John Gill Commentary Psalms 121

I will lift up my eyes to 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 distress; rather to the hills of Moriah and Zion, where the ark of God, the symbol of his presence, was, and to whom he looked for assistance and deliverance: or to heaven, the holy hill of the Lord, and to him that dwelleth there; see (Psalms 3:2) (123:1) . The lifting up of the eyes is a prayer gesture, (John 11:41) (17:1) ; and is expressive of boldness and confidence in prayer, and of hope and expectation of help and salvation, (Job 11:15) (Ezekiel 18:6) ; when, on the contrary, persons abashed and ashamed, hopeless and helpless, cannot look up, or lift up their eyes or face to God, (Ezra 9:6) (Psalms 40:12) (Luke 18:13) .

Some read the words, "I will lift up my eyes upon the hills" ^F6 ; standing there and looking up to the heavens, and God in the heavens; who is the most High over all the earth, higher than the highest, and above all gods. Others render them interrogatively, "shall I lift up my eyes to the hills?"

from where shall my help come ?
^F8 not from hills and mountains; not from men, for vain is the help of man; not from kings and princes, the great men of the earth, nor from the most powerful nations; but from the Lord, as in (Psalms 121:2) , which may be an answer to this.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: (Myrhh la) "super montes", Vatablus, Amama; so Kimchi.
• F7: to the idols worshipped on hills and mountains, and pray unto them, and expected help from them? No, I will not; salvation is not to be had from them, (Jeremiah 3:23) ; or to the kings of the nations, as R. Obadiah interprets it; and to powerful kingdoms and states he was in alliance with, comparable to mountains and hills, (Psalms 46:2) (Zechariah 4:7) ? No, I will not; "it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes", (Psalms 118:9) . And so the following clause may be read,
• F8: So Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.

My help [comes] from the Lord, who made heaven and earth .
Who helps his people out of the hands of all their enemies, and out of all their troubles and afflictions; he helps them in the performance of duty, in the exercise of grace, in bearing the cross, in fighting the Lord's battles, and on in their journey; he helps them to all blessings, temporal and spiritual; to all needful supplies of grace here, and glory hereafter; and this help he gives is quick and present, suitable and seasonable, is sufficient, and sometimes with, and sometimes without means; and they have great encouragement to expect it from him, since he is able to give it, being the Maker of heaven and earth; for what is it that he cannot do, who has made both them?

And besides, he has promised to help them, and he is faithful that has promised; he has laid help on Christ for them, and set up a throne of grace, where they may hope to find grace and mercy, to help them in time of need; and they have had past experiences of his help and salvation.

Arama connects this with the preceding psalm, and interprets this help of help from an evil tongue.

He will not suffer your foot to be moved
This is either an address of the psalmist to his own soul; or to any other good man, your friend and acquaintance, assuring of stability, and of final perseverance in grace to glory. The Lord keeps the feet of his saints from falling: he will not suffer them to be moved out of the spiritual estate in which they stand; nor off of the Foundation and Rock of ages, on which their feet are set, and their goings established; nor out of the house of God, where they are as pillars; nor out of his ways, where he upholds their goings; moved in some sense they may be, yet not "greatly moved"; their feet may be "almost" gone, and their steps "well nigh" slipped, and yet shall not fall finally and totally, or so as to perish; see (Psalms 62:2) (73:2) (37:24) ;

he that keeps you will not slumber ;
neither angels nor men are the keepers of the saints, but the Lord himself; he is the keeper of every individual saint, of every regenerate person, of everyone of his sheep, of every member of his church; he keeps them by his power, he preserves them by his grace, he holds them with his right hand; guides them by his counsel, keeps their feet from falling, and brings them safe to glory: and a watchful keeper he is, he does not so much as slumber; he keeps them night and day, lest any harm them, (Isaiah 27:3) . Gussetius reads the whole as a prayer, "let him not suffer [your foot]", &c. "let not your keeper slumber" ^F9 ; to which the answer follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F9: (Mwny la-Nty la) "ne permittat--ne dormitet", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep . He that kept Israel or Jacob, when asleep, and appeared to him in a dream, and promised to keep him in all places, and did; who found his posterity in the wilderness, and kept them as the apple of his eye:

He keeps his spiritual Israel, whom he has chosen, redeemed, and calls; and he that is in general their keeper, is the keeper of every particular believer, who may promise themselves the utmost safety under his care; since, though he may sometimes seem to sleep, when he withdraws his gracious presence, defers help, and does not arise so soon to the assistance of his people as they wish for and expect; yet does not in reality sleep, nor is any ways negligent of them; no, not so much as slumber, nor is in the least indifferent about them, and careless of them; see (Genesis 28:15) (Deuteronomy 32:10) (Psalms 44:23) .

So Homer ^F11 represents Jupiter as not held by sleep, while other gods and men slept all night; and hence Milton ^F12 has the phrase of "the unsleeping eyes of God": but the Phrygians had a notion that their god slept in winter, and was awake in summer ^F13 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F11: Iliad. 2. v. 1, 2.
• F12: Paradise Lost, B. 5. v. 647.
• F13: Plutarch. de Iside & Osir. prope finem.

The Lord [is] your keeper
This explains more fully who it is that keeps Israel and particular believers, and confirms the same; not a creature, but the Lord; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, in (Psalms 121:7) : Christ, the Word and Wisdom of God; who is the keeper of his people by the designation of his Father, who has put them into his hands to be kept by him; and by their full will and consent, who commit the keeping of their souls to him; for which he is abundantly qualified, being able as the mighty God; faithful to him that has appointed him; tender and compassionate to those under his care, whom he keeps as the apple of his eye; and diligent and constant, for he keeps them night and day, lest any hurt them:

He keeps them as they are his flock, made his care and charge; as they are the vineyard of the Lord of hosts; as they are a city, which, unless the Lord keeps, the watchmen watch in vain; as they are his body and members of it, and as they are his jewels and peculiar treasure: these he keeps in the love of God; in his own hands; in the covenant of grace; in an estate of grace; and in his own ways, safe to his kingdom and glory;

the Lord [is] your shade upon your right hand ;
He is at the right hand of his people, to hold their right hand; to teach them to go, lead them into communion with himself, and hold them up safe; and to strengthen their right hand, assist them in working, without whom they can do nothing; and to counsel and direct them, and to protect and defend them against all their enemies. So a shadow signifies defence; see (Numbers 14:9) (Ecclesiastes 7:12) ; and such great personages are to others; in which sense Virgil ^F14 uses the word "shadow"; and much more true is this of God himself.

And he is like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land; or of a spreading tree, which is a protection from heat, and very reviving and refreshing; see (Isaiah 32:2) (Song of Solomon 2:3) . The allusion may be to the pillar of cloud by day, which guided and guarded the Israelites in the wilderness, and was a shadow from the heat, (Isaiah 4:5Isaiah 4:6) (Isaiah 25:4Isaiah 25:5) ; as Christ is from the heat of a fiery law, the flaming sword of justice, the wrath of God, and the fiery darts of Satan.

FOOTNOTES:

• F14: "Et magnum reginae nomen obumbrat", Aeneid. l. xi.