Annotations Upon the Books of Poetry, Psalms · Psalm 121
PSALM CXXI.
Verſ. 1. I Will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.] That is, ſay ſome Expoſitours, I will look to the ſanctuary or Temple, whoſe foundation was in the holy mountaines Pſal. 87.1. to wit, the hills of Zion & Moria; as knowing that my help muſt come from the Lord only, who hath choſen that for his dwelling place. But I rather conceive, with others, that the Pſalmiſt ſpeakes here, as one that were debating the matter with himſelf, from whence he ſhould expect help in the danger he was in; & that accordingly he firſt ſets down how he was inwardly moved & tempted to place his hope in outward helps, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, &c. but then corrects himſelf in the following verſe, My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven & earth; as if he had ſaid, Let me caſt mine eyes whether I will, if I look not to him, I ſhall look & wait in vain. Accordingly therefore by the hills here is meant whatever is moſt eminent & glorious in the world, whatever may ſeem moſt firm & ſtrong & invincible; & ſo the prophets aim muſt be to ſhew, that if he ſhould expect help where it was moſt likely to be had in earthly things, ſuch hopes would deceive him. Or elſe in ſaying I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, his meaning might be, either that he would look to them as places of refuge & defence againſt their enemies; or elſe that he would look about on every ſide for help: for becauſe Canaan was a hilly mountainous countrey, ſee Exod. 15.17. & Deut. 11.11. or becauſe there were mountains round about Ieruſalem Pſal. 125.2. therefore to ſay that he would lift up his eyes to the hills, was all one in effect as if he had ſaid, that he would look about on every ſide, to ſee if from any place help would come in to him. And indeed if David compoſed this Pſalm, as ſome think, for the encouragement of himſelf & his ſouldiers, when he was to leade forth an army out of Jeruſalem, (which may ſeem the more probable, becauſe ſome expreſſions therein are ſo ſuitable to the condition of ſouldiers, as that verſ. 6. the ſun shall not burn thee by day, nor the moon by night) then by his lifting up his eyes to the hills he might mean, that at firſt he was ſollicitous what auxiliary forces would come in to him from the ſeverall tribes of Iſrael; though at laſt he corrected himſelf, & concluded that it was God only upon whom his hope of help depended, as he ſaith in the next verſe. But however, reading the words as they are tranſlated in the margin of our Bibles, this is then clearly the drift of the place, Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? from whence should my help come? that is, how ſhould I hence expect any help?
Verſ. 3. He will not ſuffer thy foot to be moved, &c.] That is, to ſtumble or ſlide; ſee the Note Pſal. 38.16. And this may be taken as ſpoken by the Pſalmiſt to himſelf, or to every particular godly man, according to that Pſal. 91.3. for which ſee the Note there. As for the following clauſe, he that keepeth thee will not ſlumber; it is obſerved by ſome Expoſitours, that in that expreſſion the Pſalmiſt alludes, according to what is ſaid in the foregoing Note, to that conſtant order in all armies of appointing Sentinels to watch for the preſervation of the whole army whilſt they take their reſt.
Verſ. 5. The Lord is thy shade, &c.] Thy comfortable refreſhing & protection; ſee the Note Numb. 14.9: at thy right hand; ſee the Note Pſal. 16.8. And in this expreſſion it may ſeem probable that the Pſalmiſt alludes to that pillar of a cloud, whereby the Lord did not only guide the Iſraelites, but alſo ſhadow them from the heat of the ſun, & the cold of the night; whence is that of the Pſalmiſt Pſal. 105.39. He ſpread a cloud for a covering; ſee the Note alſo Exod. 13.21. And thence is that which follows in the next verſe.
Verſ. 6. The ſun shall not ſmite thee by day, &c.] That is, It ſhall not hurt thee with the heat thereof: nor the moon by night; to wit, with the cold and moiſt vapours which it raiſeth. The meaning is, that God ſhould preſerve him from every thing that might hurt him. But the expreſſion here uſed is ſuitable to the condition of ſouldiers, that uſually are abroad in the open fields both by day and night, as is noted before verſ. 1.
Verſ. 7. The Lord shall preſerve thee from all evil; he shall preſerve thy ſoul.] That is, thy life; or, The Lord ſhall ſo far preſerve thee from all evil, that nothing which befalls thee ſhall hurt thy ſoul, or prove prejudiciall to thine eternall ſalvation.