Have you ever lived or worked among people who simply do not want peace? That is exactly where the journey begins, in mysterious Meshech and among the tents of Kedar, at the first stop of a summer series on the pilgrim psalms (Ps 120 and 121). The sermon shows that the journey of life starts with crying out to God, and it faces a hard question: what does the promise “the Lord will keep you from all harm” mean when believers still suffer and die. Listen if you are looking for a guide on a road whose destination is eternity.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- The psalmist in Psalm 120 lives in Meshech and among the tents of Kedar, surrounded by people who hate peace. What does it reveal about his situation that the Hebrew word shalom means not only the absence of war but also friendship, harmony, safety and wellbeing?
- Psalm 121 was sung by pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem along harsh mountain roads, exposed to heat and bandits. How does this background change the way you hear the words: the Lord is your shade at your right hand?
- Where are your own Meshech and Kedar, places full of lies, division and hostility, perhaps at work, at school or in your neighbourhood? What does crying out to God look like for you in those places?
- The sermon observes that our prayer life grows when we are afraid. Why do prayer and trust in God so easily slip into the background when life feels calm?
- How do you reconcile the promise of Psalm 121 that the Lord will keep you from all harm with the suffering of Christians, for example in Damascus or Ukraine, and with your own illnesses and losses?
- The speaker says the real evil would be to be separated from God's love, and that God guards us from this. What step of trusting God as your guide do you want to take this week in a situation that worries you?
