New American Bible
2002 11 11
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Chapter 121
1
1 A song of ascents. 2 I
raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come?
2
My help comes from the LORD, the maker of
heaven and earth.
3
God will not allow your foot to slip; your
guardian does not sleep.
4
Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers
nor sleeps.
5
3 The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your
shade at your righthand.
6
By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by
night.
7
The LORD will guard you from all evil, will
always guard your life.
8
The LORD will guard your coming and going both
now and forever.
1 [Psalm 121] A blessing given to
someone embarking on a dangerous journey whether a soldier going on a campaign
or a pilgrim returning home from the temple. People look anxiously at the
wooded hills. Will God protect them on their journey (⇒ Psalm
121:1)? The speaker declares that God is not confined to a place or a
time (⇒ Psalm 121:2), that every step is guarded
(3-4); night and day (⇒ Psalm 121:5-6) God watches
over their every movement (⇒ Psalm 121:7-8).
2 [1] The mountains: possibly Mount
Zion, the site of the temple and hence of safety, but more probably mountains
as a place of dangers, causing anxiety to the psalmist.
3 [5-6] The image of shade, a symbol
of protection, is apt: God as shade protects from the harmful effects that
ancients believed were caused by the sun and moon.
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