Psalms · Chapter 121

V. 1. Hills-To Sion and Moriah, which are called the holy mountains.

Verse 1. Unto the hills] Jerusalem was built upon a mountain; and Judea was a mountainous country; and the Jews, in their several dispersions, turned towards Jerusalem when they offered up their prayers to God.

Verses 1, 2. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills — To Zion and Moriah, called the holy mountains, Psalm 87:1, the hills on which the tabernacle or temple stood, where were the ark of the covenant, the oracle, and the altars. I will have an eye to the special presence of God in his church, and with his people, and from thence I will expect help. My help cometh from the Lord — From God alone, and therefore to him alone will I turn mine eyes; which made heaven and earth — And therefore how great soever my straits and difficulties may be, he has power sufficient for my succour and relief.

Verse 1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. Zion and mount Moriah, on which the temple stood. See on Psalm 125:2.

1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills—Not to the hills of Palestine in general, but to those of Jerusalem and its environs. See on Psalm 125:2. Mount Zion, in David’s time, and Moriah afterward, were particularly holy mountains, the abode of Jehovah. Psalm 14:7; 20:2; 48:2, 11, 12. The lifting up of the eyes here implies devotional trust and desire, or the lifting up of the soul, as in Psalm 123:1; 143:8. From whence cometh—The compound particle, meayin, is an interrogative, and should read, “From whence shall my help come?” The question is abrupt, but gives a dramatic effect, and prepares for the answer which immediately follows.

Verse 2. My help cometh from the Lord] There is no help for me but in my God; and I expect it from no other quarter.

Verses 1, 2. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills — To Zion and Moriah, called the holy mountains, Psalm 87:1, the hills on which the tabernacle or temple stood, where were the ark of the covenant, the oracle, and the altars. I will have an eye to the special presence of God in his church, and with his people, and from thence I will expect help. My help cometh from the Lord — From God alone, and therefore to him alone will I turn mine eyes; which made heaven and earth — And therefore how great soever my straits and difficulties may be, he has power sufficient for my succour and relief.

2. My help cometh from the Lord—It was not a superstitious reverence for places and sacred mountains, but trust in Jehovah, which sustained the psalmist’s hope. In this confession there is an underlying rebuke of the Gentile idolatry, which sought high places and mountain summits for their altars and worship. See Leviticus 26:30; Psalm 78:58; Jeremiah 3:2. Heaven and earth—The allusion is made to show the all sufficiency of God his helper, unlike the local tutelary gods of the heathen, to which were assigned limited jurisdictions.

Verse 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved] The foundation, God’s infinite power and goodness, on which thou standest, cannot be moved; and whilst thou standest on this basis, thy foot cannot be moved.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

3. Thy foot to be moved—The word “moved” may signify to slip, slide, or to tremble, totter, or even to fall. An insecure foot-hold is a casualty specially incident to the pilgrim on a long journey, and is an emblem of disaster and defeat. Psalm 38:16; 94:18. The statement is equal to saying, that God would give to the true pilgrim a prosperous journey.

Verse 4. He that keepeth Israel] The Divine Being represents himself as a watchman, who takes care of the city and its inhabitants during the night-watches; and who is never overtaken with slumbering or sleepiness. There is a thought in the Antigone of Sophocles, that seems the counterpart of this of the psalmist,—

Tan san, Zeu, dunamin tiv andrwn

JUperbasia katascoi,

Tan ouqJ upnov ai---

Pei poqJ o pantoghrwv,

Akamatoi te qewn

MhnevÈ

Antig. ver. 613, Edit. Johnson.

Shall men below control great Jove above,

Whose eyes by all-subduing sleep

Are never closed, as feeble mortals’ are;

But still their watchful vigil keep

Through the long circle of th’ eternal year?

FRANKLIN.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

4. He that keepeth Israel—The safety of Israel is due to the vigilant care of God. It is a divine gift. Neither slumber nor sleep—As the heathen gods were supposed to do. See 1 Kings 18:27. Through all Israel’s meandering paths along the centuries Jehovah’s eye was upon them day and night.

V. 5. Shade-To keep thee from the burning heat of the sun.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

5. Thy shade—Shadow, as a covering, gives the idea, figuratively, of protection, as Psalm 91:1; Isaiah 30:2, 3, and is here parallel to keeper in the first member of the verse.

V. 6. Smite-With excessive heat. Moon-With that cold and moisture which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases.

Verse 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day] Thus expressed by the Chaldee: “The morning spectres shall not smite thee by day, during the government of the sun; nor the nocturnal spectres by night, during the government of the moon.” I believe the psalmist simply means, they shall not be injured by heat nor cold; by a sun-stroke by day, nor a frost-bite by night.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

6. Sun shall not smite, etc.—It is well known that a sunstroke in the East is a common liability, sometimes producing instant death to man and beast. Probably 2 Kings 4:18-20, was an instance. The moonbeams, also, are known to affect the human system injuriously. Hence the word lunatics, applied to those who are supposed to be injured by the influence of the moon. The dangers common to the travellers are kept before the mind throughout the psalm.

Verse 7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil] Spiritual and corporeal, natural and moral.

He shall preserve thy soul.] Take care of thy life, and take care of thy soul.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

7. He shall preserve thy soul—There is a rising in the sense here from preserve… from all evil, in the first member. That relates to the common casualties of life, this evidently to that higher preservation which belongs to the saints as such, the perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) of a resting faith. Nephesh, (soul,) therefore, is here to be understood in its higher sense of spirit, the spiritual and immortal part. It is spiritual, or soul, preservation as distinct from mere physical. See the use of “soul,” Psalm 19:7; 24:4; 25:1, 13, 20; 57:1.

Verse 8. Thy going out and thy coming in] Night and day-in all thy business and undertakings; and this through the whole course of thy life: for evermore.

Verses 3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

8. Going out and… coming in—A phrase of beautiful simplicity for daily undertakings. The “going out” to labour, and the returning home to rest, describe the sweep of life’s pendulum. On the going forth of man to labour see on Psalm 104:23. Strong trust in the divine protection and faithfulness, and grateful praise, are the characteristic lessons of the psalm.