Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 121
Francis D. Nichol (ed.) and contributors
Read Psalms 121 in the BiblePsalms 121:2
From the Lord. The answer to the question in v. 1. God is able to meet any emergency that may arise in the vast universe of His creation.
Psalms 121:3
Will not suffer. The Hebrew negative here employed, ’al, used also in the expression “will not slumber,” makes the verse an expression of a wish or a petition: “May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: may he that keepeth thee not slumber.” These words were possibly sung by one band of pilgrims with another band responding in effect, “Nay there is no need for such a prayer, for He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers
nor sleeps; Israel’s Watchman will not be caught off guard, like a human sentinel on a city wall.” God’s vigilance is unwearied. The Eternal is never exhausted and is always attentive to the needs of His earthly children.
Psalms 121:5
Thy shade. A figure of protection strikingly forceful to one living in a country of glaring light and burning heat. Right hand. The divine Protector is readily available (see Ps. 16:8).
Ellen G. White
5. God Comes Near to Supply All Needs—True happiness may be found in unselfishly striving to help those who need help. God helps the feeble, and strengthens those who have no strength. In the fields where the trials and the conflicts and poverty are the greatest, God’s workmen must have increased protection. To those laboring in the heat of the conflict, God says, “The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.”
Psalms 121:6
Psalms 121:7
Evil. Heb. ra‘, designating both moral and physical evil.
Psalms 121:8
Thy going out. The Lord continually watches over all the undertakings of His children. “God keep thee safe from harm and sin, Thy spirit keep; the Lord watch o’er Thy going out, thy coming in From this time, evermore.”
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary — Francis D. Nichol (ed.) and contributors. Review and Herald Publishing Association · all rights reserved
Psalms 121:1
Unto the hills. Many commentators take these hills to refer to the mountains of Jerusalem. Because of the presence of the sanctuary, Jerusalem was viewed as the dwelling place of God, and in this sense could be considered the source of divine help. Another interpretation makes these hills refer to the mountains of Palestine on whose heights the heathen set up their idolatrous shrines. On their journey to the festival, “as they saw around them the hills where the heathen had been wont to kindle their altar fires, the children of Israel sang: ‘Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? Whence should my help come?’” (PP 538). From whence. Rather, “from whence?” It is not from the hills or the mountains that God’s children receive help, but from God (see Jer. 3:23).
Ellen G. White
Our Lord adapts Himself to our special needs. He is a shade on our right hand. He walks close by our side, ready to supply all our necessities. He comes very near to those who are engaged in willing service for Him. He knows every one by name. O what assurances we have of the tender love of Christ (Manuscript 51, 1903).