A Psalm for Sunday = Psalm 121
1 I will lift up my eyes to the
hills-- From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be
moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall
neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by
day, Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve
your soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From
this time forth, and even forevermore” Psalm 121:1-8 (NKJV).
Psalm 121 encourages pilgrims braving dangerous roads to Jerusalem. It promises
Yahweh’s protection. These psalms would have been sung by pilgrims ascending
the road to Jerusalem for the three great festivals: Passover, the Feast of
Weeks (which we know as Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles.
I notice that there is a personal experience, and a shared experience in
this psalm. Not the “I” and “My” and later the “You” and “Yours.” Having
experience God for himself, the writer shares that experience to you and me.
Verse 1 “I will lift
up my eyes to the hills.”
The psalmist does not tell us what he is thinking about the hills, but
the tone of the psalm suggests that it is danger, and the need for God’s
protection. Jesus set the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)
on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, which wise people travelled in groups
because of the threat from bandits, so the psalmist would have seen the hills
as threatening.
Verse 1 asks a question,
“Where does my help come from?”
So, he goes on to ask a rhetorical
question, not expecting a reply. This is simply a lead-in to the answer, which
the psalmist gives next.
Verse 2 provides the answer.
“My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.”
The psalmist uses a word that gives
the meaning of “help” or “helper,” later he uses a similar meaning word “keep”
or “keeper.” “My help comes from Yahweh,” the living Almighty God of
Israel. Then he adds “Who made heaven and earth.”
Obviously, the one who has the power to create heavens and earth also
has the power to provide any help needed by the psalmist.
Verse 3 “He will not allow your foot to be moved.”
An important promise for pilgrims traveling on foot on a road little
better than an unpaved pathway.
Verse 3 “He who keeps you
will not slumber.”
Verse 4 “Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor
sleep.”
Here it means God watches and guards or care
for someone (in this case Israel), and thus provides assurance of protection. We
all desire security. The idea of a protector is very attractive, particularly
if the protector is both powerful and trustworthy. In these verses, the
psalmist promises that Yahweh is a powerful, trustworthy protector. With the
idea that we can depend on God to be available to us 24/7.
Verse 5 “The LORD
is your keeper; The LORD is
your shade at your right hand.”
Verse 6 “The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.”
While we might be tempted to think of shade or shadow as dark or
sinister, in Hebrew thought it is a most welcoming shade from the noonday
sun or the protection afforded by the shadow of Yahweh’s wings (Psalm 17:8).
“On your right hand.” For most people, the right hand
is the dominant hand, the strong hand, the hand that wields a sword. Therefore,
the right hand is a symbol of power and authority. Kings wore the ring
signifying their authority on their right hand.
Verse 7 “The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.”
Verse 8 “The LORD shall preserve
your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore”
The psalmist uses two phrases, each of which he intends to mean the
totality of life. The phrase, going out and coming in, is all encompassing, as
is the phrase “from this time forth, and forevermore.”
Going out and coming in could also have special meaning for pilgrims,
who had to leave their homes to travel dangerous roads to worship in Jerusalem,
a big city.
Conclusion:
1 I will
lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
