A Song of Ascents.
1I will lift up my eyes to the hills.Where does my help come from?2My help comes from Yahweh,who made heaven and earth.
3He will not allow your foot to be moved.He who keeps you will not slumber.4Behold, he who keeps Israelwill neither slumber nor sleep.5Yahweh is your keeper.Yahweh is your shade on your right hand.6The sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.7Yahweh will keep you from all evil.He will keep your soul.8Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in,from this time forward, and forever more.
What’s happening. One of the “Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120 to 134), sung by pilgrims walking up to Jerusalem for the festivals. The hills on the road could hide bandits and dangers.
What it means. The pilgrim looks at the hills and asks where help will come from. The answer is the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He never falls asleep on the job. It is a traveller’s psalm about God’s constant, watchful care over all of life’s journeys.