Read Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Go Deeper
Psalm 121 is the second song of ascent and is believed to have been sung as pilgrims approached Jerusalem. The city, which is located up on a hill, was the site of numerous festivals. The first verse can be interpreted literally as the author is looking upon the physical hill in front of him and mentally preparing for the journey, but also metaphorically in the sense of remembering the trials that they have gone through in their life so far. With both interpretations, the message stays the same: The Lord guides through it all.
It’s after this proclamation of who God is in verse 2 that there is a shift in focus, from the speaker’s personal problems to focusing on who God is, now directly addressing the reader. We don’t hear the author complain about the journey or what else they are worried about, because when they approached a difficult journey, they immediately went to remembering what is true about who God is. When we take our eyes off of ourselves and instead remember who God is, it changes how we view everything, our circumstances, ourselves, and others all look different with this change in vision.
So what does the author see when he looks to God? That He is watching over us and helps us stay firm (v. 3). He does not forget us or turn His back on us –even when it feels like he does (v. 4). He helps us see clearly and has a plan for our life that is better than what we could plan (v. 5 & 7). This can all be summed up by the Hebrew word shamar, meaning to keep and preserve. It’s repeated six times throughout this chapter to clearly communicate that The Lord will preserve you. Even when we are doubting and turning away from God, He is constant and steady (v. 8).
We are often so quick to turn away from God when things get hard. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the world and to try to take control, but what we are being reminded of in this passage is that God is enough. While we are not enough for the trials we go through, the good news for us is that our God is more than enough! Take time today to meditate on these truths of who God is.
Questions
- What are all the words you see repeated in this chapter? What are some of the recurring themes?
- What did you learn about God in this chapter?
- The final verse says “ the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” How does this make you feel?
Listen Here
Take a few minutes to listen to this song to help remind you who God is!
9 responses to “Psalm 121”
If Scripture songs help you memorize, here is Psalm 121 set to music by Susan Ashton:
https://youtu.be/2Pguhv10e3E?is=ogx1hGNznFAnvjpC
Thanks. That’s helpful. I rely on songs a lot to help in memorizing Bible verses.
Where does our help come from? It is so easy to run to the the world, friends, chat GPT, Dr google, even random people, we ask for help in all the wrong places. BUT GOD had and has the way covered for us. First line of defense is pray and bible reading, while asking the Holy Sprit for guidance. That help will always, always be the best.
God thank You that I can look to You, because You are where my help comes from. You are the maker of heaven and earth. You have not let my foot slip, it is my oopsies that have caused trouble. I know You watch over me and never sleep. You are my shade from sun and moon. God thank You that You keep me from all harm and watch over my life. God I am so blessed that You watch over my comings and goings both now and forevermore. God thank You for loving me, for Your grace and mercies. God thank You for today, these minutes of this day. God show me who to love bigger. Help me with my constant struggle with being angry. Let my words and actions glorify and honor You, today in these minutes in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth” (v1-2).
It’s always in the “lifting” of where our eyes settle that our hearts will follow. Let it be on Jesus and the completed work of the cross when life throws us curveballs. Romans 8:32 reminds us that “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
It’s in those moments we inform our minds on how great our God is and continually praise him through the storm.
Our almost 3 year granddaughter is staying with us this week. As she goes to bed or down for a nap, she finds comfort in knowing that our dogs will lay outside her door.
As an adult, I find comfort that God never sleeps and is always watching over me. Remembering that tonight is going to help me sleep better. It is going to make the day better too!
Praise God!
That’s beautiful!
psalms 121:1 starts, “I lift my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from?” NIV. “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” KJV. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion, and Mount Moriah]–From whence shall my help come?” [Jer. 3:23] Amp. Jer. 3:23 says, Truly in vain is the hope of salvation from the hills and from the tumult and noisy throng on the mountains; truly in and with the Lord our God rests the salvation of Israel. Amp. then, there is a footnote back in Psalms 121 that says, “Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? whence should my help come?” Pagan temples were built on the hills. The author is saying, Shall I lift my eyes to the idolatry? Where does my help come from? Then he answers his question in verse 2, “My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” That’s my take on verse 1.
Yes, I’ve heard of that before about the hills being where the pagan temples were!
1 – 3 I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Interesting the numerous references in the Bible to keeping our foot from being moved or caught (also Proverbs 3 and Psalms 66). There’s a lot out there trying to trip us!