USB ~ Psalms 121

The Lord My Guardian

1 A song of ascents. I raise my eyes toward the mountains.† From whence shall come my help? a

2 My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. b

3 He will not allow your foot to slip; c or your guardian to sleep.

4 Behold, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps.

5 † The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. d

6 By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night. e

7 The LORD will guard you from all evil; he will guard your soul. f

8 The LORD will guard your coming and going both now and forever. g * Psalm 121 A blessing given to someone embarking on a dangerous journey whether a soldier going on a campaign or a pilgrim returning home from the Temple. People look anxiously at the wooded hills. Will God protect them on their journey (Ps 121:1)? The speaker declares that God is not confined to a place or a time (Ps 121:2), that every step is guarded (Ps 121:3-4); night and day (Ps 121:5-6) God watches over their every movement (Ps 121:7-8).

Footnotes

†. 121:1 The mountains: possibly Mount Zion, the site of the Temple and hence of safety, but more probably mountains as a place of dangers, causing anxiety to the psalmist.

†. 121:5-6 The image of shade, a symbol of protection, is apt: God as shade protects from the harmful effects that ancients believed were caused by the sun and moon.

121:1 Jer 3:23.
121:2 Ps 124:8; 146:6.
121:3 Ps 66:9; 91:12; 1 Sm 2:9; Prv 3:23.
121:5 Ps 16:8; 73:23.
121:6 Wis 18:3; Is 25:4; 49:10.
121:7 Ps 97:10.
121:8 Dt 28:6.