Much confusion exists concerning the meaning of
distress signals. The traditional SOS
has been misunderstood to mean “Send Out Succour,” “Save Our Ship,” and “Save
Our Souls.” Actually, was officially
ratified as the universal distress signal in 1908, and was chosen simply
because it was easy to send the morse signal that consisted of only three dots,
three dashes, and three dots, and it could not be misunderstood.[i] The distress call “mayday” is actually an
English version of the French m'aidez (help me) or m'aider (to
render help to me).[ii] Each of these distress signals anticipates
help that may come from nearby ships or other rescuers.
We
know that ultimately our help comes not from reliance on people, but dependence
on God. In Psalm 121 (ESV) we read:
I will lift
up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
Because
our Lord is the Maker of all things, we know that all things are under His
control. As the psalmist looked to the
hills, he may have been asking himself if his help might come from ally armies
just over the horizon. But he realized
that his help comes not from beyond those hills, but from the Maker of the
hills. As the mountains provide a firm
foundation, so God gives you a firm place to stand, and so you will not be
moved.
While
they rested in their homes, city dwellers depended on the watchfulness of their
night guards. Yet even these could fall
asleep. Rather than relying exclusively
on these sleepy sentinels, the psalmist tells us to depend on God, who never
closes His eyes.
As the sun’s harmful rays can be very damaging to the
traveler, “the sun will not harm you by day” refers to God’s physical
protection. God is the “shade on your
right hand,” says the psalmist. Whereas
our maps orient with the north to the top, ancient Jews used maps that oriented
toward the East—so the right hand would be toward the South. From the south, or right hand, came the sun’s
scorching heat. The psalmist says God
protects you from that, but He also shelters you from the moon. Since the moon’s forces were reputed to
affect the tides of human emotion and levels of sanity, “nor the moon by night”
speaks of God’s psychological and spiritual protection. In other words, God is there to help you,
inside and out.
“He will guard your going out and your coming in,” says
the psalmist. Not only will God protect
you inside and out—He will also protect you before and behind. In fact, God will defend you from all
sides.
Then, not only will God preserve you inside and out, and
from all sides—God will keep you through all time. “From this time forth and forever” means that
our times are in God’s hands. Inside and
out, all around, and through all time—in all ways, God shields those who trust
in Him.
Now, we must temper our reading with understanding. Some falsely interpret “The Lord will keep
you from all evil” as a wholesale promise that nothing bad will ever happen to
the believer. This is neither realistic
nor scriptural. Rather than indicating
God’s protection from misfortune, this verse promises that God will shield us
from moral evil. Indeed, God keeps our
souls, to be pure and clean, when we trust in Him. Still, those who look to God for their
salvation can know that even when bad things do happen, the Lord preserves our
souls so that no damage that is done can ever touch the eternal.
I
invite you to pray today, placing your body, soul, and spirit in God’s
care. Remember that your help does not
come from high places and lofty people.
Rest in the knowledge that God cares for you in every place and through
all time. Know that your help comes from
the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
[i]
“What is the Meaning of SOS?” Krzenski,
Jim. http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/060199tip6.htm. April 19, 2011 .
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