Lifting Up Our Eyes
Having spent so many years and decades enjoying relatively easy global travel, recent months of limited travel during the pandemic have been rather unsettling for all of us. We can’t get to where we want to go – not without trouble and difficulty. Travel in the ancient world was no easy thing. Often long journeys involved walking for days on end – walking through challenging terrain and lawless lands. And journeying to a longed-for destination took courage and perseverance. For the believer, it took faith.
Psalm 121 is all about a great journey to a great destination, and the perils and challenges involved. This Psalm belongs to a collection of psalms – a collection running from Psalms 120 to 134 – called the “Psalms of Ascents”. They are all psalms that focus on the journey up to Jerusalem – the ascent to Jerusalem – from the surrounding communities. They relate to the travels of the people of God who journeyed to the famed and holy city to take part in the annual festivals at the temple. The idea of “ascending” or going “up” to Jerusalem was not simply geographical or topographical in nature (i.e. that Jerusalem was simply higher in its physical than everywhere else). The idea was more profound – it was that Jerusalem was higher in stature than other places.
The Psalms of ascents speak of the journey of the people of God as they go up to Jerusalem to enjoy the Lord’s presence his temple in Jerusalem. Today, of course, readers of Psalm 121 are not typically journeying on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But this psalm is not just an ancient travel log that serves as a piece of historical interest for us. Psalm 121 is the story of every believer’s pilgrimage to the glorious city above – the home of the people of God. It is the prayer of every believer who is weary of this world and longing for their eternal home.
The writer of Psalm 121 is a weary and perhaps somewhat fearful pilgrim who begins with a cry for reassurance and help: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” Travelling on rough and precarious roads through mountainous territory was a challenging thing. And bandits could well hide in the hills and threaten the pilgrims on routes that were unpatrolled. As the pilgrim looks to the shadowy hills as the sun sets, he might well have a sense of fear. Who will help him if bandits emerge – “from where will his help come?” The rest of Psalm 121 is really an answer to the Psalmist’s inistial question. As the Psalmist looks to the hills, he remembers the God in whom he trusts – the God who is highly exalted – higher than the hills themselves. He then boldly and clearly declares in verse 2, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Perhaps you feel that your needs are very big at the present time. It may be that you are facing a crisis today that you fear will overwhelm you – derail you – throw your journey off course. You may be going through a valley so deep that you think prayer has become useless and God is unable to intervene and help. But here is the simple reminder from Psalm 121: the Almighty God upon whom you call is the maker of heaven and earth. Weary followers of Jesus who long for their final destination should be encouraged. Psalm 121 is a reminder that God is an ever-present help, and those who belong to Jesus through faith will make it safely through this perilous world to the glorious place of God’s presence.