Deeper Commentary

Psa 121:1

A Song of Ascents-
Or 'degrees'. Hezekiah’s response to being granted another 15 years of life was to edit and produce the Songs of Degrees, so named after the degrees of the sundial. Four of the 15 Psalms were by David, one by Solomon; and the other 10 it seems Hezekiah wrote himself but left anonymous. These ten Psalms would reflect the ten degrees by which the sun-dial went backwards. The point to note is that Hezekiah taught others in an anonymous way in response to the grace he had received. True preaching reflects a certain artless selflessness. These songs of ascents were presumably also intended to be sung by the exiles as they returned to Zion, and then every time they went up to Jerusalem to keep a feast. But there is no evidence this happened. For they didn't return in the kind of faith implied in these Psalms. The plural "ascents" would then be an intensive plural referring to the one great ascent, to Zion. Much of the language of these Psalms is typical of David's language when under persecution by Saul. But the Psalm was reapplied to Hezekiah, and then to the exiles on their return from Babylon, and then by extension to all God's people on their journey Zionwards.

The Mishna understands these Psalms as those sung literally on the 15 steps in the temple: "The fifteen steps that go down from the court of Israel to the court of the women, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of
Ascent in the Book of Psalms, on which the Levites would stand and would recite in song... And there were fifteen steps that went up from its midst to the court of
Israel, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of Ascent that are in the Book of Psalms, on which the Levites would stand in song" (Mishna Middot 2:5).

I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?-
"The hills" may be an intensive plural referring to the great hill of mount Zion. This is clearly the idea in another of these songs of ascents, Ps. 125:1,2: "Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion which can’t be moved but remains forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so Yahweh surrounds His people". But the hills were associated with idolatry and the high places (Dt. 12:2; Hos. 4:13; Is. 57:7; 65:7; Jer. 3:6,23; Ez. 6:2-7,13; 18:6,15). To lift up the eyes to the hills meant to lift up the eyes to foreign gods; in Jer. 3:2: Israel looks to the sanctuaries on the heights. David and subsequent users of the Psalm may have meant that they looked not to the hills but to Yahweh, the creator of heaven and earth (:2). It is as it he looks to each of the mountains, each associated with some supposed god, and muses as to from which one could his help come. And he gives up and focuses instead upon Yahweh, who had created each of them and indeed the whole heaven and earth (:2). Or perhaps he also implies that there is only one mountain from which help comes, and that is Mount Zion. In this case we can read the words not as a question but as a statement made in faith: "... to the hills from where does come my help". We recall Ps. 3:5 "He answers me out of His holy mountain". Because the God who created all things (:2) specifically dwells there. For this is after all a song of ascent to Zion, to be sung as the returned exiles or pilgrims ascended up to Zion.

Another possibility is that the Psalmist on the way to Zion lifts up his eyes at the mountains along the way- in fear. Because Bedouin robbers would come down from the mountains and attack travellers. But he comforts himself that Yahweh will preserve him on his journey to Zion.

The psalmist lifts his eyes to the hills, perhaps to the great hill, of Zion, and feels assured his help comes from Yahweh. In response he is assured by the sense that Yahweh does not slumber but is his "keeper" (twice stressed in :3,4). I will develop the point that "keeper" is also the word for 'eyelid'. God is in fact watching him closely, unblinking, with great focus, never closing His eyes in sleep. It's as if the Psalmist's eyes meet God's eyes, in his sense that God is watching him so closely.

I suggest that initially the Psalmist sees the mountains as the place of other gods but rejects that view, and thinks instead of the one true mountain, Zion, the throne of Israel's God.

Psa 121:2

My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth-
"Help" is literally 'my surround'. Surrounded by mountains, the Psalmist feels surrounded by God. He looked not to the created but to the creator. And that is a profound principle to live by. The Psalm is a great example of self talk. This is what spirituality is about- talking to yourself and reasoning with the voice of the Spirit against that of the flesh. Or we could see this progression from "me" to "you" in :3 as the psalmist inviting others to share his personal faith. The logic and language is similar to Ps. 134:3: "May Yahweh bless you from Zion, the creator of heaven and earth". This would encourage us to interpret the "hills" of :1 as an intensive plural for the one great hill, of Zion.

So often, the fact Yahweh is creator is presented as a reason to trust Him for help (Ps. 115:15; 124:8 "Our help is in the name of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth"; 134:3; 146:5,6 "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help... who made heaven and earth"; Is. 42:5; 45:18; Jer. 10:11,12). To minimize His creative power through faithless scientific theory simply takes away our grounds for personal faith. The restoration prophecies stress the connection between creation and salvation:  Is. 42:5,6 "He who created the heavens and stretched them out, He who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it... I will hold your hand and will keep you"; Is. 43:1 "thus says Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and He who formed you, Israel: Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you"; Is. 44:24-28 "Thus says Yahweh your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am Yahweh who makes all things". Any fears about our final salvation should be assuaged by the reflection that God can do and create anything- what He has done physically is the guarantee He can do it spiritually. The God who created the heavens and the earth is the God who created his people through His acts of salvation. This is why Isaiah's argument often mocks the gods of the nations because they were not the creators, and therefore unable to save. This is why the Psalmist of Ps. 121 looks to the mountains, each with their own supposed deity, and reflects that his help comes from Yahweh who is the sole creator of heaven and earth. Later on the Psalm mentions that Yahweh neither slumbers nor sleeps. This too is a polemic against other gods, for we learn from Elijah story that Baal was known to sleep (1 Kings 18:27). Likewise the sun and moon not smiting by night refers to the belief that there were sun gods and moon gods who could smite people. Significantly, Ez. 8:16 describes the Jews at the time of the exile worshipping the sun god. The Psalmist refuses to be influenced by the weakness of God's people at his time and focuses solely upon Yahweh as the only help. There are various polemics against these gods, e.g. Ps. 74:16 saying that Yahweh established sun and moon to rule, and the creation record itself makes that clear.

Psa 121:3

He will not allow your foot to be moved-
"Allow" is nathan, to give. We aren't given a good that can be moved. Somehow there is a higher hand in our spirituality. The idea is that the restoration was to be permanent, and never again would Israel go into captivity and have to leave Zion.

He who keeps you will not slumber-
Note the progression from "me" (:1,2) to Israel (:3-5). David saw his sufferings as being bound up with those of Israel; those who hated him hated Zion, those who blessed him blessed Zion, and God's salvation of Israel was being expressed through God's deliverance of him in the daily vicissitudes of life; as God had chosen Zion, so He had David His servant; David's joy was Zion's joy, and her exaltation would be David's  (Ps. 51:18; 69:35; 87:2; 106:5; 121:3,4; 125:1; 128:5; 146:10; 149:2). This is how we are to make sense of suffering- by understanding that it plays a role in the salvation of others, and is part of a wider nexus of Divine operation. We suffer so that we may be able to minister the comfort we receive to others (2 Cor. 1:4). Job likewise came to realize that his sufferings were not so much for his personal maturing, but for the teaching and salvation of the friends.

God had allowed the feet of His people to be moved out of their land, but the intention was that this was to be temporary, and their return would be a witness to the Gentiles amongst whom they lived- leading them to join in and also come to Zion in penitence and faith. And then He would not again allow their feet to be moved from their land (s.w. Ps. 66:9).

David asked to be kept as the apple of God's eye (Ps. 17:8) by God's grace. Yet God still kept disobedient Judah as the apple of His eye. In Hebrew, the eyelid is literally 'the keeper'. This is alluded to in how Ps. 121:3 speaks of how "He who keeps you will not slumber". The slightest dust, or even possible approach of a foreign object, causes the keeper, the eyelid, to come down to protect the apple of the eye. This is how sensitive God was and is to His people. And yet when God says Judah are the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8), He appeared far off, distant, disinterested in the fact that the life of the returnees hadn't turned out well. Haggai bluntly tells them that this was because they had strayed from God; Zechariah takes another tack in showing that God is still totally sensitive to His people and so loves them.

Psa 121:4

Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep-
The statement that God will not "rest" for Zion's sake (Is. 62:1) must be understood in the context of the faithful at that time urging God not to "be still" [same Hebrew word translated "rest"] for His people (Ps. 83:1; Is. 64:12). This is an allusion to Boaz not being at rest until he had redeemed Ruth and Naomi. God is not at rest, He is not distant from us; and yet His people in Babylon felt that He was. It's no wonder that we are tempted to feel the same. Yet we must give Is. 62:1 it's full weight- God is answering the complaint of His people by stating that no, He will never rest for them. In this same context we read that He that keeps Israel will "neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). The fact that God will never 'hold His peace' for His people's sake (Is. 62:1) means that we should likewise not 'hold our peace' for them (the same Hebrew is used in Is. 62:6). In our prayers for them, we are to give God no rest (Is. 62:7).

We note that the confident statement that Yahweh doesn't slumber nor sleep for His people was disavowed by the exiles, and perhaps by David too in his low moments in Ps. 44:23: "Wake up! Why do You sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever". To accuse God of sleeping seems as inappropriate as the disciples' demand for the Lord Jesus to awake from sleep because His apparent sleeping showed that He didn't care that they perished (Mk. 4:38). He did of course care for their perishing. He gave His life for that. In fact quite often the Psalms call upon Yahweh to awake (Ps. 7:6; 35:23; 44:23; 59:4,5). We can only conclude that all those appeals reflected a lesser faith than this Psalmist had, who knew Yahweh never sleeps nor slumbers but is always intensely focused upon His people.

Psa 121:5

Yahweh is your keeper, Yahweh is your shade on your right hand-

The songs of ascents, part of the restoration Psalms, are relevant to any ‘ascent’ or ‘going up’ to the Lord’s house. They are full of reference to God’s eternal purpose with Jerusalem and the temple. It seems to me that they may have been re-written under inspiration with reference to God’s people returning from Babylon to Jerusalem. “The Lord is Your keeper…the sun shall not smite you by day…” (Ps. 121:5,6)- reference to Israel’s exodus from Egypt, but also to God’s miraculous keeping them on the desert journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, without a guard from the Babylonian authorities. In the context of the 'ascent' from Babylon to Jerusalem by the exiles, we note that the word Marduk means literally 'the shadow', i.e. the defender of Babylon. But Yahweh is His people's shade or shadow.

"Shade" is 'defence'. A warrior had a shield in his left hand but his right hand had no defence- but Yahweh was this warrior's right hand defence, playing the role of a warrior's armour bearer who stood at his right hand. The pilgrim's journey to Jerusalem is thus presented as a warrior's fight, with Yahweh's protection. This imagery connects with our suggestion on :1 that the pilgrim begins by looking anxiously at the hills, from where brigands and enemies could appear and attack him. The pilgrim is persuading himself, in his own self talk, that he need not fear because he is a warrior who has Yahweh as his very own armour bearer. Other allusions to being a warrior protected by God are found in the description of his foot not slipping (:3) and his going out and coming in (:8), which can be a military term (Dt. 28:6; Josh. 14:11).

Indeed Ps. 121 is very similar to Ps. 91, which can be read as a prayer for the protection of a military leader, Joshua in the first instance. Thus Ps. 91:1 "who abides in the shadow of Shaddai" = Ps. 121:5,"Yahweh is your shade"; Ps. 91:5,6 "You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day" = Ps. 121:6, "By day the sun shall not strike you, nor the moon by night". Ps. 91:10 "No evil shall befall you" = Ps. 121:7 "Yahweh will guard you from all evil"; Ps. 91:11 "to guard you in all your ways" = Ps. 121:8 "He will guard your going and coming"; Ps. 91:12 "lest you dash your foot against a stone" = Ps. 121:3 "He will not allow your foot to slip".

The Hebrew word samar, "keeper", is the key word of the Psalm- occurring six times in eight verses. And here in :5 it is in the exact middle of the Psalm. The same  number of syllables come before and after this occurrence of the word.

Psa 121:6

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night-
The exiles were comforted that as the pillar of cloud and fire protected Israel on their journey to the promised land, so God would be with them in returning from exile. Not being smitten by day nor night is the language of Ps. 91:6 [see note there]. They were to follow the path intended for Joshua, and earnestly believe they could participate in the restored kingdom of God. There is allusion to the belief that there was some demonic power in the moon; hence Ps. 91:6 LXX "from ruin and the demon of the midday". Whatever belief in demons the people held, the simple truth was that God destroyed the wilderness generation; all was under His absolute control. There is no radical evil in the cosmos. The simple take away is that we will be preserved from all our fears, whether or not those fears are rational or actual. Even if they are mere fictions in our imagination- that's OK, God will still preserve us from them. 

The reference is as in Ps. 105:39 to how God "spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night" to Israel leaving Egypt. And He would have done the same to the exiles leaving Babylon. The sensitivity of God is revealed here. The cloud kept the heat of the sun off them in the day time, and the fire kept them warm at night when the temperatures plunged in the desert. This same care was potentially available to the exiles; but most didn't even want to make the journey, and remained in Babylon. These promises are therefore reapplied to the new Israel (Rev. 7:16), As Yahweh provided a pillar of fire to give light in the night to His people in the wilderness, so Israel were to arrange for a fire to be burning throughout the night in the tabernacle. They were to give light in response to God’s giving light to them.

The key word "to keep watch / guard" is used six times in the psalm, and is the same word used in Josh. 24:17: "Yahweh our God who brought us and our ancestors from the land of Egypt... and guarded us in all the way we went". The reference to going out and coming in (:8) would then comfortably fit the going out from Egypt and coming in to the promised land.

Psa 121:7

Yahweh will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul-
As discussed on :6, the "evil" may refer to their wrong understandings of cosmic evil. The Lord Jesus never actually stated that demons don't exist; rather did His miracles demonstrate that God was so far superior to their power, that effectively they didn't. And the same logic is being used here.

Clearly enough, bad things happen to good people in this life. "Evil" does happen to God's people, as other Psalms often lament. The keeping of the "soul" could suggest that the "evil" we are kept from is not so much misfortune, as spiritual stumbling. "Keeping" is the main theme of the Psalm (see on :5). The conclusion surely is that God will keep us spiritually on the journey, as the New Testament often says. He will "keep us from falling". Such keeping is the work of the Holy Spirit. This 'keeping' is constant and unblinking (:3,4) and in all circumstances (:8). For our desire, and God's intention, is for us to reach Zion. Not without any material mishap on the way, but without spiritually stumbling from that path. The blessing of Num. 6:24-26 is that we will be 'kept' by God's grace and thus have peace: "Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you.  Yahweh lift up His face toward you, and give you peace". Here in Ps. 121 we see what that 'keeping' feels like. We can have perfect peace on our journey, knowing that we are being 'kept' spiritually so that we shall reach Zion and abide there eternally. It is tragic that Ps. 121 has been misused as a talisman for material protection. Christian people have been mutilated in road accidents with this verse tattooed upon their bodies or written on the vehicle dashboard. That isn't the promise at all. It is a promise of spiritual protection on the journey to eternity. The way the exiles were indeed materially protected on their return to Zion, even without any Persian guard going with them (Ezra 7), is simply a prototype of the spiritual protection we have on our spiritual journey to Zion.

 
Psa 121:8

Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in-
The idea may be that the regular pilgrimages to Zion to the keep the feasts (cp. Ps. 122:1), going out and coming in, were envisaged as now being eternally established. We note "going out and coming in", and not the other way around. The implication is that Zion was to be the actual abode of the worshipper, even if he only came in and out for a brief period three times / year.

From this time forth and forever-
This could imply that "forever", eternity, was seen as beginning with the coming in to Zion. The restoration of the exiles could potentially have been the time of the reestablishment of God's Kingdom on earth; but that possibility was precluded by Israel's lack of faith and repentance. We can begin living the eternal life now, in that we can now act as we shall eternally. We shall be eternally appreciating, trusting, loving and praising God's Name, just as He keeps us both now and eternally- and we can begin those experiences with Him right now. This is an Old Testament form (also in Ps. 113:2; 115:18; 121:8; 125:2; 131:3) of the Lord's teaching as recorded in John's Gospel, that we can have and live the eternal life right now. We have that life not in the sense that we shall never die, but in that we can begin living and being now as we shall eternally live and be. The promise is that our going out and coming in will be kept eternally. Our exit from the world and coming in to Zion will be kept. There is no promise in this Psalm of deliverance from car crashes or catastrophe in this life. That actually is to miss the point. It is our succesful journey to Zion that will be eternally kept and nothing shall ultimately derail us- if we believe this Psalm from our hearts. And that is all that ultimately matters.