Exegesis of the Psalms – Songs of Ascents:
Psalm 121:1-4
It is reasonable to take this psalm somewhat at face value. That this song is sung by a pilgrim as a prayer/petition for being kept safe on the journey of ascent to Jerusalem. The highway to Jerusalem was a dangerous road. And traveling along it posed many dangers such as heat stroke, physical distress, thieves and wild animals.
Most of the psalms are said to have been written in the pre-exilic era between 1000-580 BC. 73 of the 150 psalms are attributed to David, of which are the songs of ascents. If David is our author, then we can narrow down the time it would have been written sometime between 1040BC -970BC. The psalms were collated into one anthology of hymns in the 5th century BC. When they became a tradition in being recited/sung along the pilgrimages I don't know. But it was during the post-exilic time that poetic activity bloomed. In Friedlander's The standard book of Jewish verse he says the piyutim, hymnology, were the principal media through which the peoples ardent feelings to glorify God in song found utterance. And this was noted to contribute largely to the enrichment of their rituals (xiv-xv).
It is good to be aware that the poem wasn't originally written for the express purpose of ritual recitation going up to Jerusalem and was later adopted for this usage. What I want to bring out through exegesis is that this psalm is much more than a petition. It is a declaration and a blessing, a calling on the name of the Lord, an acknowledgment of the name of the Lord.
So let's get at the expression, the meaning. Let's get at the umph of it all. Part of that will necessitate understanding some linguistics, the cultural writing styles, when they were written, by whom, and for what (more on this in my discussion of ancient Hebrew poetry). That Psalm 121 is a shining example of the profluent use of parallelism will be expounded on further as we go along.
Psalm 121A Song of Ascents , Shir lama'alot
₁ I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, ₁ Esa einai el he-harim –
from where shall my help come from? me'ayim yavo ezri?
₂ My help comes from the Lord(YHWH), ₂ Ezri me'im Hashem, oseh
who made heaven and earth. shamayim va'aretz.
Verse 1 – Use of Metonymy. 'I will lift up mine eyes' is a use of metonymy in which the exchange of the adjunct occurs connecting words and phrases (Bullinger, p. 606). So this first expression is not literal. It is easily taken for a literal looking as if the poet is narrating and telling us what he is doing.
It is a common enough action, shared by many cultures, to exhibit this behavior of a looking up, to the sky when one is at a loss or in need. We look to something greater, anything greater and even in this, we are not actually looking to the physical sky for help. It is a spiritual looking with spiritual eyes to a supernatural solution. And so also would those who take this as a literal looking up at the mountains to understand the pilgrim is looking to something greater for help.
But the idea put forth by this phrase 'lift mine eyes' is to be understood as – I will implore, I will petition, pray, go to/look to (inward).
Indeed some translate this to mean that our pilgrim, being on the road to Jerusalem, has the hills of Judea in sight and is thus finally close to the temple and arriving from his journey. Rather to my mind passages immediately arise concerning YHWH Himself often associated with a mountain. There is no indication that we should think the mountains in this phrase is specifically speaking about the mountains/hills of Judea as if to let us know this is an end journey song. The structure of the psalm also clarifies this point for us.
Let's look at a few instances in which we see mountains put forth to express something else.
For MAN, an INDIVIDUAL -
Psalm 30:6-7 "Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, 'I will never be moved. '
Psalm 125: 1-2 "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore". In this instance we also have a comparison of the Lord like the mountains.
Jonah 2:6 "To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit".
For JUDEA, JERUSALEM, or ISRAEL (location and/or the people/nation) - In Ezekiel 6:1 "And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them". And later in 36:6 it says, “Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD: This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you”. Merismos is used here by mentioning the whole - the mountains of Israel (for the people/nation) as a figure and then again mentioned divided up in its parts. The parts - which are the mountains and hills, ravines and valleys, etc. is put for the whole, Israel. This is done to show how entirely and completely the Lord is doing something for Israel in this case.
Psalm 78:68 " But He [God] chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved".
Isaiah 2:1-3 "The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the House of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills , and all the nations will stream to it. And many people will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the House of the god of Jacob... for the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" .
→ Could our poet be speaking about the hills/mountains in reference to Judea, his people, that he looks to for help?
For IDOLS, ALTARS, HIGH PLACES, INHABITANTS - mountains or hills are put in some instances for idols worshipped there or the inhabitants.
In Isaiah 2:12-14 God's judgement is against these saying, "For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, against all the lofty mountains, against all the hills that are lifted up".
Ezekiel 6:13 “And they will know that I am the LORD, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols”.
Of these inhabitants Jeremiah 3:23 says, "Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains”.
Psalm 97:5-7 “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who boast in idols”.
Psalm 68:15-16 “why do you look with envy, oh mountains with many peaks, at the mountains which God has desired for His abode?". The mountains which look with envy are speaking of Mount Bashan referring to this region thus referring to the inhabitants of this region. It had been ruled by King Og, a rephaim. The land/region was also known as the land of rephaim . These are looking at the mountains the Lord has desired for His abode which are put for Israel (the nation and the land).
Speaking of Babylon, “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain" (Jeremiah 51:25).
For YHWH's SANCTUARY –
Psalm 2:6 "For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, my holy mountain", that is 'the mount of My holiness'.
Psalm 132:12-14 "If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever.” For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home: “This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home". In this instance it refers to both Israel and His dwelling place.
Exodus 15:17 "You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain— the place, O LORD, reserved for your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established".
Psalm 48:1 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain”.
Psalm 87:1 “His foundation is in the holy mountains, the Lord loves the gates of Zion”.
Psalm 68:15 “This is the mountain God chose for his dwelling, where the Lord will surely dwell forever... the Lord is in his sanctuary as He was at Sinai“.
Psalm 20:1 “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May he send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion!“
Psalm 24:3 “Who may ascend the mountain/hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? “.
So what gives us direction for the meaning behind this word 'mountains' ? The next three literary devices employed. First, the use of anadiplosis locks in the meaning. Anadiplosis is when the last word of the first verse is the first word of the second verse. This is done in order to make it very clear whom we are talking about and in this case, where our help comes from – ezri = my help.
₁ Esa einai el he-harim – me'ayim yavo ezri ?
₂ Ezri me'im Hashem, oseh shamayim va'aretz.
Secondly, the use of Erotesis. The first verse ends with a question. This is done as a literary tactic used to create a swelling emotional response as a declaration. This literary device erotesis, is an exchange of a statement for a question in order to emphasize the point being made. Some mistakenly take the pilgrim to actually be asking where is help comes from; That our pilgrim must be troubled and looking for help. But it is the opposite, our pilgrim is actually declaring that he is well, secure, not troubled because the Lord is his help. A modern idiom of this that comes to mind might highlight this expression more clearly. When we say, 'whose your daddy?' we are not asking but boldly declaring and expressing power and personage.
As the psalmist links ezri – my help – with YHWH, it also links YHWH with the mountains, whom the psalmist is imploring/praising. Since we aren't actually asking a question but instead are making a declaration – the mountains – is where the help comes from. For verse 1 and 2, the whole expression is translated correctly by the KJB version when it puts: I will lift up my eyes to the mountains from whence cometh my help.
And thirdly is the use of Parallelism (extended alternation) or Correspondence . The pair of sentences, the first and second verse, the four lines together are themselves linked by this literary device. Correspondence/parallelism is the repetition of similar thoughts in successive lines, doubling over on itself to impress on the listener/reader the weight of the words. These two verses are thus saying the same thing with a slight variation in order to enhance the message.
Lets break this down.
"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where shall my help come from? My help comes from the Lord (YHWH) the maker of heaven and earth".
the simple interpretation is :
₁ I rely on the Lord for help.
₂ The Lord the creator is my help.
The spirit of the verses has more depth. Because the expressions have great significance. That the Lord is the source of my help. Our poet says the same thing in psalm 91:2 when he declares " I will say to the Lord, 'you are my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust!".
And this was also expressed when Abraham, having been given the ram on mount Moriah, “called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided” Gen 22:14. And again we see this acknowledgement of Jehovah Jireh in Psalm 91 which says, “the one who dwells in the shelter of the Lord most High, will rest in the shadow of the Lord almighty“. The Lord says of him, “because [you] love Me, therefore I will deliver [you]. I will set [you] securely on high, because you have acknowledged my name” (We will circle back to the shadow of the Lord in the next part when we go through verses 5-8).
'The Lord the maker of heaven and earth' is a common epithet. An epithet is a characterizing word or phrase occurring in place of the name of a person or thing.
Now let's clarify that we have another case of metonymy, of the subject, in the first verse. That is, YHWH for mountains. On the other hand, it could be that mountains is put in order to put our mind to something high and lofty (in which case this could be synecdoche). Consider Psalm 36:5-6 " Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are like a great deep" and how our psalmist magnifies the Lord with grandeur or awesomeness, even liking the Lord's righteousness to a great mountain.
Our simple interpretation supplied is still correct even in this. It could even be that mountains is put for the dwelling place of the Lord, the house of the Lord. We feel safe, provided for and taken care of when we are hidden in His tabernacle and so the house of the Lord can become synonymous with the head of the house - YHWH.
Either way the mountain is not a physical mountain that the poet is speaking of but a spiritual one. And here I find myself thinking about that thing... The thing about mountains is...and why mountains became a symbol of authority and power. We will digress on this topic another time in greater detail but will bring this point to an end with this rumination.
The psalmist spiritually correlated mountains and YHWH together because Israel's past experiences of YHWH with mountains. There was an actual physical mountain that represented God to the people. Mountains were(are) a place that heaven and earth meet. They are spiritual gateways, places with power. Scripture tells us the God of Israel would dwell on the mountain and come down and meet His people there. Mount Sinai and Mount Zion are the most spoken of mountains for this association. They represent Him and His power because He descended (and will descend) upon and met His people there. The book of Hebrews links the transition from one to the other, reminding us of that time (at Sinai) then pointing to the future (on Zion), saying, of one mountain (Sinai), “for you have not come to darkness, to gloom and whirlwind or to a blazing fire. To the blast of a trumpet and the sound of a voice which when those who heard it begged no further word be spoken, to the command 'even if an animal touch it should it be stoned' and that even Moses himself said, 'I am full of fear and trembling' ”. And of other mountain, “but you have come to holy mount Zion, to the city of the Living God, to the new Jerusalem, to ten thousand upon ten thousand angels. To the general assembly and the church of the first born enrolled in heaven, to the saints made perfect, to the new covenant and the mediator, Jesus Christ and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel” (Hebrew ch 12). These verses in Hebrews was given to remind us who we are in Christ, because of the blood of Christ, that we can come before the throne, that we can come before the Lord, that the Lord desires us to draw near. So let us. And let us come with gratitude, with offerings of thanksgiving, and songs of praise, with acceptable service with reverence and awe. Let us come to the mountain of the Lord, all who have clean hands and a pure heart and have not lifted up your soul to an idol. Lift up your heads oh gates, be lifted up oh everlasting doors that the King of Glory might come in (psalm 24)!
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| Jerusalem 1844 |
From here let us move into the next pair of verses under Parallelism (extended alternation) or Correspondence .
₃ He will not suffer your foot to falter, ₃ Al yiten lamot reglecha,
Your guardian will not slumber. al yanum shomrecha
₄ Behold, He who keeps Israel ₄ Hinei lo yanum,
will neither slumber nor sleep. v' lo yishan shomer Ysrael
Other translations say: He will not allow your foot to slip, or He will not let your foot stumble.
This expression is twofold. the aspect in which it hints at physical needs being taken care of gets flushed out in the next two verses. Our pilgrim traversing the road to Jerusalem may be going by foot but this expression is the use of synedoche, were an exchange is made between two associated ideas. Foot is put for 'the walk' or your path or how you walk your walk/path. It is a spiritual walk, spiritual path. Every believer knows what it means to stumble in ones walk with the Lord. Every believer knows there are always obstacles and rocks in the road to maneuver.
Consider this verse - “My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment.They will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.... for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare.” (proverb 3:21-23,26). And this one, “When I said, my foot has slipped, oh Lord your mercy/lovingkindness held me up” (psalm 94). Or psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the one who holds his hand.”
This expression is also related to the one expressed in Proverbs 4:26 which says, “Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left, turn your foot away from evil”. Similarly here - “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path...Establish my footsteps in Thy word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.” (psalm 119:105,133). Job 23:1-11 says, “but He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside”.
the Hebrew word somrecha – to keep, to preserve, to guard, to watch over. Other translations say: He who guards you will not slumber, or He who watches over you will not slumber on your account.
In verse 4 we see the reiteration of the word slumber from verse 3. This is a use of epistrophe for the intention of emphasizing the security of the one being kept by the Lord. The word for slumber is num. Better translated as drowsy, becoming/ being sleepy.
But we also see an extra related word in yishan. This repetition with a similar word creates even more emphasis. Yishan - is to sleep, to be long in, to be asleep. Culturally for me these words, slumber and sleep mean pretty much the same thing. But we do understand the distinction between being drowsy or getting tired and being asleep/having falling asleep.
It is a part of our human nature to get sleepy and even need/require sleep. Though we can be vigilant, no one is more so then the Lord. "Unless the Lord guards a city, the watchmen keep awake in vain" (psalm 127). It is not in His nature to get tired or even sleep. Can we even imagine?
Behold, used to draw attention to what is being said. Here we have the use of Asterismos. The calling attention to a thing by making a mark (or star*). Behold - look greatly at. This indicates a great significance or weight to the words; this is usually done to encourage a sense of awe and wonder or reverence/fear. Bullinger notes "the word 'behold' is not a mere interjection, but is really a verb, telling us actually to look and see, observe and note attentively" (p.926).
The simple interpretation is:
He will watch over your path/and the way you walk
Indeed, YHWH is always watching over His people.
We see this sentiment expressed here in Duet 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” And here in Duet 4:31 "He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath."
The poet is acknowledging this in psalm 91 when he says, " [You ] deliver me from the net of the trapper and the deadly pestilence. [You] cover me with [Your] feathers, and under [Your] wings I find refuge. [Your] faithfulness (to me) is a shield and bulwark" (vs.3-4).
Again we see this message validated in Jacob's story. When Isaac had blessed and sent him out to find a wife, the Lord met him on the road in a dream showing him things and saying, “look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you”. So that when Jacob woke up, “he thought, 'surely the Lord is in this place, and I was unaware of it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God, this is the gate of heaven!' Then he made a vow saying, 'If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, so that I may return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God. And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and all of that you give me I will surely give you a tenth” (Gen 28:10-22 ). And Jacob called this place Bethel.
I want to mention one more account of two individuals operating from this awareness of who the Lord is for those who trust in Him.
In the desert, the adversary came to Jesus to tempt him. He said to him, "If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot on a stone". The Adversary knows how strong the Lord's covering is. He always guards His children. And the adversary knew that Jesus had no spiritual doubt.
And Jesus replied, understanding what the temptation was, "it is written, do not put your Lord God to the test" (Luke 4:9-12, psalm 91:10-13). The adversary knows very well the spiritual covering of the Lord for those who abide in Him. Many believers struggle to live under this truth. The adversary wants to diminish this truth and get us to give up our covering. When we are uncovered, we are more susceptible to attack. and the enemy is out there prowling around like a lion looking for those with spiritual chinks in their armor.
This is an area I confess I struggle with. Have you ever thought, 'yeah but God doesn't show up for us like He did for people back then?' too? How quickly my heart runs to fear when things don't go right. When a host encamps against me, I tremble. When war rises up against me, in spite of it I am not confident. I am prone to falling into despair and hopelessness. How much I long to know in my heart and spirit that the Lord is my light and salvation! Lord be the defense of my life! Let it be more than words I can rationally understand! Let it be a garment, a belt of truth I arm up in every day.
In Psalm 73 our poet gives us an example of this figurative/spiritual foot being moved saying "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked".
Consider these extra passages: Ps. 56, Ps. 116, Ps. 38,
So verses 1-4 use 2 pairs of corresponding repetition to drive home the power of the message behind the words. Verses 1 and 3 make a bold declaration. Verses 2 and 4 hold a doubled down boldness in exhorting God.
So far,
our poem is laid out:
A] verse 1 – bold declaration
B] verse 2 – amplified, reverence directed to YHWH
A] verse 3- bold declaration
B] verse 4 – amplified, reverence directed to YHWH
Verses 1-4 are well likened to this passage in Isaiah - “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint”.
The psalm is a mighty boast! This song is declaration, a confession, no rather, an acknowledgment of the name of the Lord. The pilgrim by making such a declaration is calling this reality into being. Can the Lord be your refuge unless you confess it with your mouth!? "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrew 11:6). When one declares His Godhead, declare Him as their God, it is like drawing from the well of living water and being satisfied by a true drink.
Psalm 121 is entirely meant to cultivate in the heart of the singer a genuine and deep and unbreakable belief in who God is to the singer personally. The psalm never says a person will not have troubles, it continues to indicate that the singer will be watched over and brought through whatever comes because they have made YHWH their shelter/home.
The Lord responds, He is very gladdened to hear us speaking of Him this way and confessing that He is our Lord and He is the one who supplies, first spiritually in which the physical is manifested for us secondly. We seek first the kingdom of the Lord and His righteousness, and He will show up as Jehovah Jireh. We need only wait on the Lord, to take courage and wait with expectation on the Lord (psalm 27).
As we wrap up this meditation, I want to finish by giving this insight in categorizing this psalm as a declaration rather than a petition.
Let us look at verse 1 of psalm 120, 121, and 123 together to see some of this differing intentions. In psalm 120 the psalmist says, “In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.” In psalm 123, “To you I lift up my eyes, Oh you who are enthroned in heavens!' In this psalm instead of using erotesis it goes the opposite direction and uses exhortation. Psalm 120 is a plea for deliverance, a petition song. Psalm 121 is a declaration, a blessing song. And psalm 123 is praise/worship, a reverence song. At another time we will discuss these different types of psalms, how they are used, for what and why.
Personal meditation questions and exercises:
•Read Psalm 121 aloud over and over. Chew on the word. Meditate on it for at least 1/2 an hour.
Journal what insights come up, any scripture that comes to mind and any word from the Lord that is given.
•Recite this psalm daily. Do you feel like you are being strengthened in the Lord? Do you feel any spiritual fruit being born? which ones? Did it provoke you to affection? Did it stir up gratitude?
•Think on these questions and journal your responses:
What does this tell me about who God is? Who He is to me personally?
What does this tell me about our relationship? what does this tell me about who I am in the Lord?
Does this help me to make changes in my life? Have I received any help or encouragement?
Are any old patterns of thinking and old patterns of behaving being broken down?
what new ones are being put in place? What scripture comes to mind that bolsters these as in the Lord?
Works Citied:
Bible, NASB. The Lockman Foundation. Zondervan Publishing, 2002.
Bullinger, E.W. Figures of Speech used in the Bible. 1898.
Martino Publishing. Eyre & Spottiswoode London.
Friedlander, Joseph. The standard book of Jewish verse . 1917.
Dodd, Mead and Company. New York,
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