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The LORD my Helper
Psalm 121 Commentary
Greek Word Studies on Help
Hebrew Word Studies on Help
Jehovah: The Strong Tower
 

Eliezer is found 15 times in Scripture describing 11 individuals but the most definitive description is by Moses who records that one of his two sons by Zipporah "was named Eliezer, for he said, "The God ('elohim) of my father was my Help ('ezer) and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." (Ex 18:4)

Eliezer (from 'el =  God or 'eli = my God + 'ezer= help) means "God is help", "my God is help",  "God of help", "God is (his or my) help" or "My God is (a) Helper" (the specific translation depending on which Bible dictionary you consult). In short Moses' name given to Eliezer is a testimony reflecting his personal experiences with God His Helper. Every time Moses called out His name, he would be saying "God is my Helper". As an aside is should be noted that not every biblical name carries such significance and to attempt to analyze every OT character based solely on the etymology of their name may not lead to accurate interpretations. In the present case, the name Eliezer was given after Moses had killed an Egyptian and escaped Pharaoh's wrath ("delivered...from the sword of Pharaoh", cf Ex 2:15) by fleeing to the wilderness of Midian. After delivering Moses, God helped him, providing a wife, a family and an occupation during his 40 year wilderness sojourn. And thus the name "God is my Helper".  Now stop for a moment and think back over your life. Is there some "Eliezer" event in your life? How did you respond to God's help? Maybe you did not even recognize it then but now in retrospect you do see His Helping hand. Stop and offer thanksgiving and praise to your Jehovah 'Ezer, the LORD your Helper, for He is "enthroned upon the praises of" His people. (Ps 22:3)

Do you think the fact that Moses acknowledged God as His Helper and Deliverer in the past had any bearing on the events that would soon transpire and culminate in Israel's exodus from Egypt? Is it not good to remember the past "helps" and deliverances of Jehovah, so that we might have a firm foundation on which to stand by faith when we encounter future trials? Beloved, let me encourage you when you are faced with undertaking any difficult situation, be it in suffering or service for Christ, choose to recall that God is your Helper and that He has delivered you before and will yet deliver again. The trial won't necessarily disappear but your perspective concerning the trial will likely be quite different.

The word for “help” is a common word in the Bible, first introduced as a description of the woman in the Garden.

Jehovah is
the Helper of His people
 

Deuteronomy 33:26, 29 "There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help (LXX = boethos = the Lord God "rides the heavens" on hearing the cry of His beloved to give assistance), and through the skies in His majesty. 29 "Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help ('ezer He is your shield and helper) (LXX = boethos = Jehovah runs on hearing the cry and gives aid), And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies shall cringe before you, And you shall tread upon their high places." (Click note)
 

2 Chronicles 25:8 "But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down."
 

Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
 

Psalms 40:17 Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me; Thou art my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
 

Psalms 54:4 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
 

Isaiah 50:9  Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.

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“There is none like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And through the skies in His majesty.
“The eternal God is a dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
And He drove out the enemy from before you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’ (Dt 33:26-27).

 These verses show that the Lord is above, around, and underneath His saints. “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps 90:1). We are as surrounded by You as the earth is surrounded by the atmosphere:

Within Thy circling power I stand,
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.
                         --- Charles Spurgeon

 ‘I will help you,’ says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Gems from C H Spurgeon
on "HELP"

"Some of you are called to some extraordinary duty and do not feel strong enough. Follow that call, for surely the Lord is in that place. He will help you. His arm will not be far off, so lean on Him. His divine strength is not remote, because “surely the Lord is in this place." (CHS comments on Jacob's declaration in Ge 28:16)

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"My help cometh from heaven’s hills: without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in him. What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet: “Salvation is of the Lord.” (CHS Morning and evening : Daily readings (February 26 AM)

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"Do you remember how David talked to himself as if he were another person? “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps 42:5). You see, there are two Davids talking and cheering one another. We should always be good company with ourselves. We should always be able to interrogate ourselves, and in deep sorrow we should be able to comfort ourselves."

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"O poor friend, try your rich God. O helpless one, lean on His help. He has never failed me, and I am sure He will never fail you. Come as a beggar, and God will not refuse you help. Come with no plea but His grace. Jesus is King; will He let you perish of want? What! Did you forget this?"

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When you are in distress, take a promise and see if it is true. If you have nothing to eat, take this promise: “Bread will be given him, his water will be sure” (Isaiah 33:16). When there is nothing in the kitchen, say, “I will see if God will keep this promise.” If He does, do not forget it. Set it down in your diary, or mark it in your Bible. Be like the old saint who put T and P beside the promises. She told her pastor that it meant tried and proven. When she was again in distress, she believed that God would help.

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It is beautiful to see how the saints of old found comfort in God. When painful difficulties came, when troubles multiplied, when friends failed, and when earthly comforts were removed, they looked to the Lord, to the Lord alone. To them, God was a present reality. They looked to Him as their rock of refuge, their helper, their defense, and their very present help in time of trouble (Ps 46:1). We can learn a valuable lesson from them. Lean on God and hold onto Him when heart and flesh are failing.

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When you are in trouble, ask God for help. Ask believing that He is able to give it. Ask expecting that He will bestow it. Do not grieve the Spirit of God with doubts and mistrust. These things will be fiery arrows in your soul to drink away the very life of your strength. However hard the struggle, however difficult the trial, seek the Lord, and seek Him in the confidence He deserves. Depend only on the arm invisible, the arm omnipotent. Be a scholar in the school of faith. Become proficient in the divine art of prayer and praise.

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Remember what God has done for you and then say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (see note Hebrews 13:8)....After pleading the promise and confessing our condition, we may say, “Lord, if help does come, it must come from You. It cannot come from anywhere else, so we look to You. We believe help will come. Though we do not know how it will come, we are looking to You. Though we do not know when, we are looking to You. Though we do not know what You would have us to do, still we are looking to You. Our eyes may be full of tears, but they are on You.” My brothers and sisters, may God help us to look to Him.

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Spurgeon writes

Psalm 12:1

Spurgeon gives us some interesting and practical insights on David's two word prayer "Help, LORD" writing that...

"The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious (pithy), and suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in supplication—when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the same time he intended honestly to exert himself for the cause of truth, for the word “help” is inapplicable where we ourselves do nothing. There is much of directness, clearness of perception, and distinctness of utterance in this petition of two words; much more, indeed, than in the long rambling outpourings of certain professors. The Psalmist runs straight-forward to his God, with a well-considered prayer; he knows what he is seeking, and where to seek it. Lord, teach us to pray in the same blessed manner.

The occasions for the use of this prayer are frequent. In providential afflictions how suitable it is for tried believers who find all helpers failing them.

In fact, in all these cases, times, and places, this will serve the turn of needy souls. “Help, LORD,” will suit us living and dying, suffering or laboring, rejoicing or sorrowing. In Him our help is found, let us not be slack to cry to Him.

The answer to the prayer is certain, if it be sincerely offered through Jesus. The Lord’s character assures us that he will not leave his people; his relationship as Father and Husband guarantee us his aid; his gift of Jesus is a pledge of every good thing; and his sure promise stands, “Fear not, I will help thee.” (Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and evening : Daily readings: June 17 AM).

Psalm 27:9

"You have been my Helper" (NIV)
"You have always been my Helper." (NLT)

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The Hebrew reads more literally "Thou my help has become" which speaks of the psalmist's assurance of his past experience with Jehovah. In other words, he is declaring that God was there as his Helper in times past. The psalmist uses his remembrance of God's past "help" as reason why God should befriend him now. When faced with distress, do you recall the past help of Jehovah? It is a good spiritual discipline to develop, for such memories provide a firm ground for boldly approaching His throne of grace. And so the psalmist had reason to conclude "O God of my salvation" for Jehovah had been his help in times past, a present help in time of trouble, and one Whose hand is not so short that it cannot save and Whose power is the ever the same to come to our aid and provide help upon hearing the sound of our cry, be it bold and loud or weak and feeble. He is always attentive to the voice of His dear children, beloved. Perhaps you need to begin a journal today, recording the instances of Jehovah's past help in preparation for the sure need we will all have of calling out for His future help.

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C H Spurgeon comments that

"In difficult times, a choice of options is not necessarily a benefit. While we are making our selection, the danger may overtake us. While the fox is considering which way to run, the hounds seize him. While the patient is seeking a second opinion, the disease proves fatal. It is good to have only one source of help, provided that help is all we need. Believers are in that exact condition. We must trust God or remain without hope. We dare not look to others, for we have discovered their incompetence. We cannot rely on ourselves, for we have learned by bitter experience the folly of self-confidence. We are compelled to look to the Lord Alone.

   Blessed is the wind that drives the ship into the harbor.
   Blessed is the wave that washes the sailor onto the rock of safety.
   Blessed is the distress that forces us to rest in our God.

This was David’s condition when he wrote, “You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation” (Ps. 27:9). David looked to God alone. Throughout David’s experiences, the Lord’s goodness shone like the polestar of his life’s voyage. Thus David set his sight on the one sure guiding light and trusted in the God of his salvation. Today, may our prayer be, “You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. Amen.” (Bolding added)

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Spurgeon goes on to add that

When you pray, have a plea ready, a plea that is available under all circumstances and conditions. Have a plea of your own, not one borrowed from others and perhaps only half suited to your specific needs. Have a plea that wells up from your inner consciousness, your personal plea, heavy in your own soul. Have a plea that allows you to come before the throne of grace with confidence and boldness (see note Hebrews 4:16). Have a simple plea, one you can understand. When you are in doubt, you are in a fog and you need a clear chart. When you plead with God during times of trouble, you want your plea to be clear, or else you will be so confused that you will not be able to prevail. Pray like this, “You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me” (Ps 27:9). This is a plain, personal, suitable, simple argument, one that is not fetched from a distance but grown at home in personal experience. What would we have done without the Lord’s help in time of need? God has greatly displayed His power and His mercy on our behalf. Many of you whose heads are covered with the silver hair of age will say with tearful emphasis, “You have been my help.” Those of you in middle life, battling with its care and trials, can confess, “The Lord has been my helper.” Young people, even in their short conflict, have received such aid that they gladly proclaim, “You have been my help.” Look back on the trouble that God has brought you through. Can you remember the times when your feet had almost gone and your steps had nearly slipped? Then say, with thankful emotion and confidence, “You have been my help.”

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Matthew Henry writing on the LORD's help in the context of verse 10, (specifically that even if

my father and my mother have forsaken me, the LORD will take me up" ) writes that "the nearest and dearest friends I have in the world, from whom I may expect most relief and with most reason, when they die, or are at a distance from me, or are disabled to help me in time of need, or are unkind to me or unmindful of me, and will not help me, when I am as helpless as ever poor orphan was that was left fatherless and motherless, then I know the Lord will take me up, as a poor wandering sheep is taken up, and saved from perishing.’’ His time to help those that trust in Him is when all other helpers fail, when it is most for His honour and their comfort."

Spurgeon adds that to

"take up" means that Jehovah "will espouse my cause, will uplift me from my woes, will carry me in His arms, will elevate me above my enemies, will at last receive me to His eternal dwelling place.

Psalm 40:13

More literally the Hebrew in this verse reads "Jehovah ''Ezra". "Help" (Hebrew = 'ezra)

"Be pleased" is in the imperative mood (a command) in both Hebrew and Lxx. Commanding God at first may startle you, but in Hebrews we are invited to

"draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help (boétheia) in time of need." (see note Hebrews 4:16)

Deliver in Lxx is very instructive, the verb rhúomai (see word study on rhuomai) being used of bringing someone out of severe and acute danger.

In the NT rhúomai is always with God as the Deliverer and with a person as the object. For example, in the Lord's prayer we beseech God to "not lead us into temptation, but deliver [rhúomai] us from evil." (Mt 6.13) Rhúomai is a powerful word picture for the tempted or distressed saint for it pictures the deliverer drawing or snatching the victim to oneself and invariably from a situation of danger, evil or an enemy. Rhúomai was used of a soldier’s going to a wounded comrade on the battlefield and drawing him to himself and to safety -- he runs to the cry of his comrade to rescue him from the hands of the enemy. In our initial salvation experience God

Psalm 46:1

The Lxx translation reads

God is our refuge and strength, a help (boēthós) in the afflictions that have come heavily upon us.

The picture conveyed by the Greek word for "help" (boēthós) is of the LORD running to our aid upon hearing our cry for help.

The Hebrew word for "trouble" is from a root word which refers to anything which is narrow or confining or in plain language a "tight spot". Figuratively, it conveys the picture of a person is severe distress and so experiencing intense inner turmoil. To such a one God Himself will run to aid upon hearing their cry! Note the psalmist's conclusion (introduced by "therefore") - "we will not fear".

Spurgeon writes that

HELP that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called “very present.” They are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid. He is more than “present.” He is very present: more present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge; let us hide in Him. He is our strength; let us array ourselves with Him. He is our help; let us lean upon Him. He is our very present help; let us repose in Him now. We need not have a moment’s care or an instant’s fear. “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Faith's Checkbook. Dec 22)

Warren Wiersbe writes that the assurance given by the LORD in (Psalm 46:1)

Psalm 72:12

Spurgeon writes that

Isaiah 41:14

Spurgeon writes in Morning and evening : Daily readings (January 16 AM)

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help thee.” “It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee; I gave up my life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ’Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. ‘I will help thee.’”  O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here—thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine Helper!

Isaiah 41:10

The Lxx translates "help" with "boethéo" so we could paraphrase God's promise as " I will strengthen you, surely I will [run on hearing your cry and give assistance] to you". Do you believe this promise, beloved? Read Spurgeon's explanation of what makes this promise so powerful and practical.

Spurgeon writes in Faith's Checkbook (Jan 6) that...

Yesterday’s promise secured us strength for what we have to do, but this guarantees us aid in cases where we cannot act alone. The Lord says, “I will help thee.” Strength within is supplemented by help from without. God can raise us up allies in our warfare if it seems good in His sight and even if He does not send us human assistance, He Himself will be at our side, and this is better still. “Our August (marked by majestic dignity or grandeur) Ally” is better than legions of mortal helpers.

His help is timely:
He is a very present help in time of trouble (Ps 46:1).

His help is very wise:
He knows how to give what is good for us (Js1:17)

His help is effective,
though futile is the help of friends.

His help is more than help:
He carries all the burdens and supplies all the needs.
“The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear.
What can man do unto me?” (Heb13:6).

Because He has already been our help,
we feel confidence in Him for the present and the future.

Our prayer is
“Lord, be my Helper” (Ps30:10).