Psalm 121

The LORD Is Your

Keeper
PREVIEW
In Psalm 121 we come to one of the best-known psalms in Christian
liturgy, hymnody, and piety. As the second Song of Ascents, it
reflects the experiences, both the anxiety and trust, of pilgrims who
came up to the temple in Jerusalem for the great festivals (Deut
16:16). The declaration, My help comes from the LORD (v. 2),
answers the question with which the psalm opens (v. 1). The psalm
develops this response in a series of assurances about the LORD as
your keeper (vv. 3-8). This sixfold focus on the LORD who keeps
(š¯ amar) the pilgrim on his way (vv. 3-4), protects day and night (vv. 5-
6), and watches over all of life (vv. 7-8)—this has made it a psalm of
trust and comfort to people of faith in all generations.
Questions about the origin and setting of Psalm 121 focus on the
use of first-person speech (I) in verses 1 and 2, and second-person
address (you/your) in verses 3-8. This suggests dialogue, but dialogue
with whom? Is the psalmist conversing with himself, a father speaking
with his son, or a worshipper with the priest? Furthermore, is the pilgrim setting
out on the journey to Jerusalem? Has the pilgrim just
arrived in the temple? Or is this a liturgy of blessing before returning
home? Many commentators have come to understand the psalm in
the latter sense, as a priestly blessing as the pilgrim is departing the
temple for the hazardous journey home. The psalm is an appropriate
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farewell liturgy, suited for the beginning of a journey to or from
Jerusalem.
OUTLINE
The Inquiry and Confession of Trust (First Person), 121:1-2
The Blessing and Promises (Second Person), 121:3-8
121:3
-4 The Attentive LORD Guards the Pilgrim
121:5 on the Way
-6 The LORD Protects by Day and Night
121:7 The LORD Watches over All of Life
-8
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Inquiry and Confession of Trust 121:1-2
Pilgrims en route to Jerusalem, especially from the north and east via
Transjordan and Jericho, would face the wilderness hills, an ascent of
nearly 4,000 feet (from 1,300 below sea level to 2,600 above) and
dangerous because of beasts and bandits. In this situation, the question was
pressing: From what quarter might one seek help? Or, about
to return home from Jerusalem, the people look anxiously at the hills.
Danger lies along those roads, and protection is a burning issue for
travelers through lonely country (Luke 10:30). From where will protective help
come (v. 1)? Though the hills may also be the hills of
Jerusalem on which the temple stood, or the hilltops around
Jerusalem where shrines of other gods were located (2 Kings 23:5;
Jer 3:23), the hills are not the travelers’ surety. It is the LORD who is
their help, the LORD, who made heaven and earth (v. 2; Pss 124:8;
134:3). The doctrine of creation is one of the basic facts of faith, vitally
relevant to one’s daily life (Pss 65:6; 115:15; 146:5-6).
The Blessing and Promises 121:3-8
In the pilgrim’s moment of anxiety, the priest gives the blessing (vv. 3-
8), committing into God’s protecting care the traveler about to embark
on the perilous journey. Behind these words we can recognize the
blessing as given in Numbers 6:24-26.
The verb keep (š¯ amar, vv. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8), “watch over” or “guard,”
describes a basic activity of God. Psalm 121 is centered entirely on the
expression of confidence in the LORD’s “keeping watch,” yet that
theme runs throughout the psalms (Pss 25:20; 34:20; 86:2; 97:10;
116:6; 127:1). Furthermore, the mighty creator God watches over
you. The LORD does not slumber nor sleep, in contrast to the vegetation gods
of Israel’s neighbors, who “slept” during winter months
594 Psalm 121
and were revived in seasons of growth and harvest, or had to be awakened by
intense cajoling (1 Kings 18:27-28).
The rest of the psalm swells the note of confidence sounded in
verses 2 and 4. The LORD guards every step (vv. 3-4), and protects
day and night (vv. 5-6). The possibility of sunstroke in Palestine is real
(Isa 49:10), and superstitions have abounded for centuries about the
moon causing illness and affecting behavior (Ps 91:5-6; Matt 17:15,
Greek word translated “epileptic” means “moonstruck”). The LORD
as shade (v. 5) also has metaphorical meanings associated with the
safety of the temple (Pss 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; 91:1).
Finally, the blessing moves to the promise that God will keep the
pilgrim from every kind of danger (vv. 7-8). The LORD will watch and
protect from all evil, from all misfortune, even your going out and
your coming in. That could mean “your departure and return home,”
or “your return to the sanctuary next time,” or “all your undertakings
and affairs” (Deut 28:6). Out of this psalm’s vision of God that
embraces creation, history, and eternity “has grown that unshakable
strength springing from trust in God which has caused this song to
become a source of comfort that even today does not cease to flow”
(Weiser: 749).
THE TEXT IN THE BIBLICAL CONTEXT AND LIFE OF THE
CHURCH
A Farewell Liturgy for Many Occasions
The personal reception of a blessing forms the subject matter of both
Psalms 91 and 121. In both, the avowal of trust precedes the bestowal of
blessing. The recipient does not passively accept the blessing, but
receives it with a trusting heart.
In Jewish worship, Psalm 121 is one of the psalms of confidence
recited for the morning services of the Sabbath and of the great festivals. Family
members also refer to Psalm 121:8 daily on entering or
exiting the home, as they touch the mezuzah fastened to the doorframe. This
small metal cylinder contains a piece of parchment on
which are written the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21.
The NT recognizes the assurance of God’s help and protection,
particularly in passages that refer to the protective care offered in
Jesus to those who belong to him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John
10:11-15, 27-30), “the shepherd and guardian” of souls who trust in
him (Phil 4:7; 1 Pet 2:25). The church came to understand Psalm 121
as a testimony to God’s providence in the life of believers through
Jesus Christ (Mays 1994b:390). In the Apostles’ Creed, the church continues to
voice the ancient confession: “I believe in God the Father
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2).
Christian liturgy has used Psalm 121 widely, including services for
baptism, comforting the bereaved, and burying the dead. It has been
used in ministering to those addicted, and the last verse is part of an
order for the blessing of a dwelling (Limburg, 1985:180). The lectionary places
Psalm 121 in the period immediately before Advent.
The psalm may help prepare for Advent during a time of “pilgrimage”
to that season of the church year. Two widely used hymns based on
this psalm are “I to the hills will lift mine eyes” (Scottish Psalter,
1650; music, 1615), and “Unto the hills around” (John Campbell,
1866). In these hymns, “hills” is taken as a metaphor for God and not
as symbol of danger. Two of the songs in Mendelssohn’s oratorio,
Elijah, draw on Psalm 121, “Lift thine eyes” and “He, watching over
Israel.”
The Traveler’s Psalm
As a psalm for travelers, it is well-suited for reading or reciting at the
beginning of a journey. But in embracing the whole of life, Psalm 121
also serves the sojourner. The metaphor of journey or sojourn,
favorite for the religious mind, comes from biblical examples. We
think of Abraham and Sarah, Israel’s sojourn in Egypt and exodus to
Canaan, the exile and return, Jesus’ ministry and calling of people to
“follow me” in the way of discipleship, and Paul’s mission travels and
the life of the early Christian church. Paul could testify that no perils
along the way, “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).
When viewed as a psalm for the journey of life, it is helpful to
reflect on the extravagant claim of Psalm 121 that the LORD will
keep from all evil (v. 7). Nevertheless, there are perils along the way
(cf. Job, Ecclesiastes, or Paul’s testimony, above). That may be precisely the
reason for affirming such confident assurance in worship,
even when there appears to be disjunction between faith affirmations
and the realities of life. The help that comes from the Lord is help to
face the evils, not simply to avoid the evils, for God’s keeping is “more
than all” (Ps 87:2), more powerful than all evil.
The use of Psalm 121 for personal piety and in corporate worship
has an astonishingly wide focus. It sends us forth with a benediction
resounding in our ears.