Psalms 121

Psalms 121:1

Psalm 121: Kept!121:1, 2 In the KJV, this Psalm begins: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Later translators thought they detected a pagan heresy here, namely, the idea that help comes from the hills rather than from the Lord (Jer_3:23). So they punctuated the second clause of verse 1 as a question. The NKJV, for instance, reads: I will lift up my eyes to the hillsFrom whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.I still prefer the KJV here, and I’ll tell you why. The temple in Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God on earth. The glory cloud in the Holy of Holies signified the Lord’s presence among His people. The city of Jerusalem is situated on a mountain and is surrounded by mountains. So when a Jew in other parts of Israel needed divine help, he looked toward the hills. To him this was the same as looking to the Lord. Since the Creator’s dwelling was in the Jerusalem hills, there was a poetic sense in which all help came from the hills. In the first two verses, the speaker is the psalmist, expressing his complete reliance on the Maker of heaven and earth. 121:3 Beginning with verse 3, there is a change of speaker. In the remaining verses, we hear the Holy Spirit guaranteeing the eternal security of those whose trust is in the Lord. There is the guarantee of unassailable stability. The believer’s foot will be preserved from being moved. Since the foot speaks of foundation or standing, it means that God will keep His trusting child from slipping or failing. 121:4 There is the guarantee of a Guardian who shall neither slumber nor sleep. Alexander the Great told his soldiers, “I wake that you may sleep.” Throughout the night hours, when we are no longer conscious of the world around us, there is One greater than Alexander who watches over us with constant, unwearied care. 121:5, 6 There is the guarantee that our keeper is none other than the LORD Himself. The great Sovereign of the universe is personally involved in the security of the most obscure saint. There is the guarantee that He will protect from every evil influence. When it says that He is “your shade at your right hand,” it means that He is alongside as a bodyguard to shield His own from harm day or night. The sun shall not strike you by day is usually interpreted by modern day literalists as sunstroke. The allusion to the moon is often condescendingly treated as a Biblical accommodation to ancient superstition and folklore. To those, however, who have been delivered from demonism, and who realize the important role of the sun and moon in the realm of spiritism, these verses promise welcome protection and freedom from the chains of demon possession. 121:7, 8 There is the guarantee of deliverance from all evil. It is a solid fact that nothing can come into the life of a believer apart from God’s permissive will. There are no random circumstances, no purposeless accidents, no fatalistic tragedies. Though He is not the author of sickness, suffering, or death, He overrules and harnesses them for the accomplishment of His purposes. In the meantime His trusting child can know that God is working all things together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Rom_8:28). Finally there is the guarantee of God’s watch-care over all our movements in time and throughout all eternity. He will keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth and even forevermore. The words “keep” and “keeper” occur three times in the space of these eight verses. Preserve occurs three times. They join to declare that no one is as secure as the person who has received the Lord as his only hope. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, He’ll never, no never desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, He’ll never, no never, no never forsake! Richard Keen (1787)