30 Days in the PsalmsSýnishorn

Day #28: Psalm 121

This brief but powerful prayer opens with a rhetorical question: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?” At first glance, this question seems to anticipate the answer—“from the hills, from those great places of refuge, from the fortresses built on the heights.” The poet is probably using some irony here, since looking for help in the hills and “the high places” (where idols and altars flourished) was always Israel’s besetting sin. The psalmist immediately dashes that answer to his rhetorical question by providing the correct response: “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (v. 2). His help is found not in the hills, but in the maker of the mountains.

In the rest of the psalm, the poet turns his personal, experiential knowledge of God the helper into words of encouragement for someone else. Perhaps he is addressing a friend who was being tempted to look elsewhere for help and rescue? He declares five times that the Lord keeps his beloved ones. That verb is richly layered with meaning: the Lord has charge of their existence; he watches over them; he protects and preserves them; he remembers them as treasured and cherished objects of affection, with a memory that is active and responsive. The psalmist lets his friend know that this “keeping” is personal; the pronouns “you” and “your” are repeated multiple times—your foot will not slip, the Lord is your keeper and your protection, the Lord will keep you and your life. The central metaphor for all this is shady protection, a particularly potent image in a hot desert setting: “The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night” (vv. 5–6). The prayer concludes with a look at the all-encompassing nature of God’s “keeping”—all circumstances and all moments, past and future, are under his care (vv. 7–8).

Today is a good day to rejoice in God’s ceaseless care and protection in your life, and to share that hope with someone who might be tempted to look elsewhere for help and sustenance.