REASSURANCE FOR PILGRIMS

This psalm is a ‘Song of Ascents’—its use as a pilgrimage song provides the key to its meaning. The context is a group of pilgrims making their way up to the Jerusalem Temple to worship at one of the three great religious festivals and lifting their eyes to the surrounding mountains, including Mount Zion. However, it is also relevant for us, to the pilgrimage of Christ’s faithful ones toward the future hope that awaits them. The song is composed of four couplets; each has an introductory line, which is then developed over the rest of the couplet.

I remember singing a worship song in my church youth group based on this psalm and thinking that my help comes from the mountains, from some divinity ‘up there somewhere’. However, I now understand that the writer is saying the opposite—help does not come from anything dwelling in the mountains, no matter how majestic they are. This may be a subtle reference to idolatry, which often happened in the high places. No, ‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ (v. 2). This is the psalm’s central truth, which is then developed in several ways.

The rest of Psalm 121 is a litany of protection promises—the Lord will not let your foot slip, for he never sleeps (unlike the pagan god Baal); the Lord watches over you and will keep you from all harm, both now and forevermore. These beautiful promises are true for God’s people: no matter how treacherous or slippery the way may be, God is with us, watching over us, and we can put our unfaltering trust in his unfailing protection. This is a great comfort when we pass through traumatic experiences. Let’s be honest—life is sometimes scary.

In hard times, we need the truths of Psalm 121 more than ever. Read it out loud, slowly, claiming each line as a personal promise for your pilgrimage through life.