Lent is our wilderness season. We do not face the Judean desert, but we face hunger of other kinds. Temptations of discouragement. Fatigue. Fear. Physical frailty. Private struggles. Sometimes life is cold; as cold as a skinny young man in the middle of a snow blizzard.

Like Jesus, we are led into places that test us. Nevertheless we are not left alone. True the tempter comes in all his fury. He comes to steal, kill and destroy.

He comes to steal our peace. He comes to  kill our joy. He comes to destroy our lives. In the midst of our trouble, we find ourselves repeating the question of the Psalmist. “From where are we going to find relief? Who is going to help us?

Across the years of our earthly journey the answer comes.

*Sometimes through Scripture remembered.

• *Sometimes through strength that comes from beyond our own resources.

• *Sometimes through people who show up at precisely the right moment.

• *Sometimes through angels—sometimes through heavenly angels, sometimes angels disguised as neighbors.

As a result we know in our minds and in our hearts…. the restoration of our peace, the resurrection of our joy, and the marvelous reconstruction of our lives. The devil leaves us alone; at least for a while.

Therefore we lift up our voice of praise and thanksgiving to God who never sleeps or slumbers. In good times and bad times, He is our eternal helper and keeper. Amen.