Psalm 121
“LORD, You are my almighty Guardian. In You will I put my trust.” A Psalm of ComfortPsalm 121
I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
The key word in this psalm–it occurs six times–is shamar (= keep, watch, guard). The psalmist derives comfort from the Spirit-worked confidence that Jehovah is his Keeper. Jehovah isn’t like the idol god Baal. He is never slumbering, never sleeping, never “off duty.” He is aware of what is going on in the lives of His believers at all times. And, since He is the almighty Maker of heaven and earth, He is eminently qualified (powerful enough!) to defend them from danger and help them in times of trouble.
The people of Israel must have derived much comfort from this psalm while on their way to Jerusalem. It assured them that the Lord would keep them safe from harm both as they traveled to Jerusalem and as they returned home. But the psalmist–by the terms “coming in” and “going out”–was thinking about more than just a journey to and from an earthly city. He had in mind especially the pilgrimage of a believer from earth to the New Jerusalem. He expresses his confidence that Jehovah will keep close watch over His people throughout their sojourn in this world till the day they reach their heavenly destination.
Christians of every period of church history have found comfort in the assurance that this psalm brings. How blessed also we are to know that Jehovah is our almighty Guardian. For we also “walk in danger all the way.” There are many pitfalls, snares, and temptations along the way which would hinder us and keep us from reaching our destination. But our almighty Savior-God, who possesses all power in heaven and earth, promises to protect and defend us from these threatening perils. He will guide us through this world of sin “till we safely stand in our Fatherland.”