I Will Look unto the Hills: an Exposition of Psalm 121
As we continue this year through the season of Lent, the world seems especially stressed. There is threats of a global pandemic continuing to spread. The world’s financial markets are under stress. In this country, at least, there is political turmoil. There is social upheaval. There is a growing fear that our national and world leaders are not up to the challenges that face us. Christians are suffering terrible persecution in many parts of the world. Or course, these troubles have all been with us in one degree or another since the fall of Adam. All to often, the world looks for help in all the wrong places. They think help comes from within. We look for someone with a new idea. There is hope and change. For a moment, the sky brightens only to be later dashed into cynicism. So where can we find help? The 121st Psalm has that answer for us.
There is no stated author for the psalm nor occasion for which it is written. The prefix “A Song of Ascents” is attached to it. It is part of a collection of 12 psalms which share this preface. We don’t know whether these psalms were written as a group for that purpose or were later collated into this collection. We do know that these psalms were used by pilgrims coming up to Jerusalem to worship. Whether this was the original intention of the psalm, we do not know. However, the historical context of the psalms are for the most part of secondary importance. The words of the psalms instead become personalized as a means of reflection. They become a conversation between God and us as well as God and the church community. So then, what is the psalm telling us?
Psalms are also poetry and song. They have their own language. Unfortunately, many of the modern translations are stilted and ugly. The translators of the Authorized Version (King James) understood the beauty of words. The 121st psalm in the King James is a masterpiece of poetic translation. This is no easy task as Hebrew poetry and English poetry have different forms. But the AV translators understood the beauty of the text and endeavored to express the thoughts of the psalm in beautiful English. The words God speaks to us are beautiful words. They are not the words of a technical manual. So, as I often do with the psalms, I will be using the AV and addressing any minor inconsistencies along the way.
The first verse reads: “I will look unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Most modern translations place a question mark at the end of the line rather than a period. This may be technically correct as far as translation goes, but it changes the meaning from the hills as being the source of help to mountains of adversity to be overcome. However, seeing that this was the song of pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem to worship, there is a connection between Yahweh and Mt. Zion. Jerusalem was on the loftiest hill. It was also the moral high ground. The worshipers always went “up” to Jerusalem. If one follows the AV, then what is being said is one sees the mountain as the base of the throne of Yahweh. It is the LORD who presence is atop the mountain. God often meets with his people on mountains. So the psalm then orients one to the majesty of the LORD rather than the adversities we face. This is a rightful posture. We orient ourselves first towards God. Just look at the Lord’s Prayer and how it begins. It begins with God. The petitions for bread and deliverance come later. We look to God first. Then we look at our problems in the light of who God is.
“My help cometh from the LORD which made heaven and earth.” If the first verse is a question, it is a rhetorical one. The worshiper already knows the answer. Perhaps one person might call out the first line and the worshipers responded with this line. God did not just make the mountains. He made the heavens and the earth. The LORD is above all. He is omnipotent. He is able to bring His will to pass. This is similar again to the LORD’s prayer. We orient our worship to the LORD alone.
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber.” The reason why it was necessary to establish first the sovereignty of God before this verse is apparent. The LORD must be able to help us. His being willing to help us is not enough. A person might be willing to help one in need, but if that person is unable to do so, then all you have is someone to cry with you in your beer. But is is equally necessary that the LORD be willing to rescue, or else there will be no rescue. It is wonderful that we serve a God who is both able and willing.
This verse should be understood in a covenantal sense. These worshipers were ascending to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh. So these words are only of comfort for His worshipers. Others bow before other gods to seek help in vain. As they are not gods at all, they can neither be able or willing to help. Even when we make gods of human institutions, we find that their help is ultimately in vain. This is why the world is so disillusioned right now. Humans are neither able enough nor willing enough to truly help. The “helpers” and the “helped” ultimately find themselves in the same morass. But for those who trust in the LORD, we can be assured of two things. God is able and willing to secure our footholds. He also is always available. Humans must have time off. We must sleep. There are times we are to weary to help. But this is not so with the LORD. He doesn’t even take a nap.
“Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” This verse is parallel to the last part of verse 3. But parallel structures are not identical. What is different here is that we have the word “Israel.” Before we have the promise of the LORD to keep thee. Thee is the Old English singular form of “you.” This is a promise to the individual worshiper. Israel is a promise to the entire covenantal community. We don’t just live to ourselves. We live in community. He preserves us as individuals. But He also preserves His church. We live in a context in which our social contexts are rupturing. The troubles of the many are our troubles as well. War and unrest affect everyone. The church serves as a community in which we have a social context, a foundation for our faith. This is why we come together to worship. But we can have confidence together that God will look after us.
It is of great comfort that we have a community of believers throughout the world which transcends or local contexts. People in one nation may be dealing with one set of problems and those in another a different set. We should remember the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” where it says “Crowns and thrones may perish; kingdoms rise and wane. But the cross of Jesus, constant shall remain.” We also remember “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” All shall be well.
The rest of the psalm addresses the individual (thee). “The LORD is thy keeper; the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.” For the third time, the verb “keep” appears. The LORD helps the believer and keeps him. The repetition of this word gives us the greatest of assurance. The “shade upon thy right hand” is a powerful metaphor in the Middle East. One can think of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. If they came up from Jericho to worship, for example, one had to ascend to Jerusalem along a narrow winding road. The sun by day beat down with its relentless heat. The nights were cold. Highway robbers, such as the ones who beset the man in the Parable of the Good Samaritan is an example of this. There were also wild beasts and high cliff faces. Ascending to Jerusalem was a dangerous journey. This is why they often travelled in groups. This again reinforces the value of the worshiping community. God uses the church as a means of keeping us. It is our shade in a hostile world. It is not the church directly, or course, any more than the hills were the source of Israel’s help. But the LORD’s presence is in our midst, and because of this, we dwell securely.
The rest of the psalm uses the word “preserve” three times. First the LORD is the helper. Then the LORD is the keeper. Now the LORD is the preserver. These words are closely related to each other. How does the LORD preserve us? First, He preserves us from all evil. This corresponds again to the Lord’s prayer where it petitions “deliver us from evil.” To this is added that He preserves our soul. In Hebrew, this probably means that He saves us from death. Then is says that He preserves us on our journeys. In the context of the coming to Jerusalem to worship, this would mean that He will keep us from injury and death to and from home on this potentially dangerous journey.
The psalm ends with this promise continuing for ever more. From the Christians perspective, we understand this to be eternal life. We do not ascend to earthly Jerusalem but to a heavenly one. Unless the Lord comes within the span of our lives, our life in this world shall end. All of those who sang this psalm in their ascent to earthly Jerusalem are long dead or shall shortly die. The psalm promises something greater than this. The Lord does not promise protection for the duration of our natural lives. He is not addressing the church as a whole here. It is the singular “thee.” Christians die every day. Some die very young. Some die at the hands of robbers. Some die from persecution. We must rejoice that our relationship with the Lord is secure in Jesus Christ. It is only in the context of eternity that we can have confidence.
We shall ascend. The Lord rose from the dead on the third day and has ascended. We shall rise and be with Him. The pilgrimage is fraught with danger. But we don’t consider this as important as the ascent. We look up to the Lord seated on His throne. We shall arrive there, not on our own strength. It will be entirely by God’s grace. Thanks be to God! We look up to where Jesus is seated at God’s right hand. And we look forward to His return. We march onward, knowing that the LORD is our helper, our keeper, and our preserver to life everlasting.
