Bible Study - Psalm 121

Someone told me, recently, how important and comforting Psalm 121 was in a very difficult life situation this person was going through. This person read that psalm every day and read it to another important person, as well, and the Lord gave them the help and strength needed to get through that challenging time, with His grace and blessing. As I looked at that psalm, I also noticed Psalm 120, a psalm I had never paid much attention to. Psalm 121 has enough to say to us this week, but I may talk about Psalm 120 and another short psalm next week. The psalms are so relevant to our lives, still today.

Psalms 120-134 are all called, in their introduction, “A Song of Ascents.” These were psalms that were sung by temple singers as people came into the house of God, and more likely, songs that people were taught to sing as they approached Jerusalem and the tabernacle or later the temple and the area where it was built.

Psalm 121 begins with the words, “I lift up my eyes to the hills” (v.1). This is literally what Jews would do as they approached Jerusalem. It was located in a high, hilly area, and so the Scriptures often speak of Jesus and others “going up to Jerusalem.” (See Mark 10:32 as an example of that.) The temple was their place of worship, where God had appeared to His people and shown His glory. It was the focus of God’s presence and blessing for His people, on Mt. Moriah and in the high area of Zion, in Jerusalem.

God’s people knew, of course, that God was not confined to the temple in any way. The psalmist asks, “From where does my help come?” And he answers: “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (v.1-2). The Lord is the Creator of all things and is above and beyond all things. The fact that He is the Creator is continually emphasized in the Scriptures. His eternal power and Deity are seen in the majesty of all that He has made. He is our heavenly Father, and “our lifting our eyes to Him” also emphasizes that reality.

At the same time, the Lord is God, and He can be everywhere at any time and can take care of us, not always as we wish or desire, but as He knows is best. (See Matthew 28:20 - “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” See also Hebrews 13:5 - “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”) The psalmist uses this picture image: “He will not let your foot be moved” (Psalm 121:3). We will have stability in the Lord, no matter what our current circumstances are. (See Psalm 66:9: “God has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.” See also Proverbs 3:23,26: “Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble… for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your feet from being caught.”)

Then, six times in the next six verses, the Lord says that He will be our keeper: “He Who keeps you,” “He Who keeps Israel” (v.3-4), "The Lord is your Keeper” (v.5), “The Lord will keep you,” “He will keep… The Lord will keep…” (v.5,7,8). The Lord can do all this, because, as v.3-4 says, “He Who keeps you will not slumber… neither slumber nor sleep.” We all need sleep, and yet how hard it is to get at times, when our children are small and need to be nursed or fed or are crying or fearful. We also have worries and fears that keep us awake, when we toss and turn and wonder what will happen and what we should do. Sometimes we must work very long hours and lose sleep, to get our work done or to earn enough to keep up with inflation. And on and on.

Yet this psalm reminds us that we also have our Lord always awake and watching over us. The Scriptures teach us, “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). We do not have to handle everything ourselves. The Proverbs 3 passage we looked at earlier also says, “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:23). Psalm 127 tells us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for He gives to His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:1-2).

The Scriptures teach us to work hard and do what we can (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12), but this psalm and many other Scriptures remind us to “lift up our eyes to the hills,” to our Lord, above all, to help us and keep us. As sinful, struggling human beings, we have trouble doing that, though. Our faith is not always so strong, and our everyday cares and concerns can overwhelm us. Psalm 121 is a good psalm to read often, as it reminds us of God’s promises for us.

This Psalm also tells us that the Lord is “our Shade.” He keeps us and protects, day and night (Psalm 121:5-6). In earlier days, some people thought that people could be harmed by the light of the moon and become lunatics, moonstruck, and lose their minds, just as people could have sunstrokes in the hot sun. Whatever it is that we fear, rational or sometimes not so rational, the Lord gives us the strength we need to carry on.

Again the Book of Proverbs reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Lean upon the Lord, your keeper in all things, and especially lean upon the grace and mercy of God shown most clearly in Jesus our Savior. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for us, in our place, give us the faith and confidence that the Lord will keep us not only in this life but for eternal life as well.

The Psalmist says in closing, “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (See also Deuteronomy 28:6.) Jesus also taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). The Lord will deliver us from much evil in this life, and forgives us for our own evil and sins, as we look to and trust in Him, and He will keep us from and deliver us from all evil, finally, in the perfection of eternal life in heaven. That is what this psalm promises and what our Lord gives us in Jesus. “From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”