Psalms 121:5 “The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.”
There’s a somebody I’m longing to see
I hope that he turns out to be
Someone to watch over me
I hope that he turns out to be
Someone to watch over me
I’m a little lamb who’s lost in a wood
I know I could always be good
To one who’ll watch over me
George Gershwin
The KJV version renders the Hebrew phrase: YHWH shomereka as “The Lord is thy keeper.” That is an accurate translation but it makes God sound like a zoo keeper. I like the more modern rendering that you find in translations such as the NIV which renders this as: “The Lord watches over you.” If you read the entire Psalms 121 you can easily tell that this was written by a shepherd, most likely King David himself reflecting on his boyhood years as a shepherd. The whole verse alludes to and actually follows a shepherding motif.
In Luke 15:4 Jesus tells a parable of a shepherd leaving behind his ninety nine sheep to find one lost sheep. One hundred was considered a high figure in Ancient Eastern culture. It was often the highest figure that most people of that day, which were simple and illiterate, could count and really understand. One hundred sheep was the desired figure for a man to consider himself as secure and content. In fact that number of sheep had such a powerful effect on the Eastern mind that if that number fell behind by one sheep it would arouse a sense of panic in that shepherds family. To fall below the number one hundred was such a traumatic feeling that the shepherd would become more desperate to find that one lost sheep than a shepherd who had hundreds of sheep and lost, say fifty sheep.
People of that day could easily understand what Jesus was referring to when he spoke of the ninety and nine. They knew a man with one hundred sheep would find each little lamb more precious than a man who had multitudes of sheep. That is why Jesus told the story of a man having exactly one hundred sheep for such a shepherd would carefully watch over everyone of those sheep.
David knew this very well, he had been a shepherd and each sheep was carefully guarded by him for he knew how precious each little lamb was to his family. He was constantly counting each sheep, knew each one by a name and watched for any sign of an injury, illness or anything that might threaten just one of those lambs.
The word which is rendered in the KJV as keeper is from the Hebrew root word shamar which means to watch or keep. It also means to guard, preserve, and keep safe. But all these words can easily be applied to a zoo keeper or a police officer. The word shamar has one more element to it that is often overlooked. I have found the word shamar in extra Biblical literature to be used for a diamond or something that is so precious, so glowing that you cannot take your eyes off of it. You see, when David is telling us that God shamars us, he is saying that is doing more than just watching over us, he is admiring us as something so precious that He will guard it with His life.
George Gershwin wrote a song about 90 years ago called Someone to Watch Over Me. In this song a young woman is making a plea not for just someone to protect her and watch over her physically, but to also watch over her heart and protect her heart. For someone who would find her so precious that he would guard her with tender loving care. Unwittingly, George Gershwin wrote a song that best describes Psalms 121:5 and the word shamar. God is doing more than just watching over us like some police officer, He is also protecting us and our hearts as if it were a precious gem.
Are you a little lamb just lost in the woods; is there someone you are longing to see? David is assuring us that He will turn out to be someone who will shamar (watch and protect as a precious jewel) over you.
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