Psalms 121
The Pilgrim Looks Upward 1–2
The Keeper Who Does Not Slumber 3–6
Eternal and Comprehensive Preservation 7–8
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Study Notes for Psalm 121
Verse 1
unto the hills — The title is the second of the fifteen Songs of degrees (maaloth, goings up). ‘Help’ is ezer. The hills may be those of Jerusalem, ‘the holy mountains’ where his foundation is (Ps 87:1), or those where Israel went astray: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills’ (Jer 3:23). Verse 2 answers where the help really lies.
Verse 2
which made heaven and earth — The help comes from the Maker of the hills themselves. The same title closes a later psalm of this group: ‘Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth’ (Ps 124:8). Isaiah draws the same conclusion from creation: the Creator ‘fainteth not, neither is weary’ (Isa 40:28).
Verse 3
not suffer thy foot to be moved — Mot, to totter or slip. The promise of steady footing recurs: ‘suffereth not our feet to be moved’ (Ps 66:9) and ‘the LORD… shall keep thy foot from being taken’ (Prov 3:26). The keeper is introduced here with shamar, the verb that carries the whole psalm.
Verse 4
neither slumber nor sleep — Shamar, to keep or guard, is used six times in the psalm (vv.3, 4, 5, 7, 7, 8), rendered ‘keep’ and ‘preserve’. Here the keeper is named as the keeper of ‘Israel’, so the personal ‘thee’ of v.3 rests on a promise to the whole people. ‘Slumber’ (num) is drowsiness, ‘sleep’ (yashen) is sleep itself.
Verse 5
thy shade upon thy right hand — Tsel, shade, is the covering from the sun; the right hand is where a defender stands (Ps 109:31). The LORD gave Israel a cloud by day in the wilderness (Exod 13:21), and Isaiah promises on Zion ‘a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat’ (Isa 4:6). Compare ‘the shadow of the Almighty’ (Ps 91:1).
Verse 7
preserve thee from all evil — Ra, evil, covers harm of every kind. ‘Thy soul’ (nephesh) is the life itself, which the keeper guards beyond the body’s safety. The promise is the Psalms’ own assurance, ‘The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive’ (Ps 41:2), and Paul’s confidence that nothing ‘shall be able to separate us from the love of God’ (Rom 8:39).
Verse 8
thy going out and thy coming in — The pair names all a man’s movements, as in Moses’ blessing, ‘Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out’ (Deut 28:6). For a pilgrim it covers leaving home and arriving at Jerusalem. ‘For evermore’ (olam) extends the keeping beyond the journey.