Psalm 121.

God watches over you

Context
The second of the psalms of ascent begins with a look to the mountains and a query about
the source of one’s help. In Psalm 120, the psalmist was stuck in a distant and hostile
place, but in Psalm 121 he seems to be on the move. The psalm expresses deep confidence
in God’s ability to protect him and the community (notice the psalmist is speaking to
others, you).
The psalm can be divided into four two-verse stanzas that build on each other,
particularly through the repetition of the word watch (šmr; vv. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8).
For more on the title (A song of ascents),152 see the excursus before Psalm 120.

Comment

121:1–2. Help comes from the Lord

As the psalmist looks at the mountains from a distance, he asks about the source of
his help. Where does it come from? The question, of course, presumes that he needs help,
either immediately or in the future. Even so, this psalm is not a lament, but rather a psalm
of confidence. He is not worried, because he knows where to turn when he needs aid – to
none other than God himself, the Creator of the cosmos.
If we are correct in seeing the psalms of ascent as songs sung by pilgrims on the way
to Jerusalem, then the mountains are probably those surrounding that city, although there
is nothing in the psalm itself that specifies their identification. In ancient Israel (and the
broader Ancient Near East), mountains were a metaphor for the divine realm (see Ps. 46).
Of course, Zion was the mountain that instilled confidence in the hearts of the faithful, so
it is somewhat surprising that Zion is not specifically mentioned. Other gods were thought
to dwell on other mountains, and that may be the point. As the psalmist gazes at the
mountains, they remind him of the true God, the only One who can provide help, the
LORD (Yahweh).153

121:3–4. God does not sleep

Israel’s God provides a constant watch over the faithful, a truth which the psalmist uses
to assure his hearers as he applies it to himself (he will not let your foot slip). Verse 3a
too resonates with a pilgrimage context. As the people walk towards Jerusalem, their
footing is important, and God will see them safely to their destination. However, the
phrase should also be taken metaphorically. In wisdom literature, everyone is walking on
a path, either the straight path that leads to life, or the twisty, dark path that leads to death.
The path stands for life’s journey (Longman 2006: 151–155). Here the psalmist is certain
that God will give them sure footing on the path to life. Furthermore, God is ever vigilant,
a characteristic communicated by the description that he never sleeps. When Baal did not
light the altar fire on top of Mount Carmel, Elijah mocked his priests by saying, ‘Maybe
he is sleeping and must be awakened’ (1 Kgs 18:27). The Lord is always there, ‘an ever-
present help in trouble’ (Ps. 46:1).

121:5–6. The Lord provides shade

The third stanza picks up and develops further the picture of God as the One who watches
over his people, utilizing the metaphor of God as a shade. The shade protects a person
from the harsh and harmful effects of the sun, so it is not surprising that verse 6a goes on
to say that, because God is a shade, the sun will not hurt his people. The meaning of verse
6b is not as obvious: that God is a shade who protects his people from the harmful effects
of the moon. Several possibilities present themselves. First, sun and moon may be used
as a merism simply to say again that God is on a twenty-four-hour watch over his people.
Secondly, in the Ancient Near East, both sun and moon were thought to be deities that
could bring harm on people. Of course, Genesis 1 makes it clear right from the start that
in Israel the sun and moon are God’s creation and are not gods. Thirdly, at least by New
Testament times, it was thought that the moon could affect people’s mental and physical
abilities. In Matthew 17:15, the verb selēniazetai can be literally translated ‘to be
moonstruck’ and is often used to refer to epileptic seizures. However, we cannot be
certain that this understanding goes back to the time of the psalm. The main point is clear.
The psalmist can have confidence, because God is constantly protecting him from all
kinds of dangers.

121:7–8. The Lord watches over you

The final stanza continues the theme of God as the One who watches and protects his
people, and emphasizing the assurance that he does this on all occasions (your coming
and going), as well as constantly (both now and for evermore).

Meaning
The psalm is a reminder to both ancient and modern readers that God watches over his
people as they journey on their pilgrimage and, more broadly, as they journey through
life (Hausmann 2010: 47–54). The verb watch can also be rendered ‘protect’, ‘guard’ or
‘keep’. God is not only watching, but is actively protecting his people from evil and harm.
The Christian reader is reminded of Jesus’ high priestly prayer, where he asks his
Father to ‘protect them by the power of your name’ (John 17:11). The Christian’s
confidence is bolstered by Paul’s statement that ‘neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38–39).