Psalms 121:1

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,.... Not to the hills and mountains in Judea, looking about to see if the inhabitants of them, or any bodies of men, appeared upon them to his help in

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. The pilgrims' even-song as they caught the first sight of the hills (Psalms 121:1) round Jerusalem.

Psalms 121 THE The matter of this Psalm sufficiently showeth that the psalmist was conflicting with great difficulties and oppositions, and looking. hither and thither for help, as men in such cases use to do, and then turning his eyes to God and his providence, and encouraging himself by God’ s promises made to his people. The psalmist showeth that the great safety of the godly is from the Lord, , who keepeth them in their outgoings and incomings from all evil, . Unto the hills; either to Zion and Moriah, which are called the holy mountains, ; or rather, 2. To the hills in general, whereof there were many in the land of Canaan, and upon which the forces, which he hoped would come to his aid, might be seen at a great distance. Cometh; or, may come; Heb. will come.

Psalms 121:1 « A Song of degrees. » I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.A Song of degrees] On, of ascensions, in singing whereof there should be ascensions in our hearts. See Psalms 120:1. Ver. 1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills] Not to your mountains, Psalms 11:1, human helps and carnal combinations, Jeremiah 3:23, much less to those mountains, in quibus gentes idola collocant et colunt, wherein the heathens set and serve their idols, Deuteronomy 12:2, but to Zion and Moriah, where God’ s sanctuary is, Psalms 87:1, or rather to heaven, Psalms 18:9, with 2 Samuel 22:10; 2 Samuel 22:14, where God himself is; and so it followeth.

(1) Whence.—Our version is certainly incorrect in following the LXX. and Vulg. in making whence a relative. The Hebrew word is always interrogative; even in Joshua 2:4 it is indirectly interrogative. But the margin is hardly right in making the whole verse interrogative. Render, I will lift up mine eyes to the hills. Whence comes my help? The hills are those on which Jerusalem is built, the plural being understood, as in Psalms 87:1. (See Note.) This gaze of hope does not absolutely decide the standpoint of the poet. He might have been like Ezekiel (Ezekiel 6:2) when bidden to turn “towards the mountains of Israel” in the distant plain of Mesopotamia; or he may have been close on the end of the pilgrim journey, and actually under the sacred hills. But wherever he stands, this question is not one of doubt; he knows, as in Psalms 3:4; Psalms 14:7, that help will come from God’s holy hill “out of Zion.” He puts the question for the sake of the emphatic answer in the next verse. Possibly, as suggested by the marginal rendering and reference, the poet may in his mind have been contrasting the confidence with which a worshipper of Jehovah might look up to the sacred city on the crest of the holy hill with that superstition and idolatry which was associated with so many hills and high places in Canaan. If this is so, the best commentary, both on the poetry and the religion of the psalm, is to be found in Mr. Ruskin’s fascinating discourses on mountains in “Modern Painters,” their influence on the ancient, mediaeval, and modern mind, and the part they have played alike in the mythology of the pagan times and the religion of the Christian world. There must also be added, in connection with the feeling of the Jew, the part his mountains played as a barrier of defence (Psalms 125:2), and as heights of observation from which to watch for the messengers of peace (Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15). “In the mountains did he feel his faith . . . . and there his spirit shaped Her prospects.”—.

PSALM CXXI The resolution of a godly man, 1, 2. The safety and prosperity of such, as they and theirs shall be under the continual protection of God, 3-8. NOTES ON PSALM CXXI This appears to be a prayer of the Jews in their captivity, who are solicitous for their restoration. It is in the form of a dialogue. Ver. 1, 2. The person who worships God speaks the two first verses, "I will lift up mine eyes - my help cometh," - Psalms 121:1-2. Ver. 3. The ministering priest answers him, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved." "He that keepeth thee will not slumber," Psalms 121:3. To which the worshipper answers, that he knows that "he who keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep," Psalms 121:4; but he seems to express a doubt whether he shall be an object of the Divine attention. Ver. 5, c. The priest resumes and, to the conclusion of the Psalm, gives him the most positive assurances of God's favour and protection. 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.

1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come? (R.V.) The mountains are not the “mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 6:2 and often), to which the exile turns his longing eyes, but the mountains upon which Zion is built (Psalms 87:1; Psalms 125:1-2; Psalms 133:3), the seat of Jehovah’s throne (Psalms 78:68), from which He sends help to His people (Psalms 3:4; Psalms 20:2; Psalms 134:3). The question of the second line (which cannot be taken as a relative clause) is not one of doubt or despondency, but is simply asked to introduce the answer which follows in Psalms 121:2. That answer gives a deeper turn to the thought of the question. It is not from the mountains of Zion, but from Jehovah Who has fixed His earthly dwelling-place there that help comes.

I will lift up mine eyes - Margin, “Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills?

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 Psalms 125:2.