Psalm 121: Lessons Regarding the Protections That God Offers You
Introduction: This is the second Song of Ascent (Ps. 120–134). “This is a psalm of encouragement or blessing prompted by the concern of the pilgrim for safety on the journey up to Jerusalem. The comforting promise is that the LORD who required the people to come and worship him in the sanctuary would watch over the faithful on the journey, as well as in all the activities of their lives. Thus, the theology of the passage concerns divine protection for God’s faithful people.” (Allen Ross on Ps. 121).1 Believers will be attacked in this fallen world. Here, God reveals several things that He offers you when you are attacked for doing His will. These include: (1) the Holy Spirit, (2) sustainment, (3) His watchful eyes, (4) physical protection, (5) spiritual protection, (6) eternal protection for your soul, and (7) His comprehensive faithfulness.
First, in answer to his prayers, the psalmist declared that God would be his “help.” Through faith in Jesus, the “Helper” or the Holy Spirit comes to help, strengthen, and encourage you when you are attacked. Second, the psalmist also proclaimed that God would not allow his foot to slip on his journey. When you are serving Him, God wants you to turn to Him for the strength to persevere in the face of attacks. Third, the psalmist encouraged the Jews by promising that they were under God’s constant watchful eyes. God is omnipotent, and He wants you to trust that He is always watching over you. Fourth, the psalmist declared that God would protect him from physical harms, including the heat of the day and the evils that happen at night. When you face the threat of physical harm, God also wants you to turn to Him. Fifth, the psalmist also encouraged the Jews by stating that God would protect them from evil. God also wants you to turn to Him for protection from evil. Sixth, the psalmist offered that God would keep the souls of those who turn to Him. Through faith in Jesus, your soul will also enjoy eternal protection. Finally, the psalmist concluded by promising that God would guard the “going out” and the “coming in” of His people “from this time and forever.” This was a promise that God would guard over His people in every way forever. He is also faithful to guard over you in every way as well. His Word is eternal, and His promises will never fail you. Thus, you can trust Him.
1. The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit Is Your Helper and Protector. Ps. 121:1-2.
When you are attacked, turn to God for help. Faced with slander (Ps. 120:2), the psalmist looked to God to help him. “A Song of Ascents. 1 I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 121:1-2). “The holy man who here sings a choice sonnet looked away from the slanderers by whom he was tormented to the Lord who saw all from his high places, and was ready to pour down succour for his injured servant. Help comes to saints only from above, they look elsewhere in vain: let us lift up our eyes with hope, expectance, desire, and confidence. Satan will endeavour to keep our eyes upon our sorrows that we may be disquieted and discouraged; be it ours firmly to resolve that we will look out and look up, for there is good cheer for the eyes, and they that lift up their eyes to the eternal hills shall soon have their hearts lifted up also.” (Charles Spurgeon on Ps. 121:1).2
Turn to God when you need help, and let the Holy Spirit strengthen and protect you3
When you are attacked, focus on God and not yourself for deliverance. Like the psalmist, God wants you to turn to him when you need help. David, for example, rejected advice that he run from his enemies. Instead, he depended upon God and took refuge in Him. “A Psalm of David. In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain?”’ (Ps. 11:1). “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” (Ps. 56:3). “The righteous person will be glad in the LORD and take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart will boast.” (Ps. 64:10). “For my eyes are toward You, GOD, the Lord; in You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.” (Ps. 141:8). In Jehoshaphat’s prayer, he also proclaimed that only God could save the Jews. “Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (2 Chr. 20:12). God also wants you to depend upon Him alone for your protection and help. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Is. 45:22). Peter could walk on water when he kept his eyes focused on Jesus. But he sank the moment he looked away (Matt. 14:30). When you face a trial, keep your eyes focused on Jesus.
The Helper, the Holy Spirit, will help you. The psalmist called God, “My help… who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 121:2). For emphasis, the fourth Song of Ascents repeats this declaration. “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 124:8). God promised that that the Holy Spirit would come with the Messiah. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” (Is. 11:2). Through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit now teaches you and helps you when you turn to God for help. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (Jo. 14:26). At all times, pray for the Holy Spirit to help and protect you.
The Holy Spirit strengthens you when you serve God. As your strength, the Holy Spirit can give you the power to continue on when you are attacked. “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self,” (Eph. 3:16). But His strength and power is fulfilled when you empty yourself of your own power and pride. “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Cor. 12:9).
The Holy Spirit also empowers to serve as Jesus’ witness. For those who spread Jesus’ Good News, the Holy Spirit can also empower you. “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit also renews you when you are attacked. When you feel beaten down as you serve Jesus, the Holy Spirit can also renew you to allow you to persevere. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5).
2. Sustainment: With Faith, God Will Sustain You and Guide You. Ps. 121:3a.
God protects you by sustaining your path. Because he had faith, the psalmist trusted God to sustain his steps. “3 He will not allow your foot to slip;…” (Ps. 121:3a). “He will enable you to stand firm. You are safe in his protection… This, with the remainder of the psalm, seems to be of the nature of an answer to the anxious question in Psalm 121:1 - an answer which the author of the psalm, in danger and trouble, makes to his own soul, imparting confidence to himself.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Ps. 121:3a).4
Turn to God to sustain you as you seek to serve Him5
Let God sustain you by following His Law, including His Word. Other psalmists also credited God with protecting them and preventing their feet from slipping off of His narrow path. “You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.” (Ps. 18:36). “My eyes are continually toward the LORD, for He will rescue my feet from the net.” (Ps. 25:15). “Who keeps us in life, and does not allow our feet to slip.” (Ps. 66:9). Hannah also declared: “He watches over the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall a person prevail.” (1 Sam. 2:9). God helps a believer to stay on the narrow path of righteousness after the believer commits to following His Word, which includes His Law. “The Law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.” (Ps. 37:31). “My steps have held to Your paths. My feet have not slipped.” (Ps. 17:5). If you want God’s help in staying on the right path, read the Bible, pray to Him to guide you, and commit to following His Word, which includes His Law.
Jesus can guide you when you are in darkness. Because He is holy, Jesus’ light can also guide you in darkness. When you feel trapped in darkness, He wants you to call Him to be your light: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” (Jo. 1:4). “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”’ (Jo. 8:12). “I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness.” (Jo. 12:46). When you feel trapped in darkness, cry out to Jesus for His light.
Pray for Jesus’ to strengthen you to also live by His principles. God’s path includes living according to His values. “For the Christian, this reminds us of the principles found in Ephesians 6:11 and 13 – that the believer is to find a place to stand, and this can only be done by looking to the Lord and trusting the One who will not allow your foot to be moved. The standing of the believer in Jesus is impressive. · We stand in grace (Romans 5:2). · We stand in the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1). · We stand in courage and strength (1 Corinthians 16:13). · We stand in faith (2 Corinthians 1:24). · We stand in Christian liberty (Galatians 5:1). · We stand in Christian unity (Philippians 1:27). · We stand in the Lord (Philippians 4:1). · The goal: We will stand perfect and complete in the will of God (Colossians 4:12).” (David Guzik on Ps. 121:3a).6
3. Omnipotence: God is Always Watching Over You. Ps. 121:3b-4.
God watches over you to protect you from evil. Because God loves you, He is constantly watching over you. “He who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Ps. 121:3b-4). “The assurance rises from the particular to the general. It is not one Israelite alone over whom God will watch unceasingly, but the whole people of Israel.” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 121:4).7
God is always watching over both Israel and all His believers8
No evil can attack you without God’s knowledge. God is omniscient (all-knowing). This includes the Father (Ps. 147:5), the Son (Jo. 16:30), and the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Job declared that God is infinitely wise and knows each person’s actions: “For His eyes are upon the ways of a person, and He sees all his steps.” (Job 34:21). Solomon also proclaimed that nothing could be hidden from God: “then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, whose heart You know—for You alone know the hearts of all mankind—” (1 Kgs. 8:39). “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3). “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”’ (2 Chr. 16:9 (a)). “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes.” (Jer. 16:17). “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He is gracious to us.” (Ps. 123:3). “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.” (Heb. 4:13). Are you living life knowing that nothing is hidden from God?
There is no substitute for God’s watchful eyes. Many people trust in worldly idols. But there is no substitute for God. To show this, Elijah taunted the priests of Baal when Baal failed to appear and show his power: “And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, ‘Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.”’ (1 Kgs. 18:27).
Praise Jesus for using His omniscience to guide and help you. In His perfect knowledge, Jesus has given you His Word to guide your steps: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps. 119:105). If you study the Word, the Holy Spirit can then cause you to remember it to light the right path for you: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (Jo. 14:26). You can trust that Jesus uses His perfect knowledge out of love to protect and guide you: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5). “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” (Ps. 37:5). “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Ps. 62:8). “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” (Is. 12:2). Are you trusting in Jesus and praising Him for watching over you, guiding you, and answering your prayers?
4. Physical Protection: God Can Protect You From Physical Harm. Ps. 121:5-6.
Turn to God for protection from worldly forms of physical pain or harm. In the face of the dangers in the world, God can also provide protection. “5 The Lord is your protector; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night.” (Ps. 121:5-6). “Yahweh is a keeper who stands at the right hand to provide shade. The most natural way to read all this imagery is to assume that in the wilderness, on the return from exile, Yahweh is the one who protects through the dangers and terrors of night and the scorching heat of day.” (James Hamilton on Ps. 121:5-6).9
God wants to protect you the way a shepherd seeks to protect his or her flock. God seeks to protect His people from physical harm the same way a shepherd seeks to make sure a flock of sheep is in a physically safe environment where it can flourish. “He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” (Ps. 23:2). Jesus also loves His flock so much that He was willing to lay His life down to give it protection. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (Jo. 10:11).
God also wants to protect you the way a mother bird protects her chicks. Throughout the psalms, God also uses the imagery of a mother bird seeking to shelter her chicks to convey the type of protection that He offers. “Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” (Ps. 17:8). “How precious is Your mercy, God! And the sons of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.” (Ps. 36:7). “A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.” (Ps. 57:1). “One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty … He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall.” (Ps. 91:1, 4).
God will one day restore creation to allow believers to live in safety. Believers live in a fallen world where physical dangers are always present. But God promises that a day will come when believers will live in place where they will be free from these dangers of physical harm and pain. “And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.” (Is. 4:6). “For You have been a stronghold for the helpless, a stronghold for the poor in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a rain storm against a wall.” (Is. 25:4). “They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; for He who has compassion on them will lead them, and He will guide them to springs of water.” (Is. 49:10). Jesus will one day return to fulfill these promises. When He returns to reclaim His sheep, “They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat;” (Rev. 7:16).
5. Spiritual Protection: God Can Also Protect You From Evil. Ps. 121:7a.
Turn to God for protection from evil. In the face of Satan’s attacks and his efforts to destroy all humanity, every person should turn to God for protection and deliverance. “7 The Lord will protect you from all evil;” (Ps. 121:7a). “Not from the evil of affliction, though from that as a penal evil; or as a real one, it being made to work for good: but from the evil of sin; not from the being or commission of it; but from its dominion and damning power, or from a final and total falling away by it: and from the evil of the world; not from tribulation in it, nor from the reproach or persecution of it; but from the wickedness and lusts that are in it, and from the wicked men of it, their power, rage, and fury: and from the evil one, Satan; not from his temptations, but from sinking under them, and perishing by them;” (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Ps. 121:7a).10
Turn to Jesus for deliverance from evil11
With faith, God can be your shield against Satan. When you have faith in God and take refuge in Him, He will be your refuge against Satan’s attacks. “For you have made the LORD, my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will happen to you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” (Ps. 91:9-10). “You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength.” (Ps. 31:4). “But whoever listens to me will live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” (Prov. 1:33). “No harm happens to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.” (Prov. 12:21). ‘“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; and you will condemn every tongue that accuses you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,’ declares the LORD.” (Is. 54:17).
Pray daily to Jesus for deliverance from Satan. Satan currently has influence over the world, and he uses his influence to create misery and chaos. “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 Jo. 5:19). Thus, Jesus urges every person to pray as part of their daily prayer for deliverance. “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matt. 6:13). “I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one.” (Jo. 17:15).
Help to strengthen others under Satan’s attacks. If Jesus has delivered you from an attack, praise Him. You are then called upon to strengthen and encourage your brothers and sisters when they are under attack. “but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk. 22:32).
6. Eternal Protection: God Can Protect Your Soul For All Eternity. Ps. 121:7b.
Turn to Jesus for your soul’s eternal protection. In addition to protecting you from physical harm in the world and from Satan, God can also protect your eternal soul. “He will keep your soul.” (Ps. 121:7b). “All souls are his; and the soul is the man, and therefore he will with a peculiar care preserve them, that they be not defiled by sin and disturbed by affliction. He will keep them by keeping us in the possession of them; and he will preserve them from perishing eternally.” (Matthew Henry on Ps. 121:7b).12
Faith in God makes possible your eternal salvation. David repeatedly thank God for his salvation: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the way of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Ps. 16:10-11). “To rescue their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.” (Ps. 33:19-20). “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me. Selah” (Ps. 49:15). “For You have saved my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.” (Ps. 56:13). “God is to us a God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong ways of escape from death.” (Ps. 68:20). “Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and save us and forgive our sins for the sake of Your name.” (Ps. 79:9). “You have saved my soul from the depths of Sheol.” (Ps. 86:13). Through Jesus, this offer also extends to you.
Salvation is possible through Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. Salvation was a mystery in Old Testament times (E.g., Ps. 6:5; Is. 38:18). But you can rely upon Jesus’ eternal promises of salvation: “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Ro. 10:9).
7. Everything Else: God’s Protection Is Comprehensive and Eternal. Ps. 121:8.
God will be faithful for all eternity to keep His promises to you. The psalmist promised that God will faithfully keep all His promises to His people. “8 The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever.” (Ps. 121:8). In the final verse, “He uses two merisms. The first is ‘your coming out and your coming in’; the two together refer to all activities in the daily course, especially going out on the pilgrimage and returning home, including all movements in between (see Deut. 28:16; 31:2). The second merism …means ‘from now on’ – always.” (Allen Ross on Ps. 121:8).13
God’s promises of protection are comprehensive. In case someone feels that their challenge does not fit within any prior promises, the psalmist stressed that God can protect every part of a believer’s life (Ps. 121:8). This repeated Moses’ comprehensive promise of blessings in Deuteronomy for those who act in faith-led obedience. “Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.” (Dt. 28:6).
God wants to pour out His blessings on your life14
God can place a comprehensive hedge of protection around you in all that you do. Satan complained that God placed a hedge of protection around Job. (Job 1:10). If you fear God by hating evil, His angels can also protect you as well. “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.” (Ps. 34:7). “For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.” (Ps. 91:11). “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time and forever.” (Ps. 125:2). If you need protection in your health, your job, your relationships, or something else, there is nothing outside of God’s power to protect you.
Allen Ross, A Commentary of the Psalms: Volume 3(90-150), Kregel Academic (2016) p. 611.↩︎
Image credit: Psalm 121:1-2 - Bible verse (KJV) - DailyVerses.net↩︎
Image credit: Psalm 121:3 - Bible verse - DailyVerses.net↩︎
James M. Hamilton Jr., Evangelical Bible Theology Commentary Psalms (Vol. II: Psalms 73-150) (Lexham Academic 2021) p. 385.↩︎
Image credit: Deliver Us from the Evil One – Hope Harbor Church↩︎
Ross, p. 620.↩︎