A Psalm of Rejoicing:Psalm 121

Forest Hills Bible Chapel

10 June 2007

Some Background to Psalm 121

• Many psalms begin with the experience of the individual psalmist and are “transferred” to the community of Israel or Judah.

• This Psalm is significantly reminiscent of the experience of Hezekiah, king of Judah – see 2 Kings 18:17-25, 31-35; 2 Kings 19:14-19.

• This Psalm is 4 stanzas, of 2 verses each.

• Notice that vv. 1-2 focus on “I”, “my”, and “mine”; vv. 3-8 focus on “He”, and “the LORD.”

Psalm 1211 I lift up my eyes to the hills—

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.

Psalm 1215 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.

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121

• Stanza 1: vv. 1-2

• I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

• Issues with this verse include:

• What is the best way to translate it?

• What does it mean?

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121• I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From

whence cometh my help – v.1 – KJV.• I look to the mountains; where will my help

come from? – GNT• I look up to the mountains; does my strength

come from mountains? 2 No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. – The Message

• I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! - NLT

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121• “the hills” – this is the place where the

enemy comes to attack God’s people.

• “the hills” – These are the “high places” – the place where the idol worship takes place.

• In this context, “the hills” stands for all of the threats to God’s people.

• However, our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth – including the hills!

Some Thoughts on Psalm 1213 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.

Sleep is necessary for creatures; sleep demonstrates our dependency and our weakness; sleep is evidence of our vulnerability. Interestingly, many gods of the pagans “slept.”

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121

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.

God protects His people from the heat of the sun

God watches over His people night and day

Some Thoughts on Psalm 121

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.

The Lord will watch over all of life – not guaranteeing the absence of any adversity, but with His help, allowing us to ultimately triumph over it.