Constantly Kept by God (Psalm 121)
A Song of Ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.—Psalm 121 (ESV)
One of the wonderful things about the psalms is that they are broad enough that most of us can find a point of connection. We may not be going through the exact same thing but we can relate.
In this post, we’re going to look at what some commentators call a “confidence psalm.” Let’s take a closer look.
Studying Psalm 121
Read the psalm (included in its entirety above) several times. As you do, take note of several things:
Observations
What do we learn from the superscription? What kind of psalm is this?
What word is repeated in this psalm?
What attribute of God does this psalm focus on?
What is the general tone of this psalm? Are there any changes in it?
What parallel structure do you notice?
What images are used?
What kinds of pronouns do you see? (First, second, third)
Interpretation
Understanding the text
Genre: Psalm of confidence: These psalms focus on how a truth of God’s nature filters in your life and how you stake your life on this particular characteristic. What characteristic of God is the focus here and how might it give the psalmist confindence?
What might the parallel structure be emphasizing or highlighting? How does the second line extend the main idea?
How do the images link to more abstract concepts? What might this image be trying to communicate?
Understanding its place in Scripture
Book 5: This final book is definitely on the upswing. After all the lamenting in Books 1-3 and the bewilderment in Book 4, we finally enter into the climb up after all the hardship we’ve been through.
Roughly im the middle of book 5, we find the psalms or songs of ascents. Many scholars believe these were the songs of pious Jews as they walked towards Jerusalem for their annual feasts. This was an uphill climb of about 2500 feet to the temple, which sat on this plateau.
After they were exiled into Babylon, these songs may have been collected to sing as they were going back home from Babylon to Jerusalem. While they were literally journeying home, they were also spiritually preparing themselves to meet the Lord as they journeyed back to the home of their forefathers.
As a collection, this section of the psalms focuses on the four key features of the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 which include God’s blessing, keeping, grace, and peace. Each psalm features at least one of these and expands it. Which feature does this psalm highlight?
[Resource: If you’d like to read more about the songs of ascent, check out Josh Moody’s book, Joy in the Journey.]
Based on these observations, how might this psalm be important to the nation of Israel as God’s people?
How might this psalm point to Christ? (Luke 24:27) What does this psalm tell you about Jesus?
How might Jesus have understood this psalm?If Jesus prayed this psalm, when might He have done so? When are times we see Jesus asking for help? Before he did miracles; before he chose the disciples, he would spend regular time in prayer with His Father.
Read John 14:26. Who is called our Helper? Consider the implications of this angle.
A little commentary
“help” (v. 1, 2): helper. This is the same word used to describe Eve in Genesis 2:18 as a helpmate for Adam.
“the hills” (v. 1): As this is a song of ascent, it may refer to the hilltop plateau on which the temple sits in Jerusalem. It might also refer to the sloping incline that they needed to pass through to get to Jerusalem. As the hills, sometimes referred to as the “high places” in the Bible, they may also be dotted with shrines or altars to false gods.
How might this help you to imagine what a faithful Israelite might be experiencing as they trek up to Jerusalem for feasts?
“keep” or “keeper”: to watch or preserve, or one who watches or preserves
“right hand” (v. 5): For a right-handed person, this is the unprotected side, as they would hold their shield with their left hand. How might this help you understand this image?
Application
Where do you need help today? Are there hard times: suffering, fear, uncertainty, weariness, etc.?
Reflect on the truths of God highlighted in this psalm. If this is true about who He is, how might that make a difference in regards to how you walk through your suffering? Even if it is an uphill climb, how might God’s nature infuse a new perspective, comfort and/or hope to the suffering you are facing today?
Reflection: Kept by God
Do you ask for help when you’re stuck? For me, the answer is: it depends.
If I’m in the grocery store and can’t find something, I usually have no qualms finding the nearest employee and asking. Why waste my time hunting for it? But when it comes to life problems, I hate asking for help. Why is that?
Even if I do go to God for help, I find that He is my last resort, not my first. I will try every possible avenue I can think of, experiment with every solution I can come up with. When all that fails, then I turn to God.
Thankfully, God has given us Psalm 121. He shows us another way by showing us Himself as a help far superior to anyone or anything else. Let’s see what we can learn!
God Helps Us
Right off the bat, in verses 1-2, the psalmist calls out a question. Some commentators believe these verses were an antiphonal call out to the pilgrims. Perhaps you can think of verse 1 like a catechism question and with verse 2 as the response.
Anyways, the question here is “where does my help come from?”
So where does your help come from? Does it come from friends? Do you rely on “doing what your heart tells you”? Or has Google become your God?
Where does your help come from?
The psalmist guides us into what should be our answer: it comes from the LORD, the God who has entered into covenant with us. As part of this relationship, He has promised to offer His help.
When we are trapped in a corner.
When we face a dead end and there’s no where else to go.
When we are at a crossroads and don’t know what to do.
When we are weary and can’t take another step.
The LORD has promised to help his own. And as people on the other side of the cross, we know this help in a very personal way.
Right before His arrest, Jesus nestles a very encouraging promise in John 14:26. Even though He was preparing them for some very horrific events, this gem of a promise tells them that even if He should leave them, He was never going to forsake them. In fact, He is going to give something even better; the Holy Spirit that dwells within them.
This Holy Spirit will take up residence in their hearts. He will not come or go. He will stay with them permanently, reminding them that they are truly His children.
Just think about this: the Creator of the universe has humbled himself to be our helper, just as Eve was created to be a helper to Adam. He is the one who helps us today, especially as we journey through this life here as exiles and pilgrims.
God Keeps Us
Besides helping us, God is our keeper. This word, as you probably noticed, is used six times in this psalm. This means he watches and preserves His own—even down to the steps we take (v. 3).
As I was studying this word, I was struck that it is the same word used in Genesis 4:9, where Cain angrily retorts, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In contrast, Jesus, our brother, says “Yes!”
By sending Christ as the firstborn of this new race of mankind, He has become that older brother that Cain was not. He watches out for his siblings. He is committed—even to the point of death—to ensure that His siblings will get home to the Father. This Keeper will stay with us throughout the twists and turns of life, so intimate that He is watching our feet.
The closest picture I can think of is the character Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. From the moment he was assigned to this duty, he helped his friend Frodo through every point of his journey to Mordor. Through danger, hunger, and fear, he was by Frodo’s side until the very end.
Sam didn’t know where he was going any more than Frodo did, but God will not only keep us, He will guide us. He will Shepherd us through (Ps. 23), guiding and leading us till we safely get home to the Father.
Besides this, God also will see to it that our steps will get us to our destination. When we follow the Shepherd, He will not lead us astray.
Verse 4 tells us that this keeping and watchfulness is 24/7. There is never a moment when He sleeps or slumbers. He is always on watch. It doesn’t matter what time of day, even when it is pitch black.
Even if you can’t see Him, He is keeping and watching over you. Though He is the great transcendent God of the mountains, He takes care of His own.
God Preserves Us
God’s keeping includes His protection (vv 5-7). In the hot desert, there is little shade, so this picture is apt. As God provided Jonah with a shady plant, so God provides Himself as our shade.
This shade is on our right hand, which symbolizes our unprotected side. Neither the sun nor the moon—or anything else in all creation—can hurt us (v. 6).
But wait—you say. That’s not entirely true. You probably know, as I do, some exceptions. What happened there?
We tend to read verse 7 and interpret it as meaning that he will not let harmful things hurt us. But that’s not what this verse promises.
When this verse talks about “life,” it is talking not merely about our physical lives. It is talking about our entire essence, even after death. This verse is telling us that even if we should die, those who are His covenant children will not be entirely obliterated. We will still live.
Think about Christ. If we look strictly at physical life, then this psalm does not hold up. He died by the hands of evil men.
However, what is important to note is that death was not the end of Him. He conquered death by rising again. God kept Him from the evil Satan intended. God kept His life.
And because God kept His life, we can have confidence that we who trust Him, His covenant people, will likewise conquer death, even if we should die bodily. Because we are in Christ, His blood shields us and preserves us from the judgment we deserve. God will protect us through this life—even through death—so that we get home safely.
Now and Forevermore
To cap off this beautiful psalm, we come to verse 8. It summarizes everything we have covered so far. It’s like God is closing every possible door to objection.
First, he starts with two merisms. The idea of going out and coming in suggests the daily activities of our lives. He will keep us through everything we do each day.
The second merism, “now and forevermore,” tells us He will keep us from the present into the eternal future. Together, these tell us that there truly is no point in our daily lives where we are not covered. This is something we can count on forever!
Again, because of Christ, this is possible. We who are constantly kept by a God who never sleeps are completely secure. This is Jesus’ prayer for us: that God would keep us in His name (John 17:11)! Knowing this about God should prompt us to act on its truth.
So let’s come back to the beginning. Jesus, our high priest who is calling out to us: Who is your help coming from? Will you trust Him?
This psalm invites us to bring our fears, our decisions, our suffering, our questions, and put them in His hands. Let us go to Him first, not last, in our need, believing that He will help us in the best way possible. He will do this today, and the next day, and the next day, whether we’re coming or going, until we get home to Him again.
Counseling the Word
This is a great psalm to share with people who are struggling:
wandering, needing help but looking everywhere but towards God
worried, fretful, or afraid
living in danger or flirting with evil
Whether one, two, or all three truths, you can share these with those you know who are struggling.
Praying the Word
Praise: The LORD, our committed Father, the maker of heaven and earth who has all at his disposal, is our helper! Nothing is too difficult for him.
Praise God that He does not slumber or sleep. He is always available. He is always on guard to keep us, unlike the Baals (1 Kings 18).
Thanksgiving: Take time to thank God for the many ways He has helped, kept, and preserved you already.
Confession: Confess your unwillingess to ask for help, your pride, lack of trust, tendency to look elsewhere for help and answers. Confess your unbelief that he doesn’t really care about our “little” problems, believing a lie about God. The rightful king is a helper to the weak (Ps. 72).
Petitions: Do you need a miracle? Ask Him for it. Don’t worry about whether he can or can’t do it or will or won’t. Just ask—and then trust. Pray for that trust, regardless of how he answers. Pray, looking for Him to answer in some way, even if it isn’t what you wish.
What are some dangers that you may face? Are there some dangers that you face particularly in the day? or in the night? This can be literally or it can be dangers you face in the happy (day) moments or the hard and difficult (night) moments.
What evils do you need to pray for protection from—not just the bad kind but the good kind that derails you from the best things? The temptations, the doubts, the glittery, shiny objects that are false replacements?
Intercession: Are there people in your life that are wandering, needing help but looking everywhere but towards God? Pray that the Lord will help them turn their eyes to Him.
Are there people in your life who are worried, fretful, or afraid? Pray that the Lord will help them to rest in his watchful care, knowing that the things that burden their soul are on his radar.
Are there people in your life who are living in danger or flirting with evil? Pray that the Lord will protect them and rescue them from that evil. But even if He should not, pray that their souls will be spared from the pain.
