Meaning of Psalm 121

[catholic03]

Hello

By the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth forever, I heard Psalm 21 and it absolutely sent shivers down my spine. The Holy Spirit is clearly telling me that this verse means something important to me:

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help”

I cannot properly interpret it. Perhaps someone could help. I feel that God wishes for this verse to allow me to better understand his will and to understand what he wants of me.

In Christ the Eternal Lord

 

[St.Bede]

For the 2nd verse, it says "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth ". So, it only means that GOD will keep you from all harm. Please see verse 7, as well. Therefore, there’s nothing to worry or fear about , the Lord will protect you all the way through.
Psalm 121 is a very inspiring chapter.
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[Gorgias]

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help”

I cannot properly interpret it.

You’re not gonna like it, but…

…in its original context, it spoke to ancient beliefs about “the gods”. They believed a few things that would make us face-palm mightily, back then:

• a god’s power was limited to a particular geographical region. So, ‘this god’ was the god of Babylon, and ‘that god’ was the god of Samaria. But, the god of Babylon didn’t have power in the ‘jurisdiction’ of the god of Samaria. (It was a real eye-opener for the Israelites when they recognized that God had power not only in Canaan, but also in Egypt, and the Egyptian gods had no power over God!)
• the gods literally lived “at the top of the mountain.” So, our god lived “on our mountain”, and our neighbor’s god lived “on their mountain”, etc, etc.

So, clearly, we don’t believe these things anymore. But, we can look at what the inspired author is trying to communicate, and I think we can find sentiments that we and he can agree upon:

• we look beyond ourselves, from the mundane to the sublime, and we ask questions that transcend our daily lives
• as we look for answers, we find one that stands out: God, the maker of all the universe, is the one who sustains us.
• God isn’t just a ‘creator’ who subsequently disregards us – He watches over us and protects us. (Some might think of this as ‘protection’ here on earth, and others, as protection on the path to eternal life.)

So, there’s plenty of great insights in this Psalm, even once you separate it from its original, ancient context that arose from the paganism of Israel’s neighbors…

 

[halogirl]

Whenever people say oh well Christianity is just a copy of (insert pagan belief here) I just say ‘oh well no it’s a foreshadowing of Jesus. Isn’t it amazing how all cultures recognise God ‘

 

[OddBird]

Another way to look at it is that psalm 121 is part of what are called “pilgrimage psalms” or “songs of ascent” – psalms sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. The way was long and often dangerous (the man rescued by the Good Samaritan is a good example of this), the mountains daunting, and God’s help and blessing was much needed on the journey.

 

[De_Maria]

Hello

By the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth forever,

Amen!

I heard Psalm 21 and it absolutely sent shivers down my spine. The Holy Spirit is clearly telling me that this verse means something important to me:

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help”

In my opinion, “the hills” is a reference to the 9 hills of Jerusalem. The ancient Jews turned to face Jerusalem whenever they prayed. The reason being that this is where the Temple of God stood. Thus, the Psalmist is describing the posture he attends when he prays to God.

Edit: By the way, this is why there has been a longstanding Catholic tradition, to face east when we pray. Also, many of our Churches used to point East. The altar would be on the Eastern side and thus the congregation would face East.

I cannot properly interpret it. Perhaps someone could help. I feel that God wishes for this verse to allow me to better understand his will and to understand what he wants of me.

In Christ the Eternal Lord

May we all remain, In Christ,

I hope that helps.

 

[Genesis315]

From the Haydock commentary:

Mountains. Jerusalem, and heaven, whence all our help must come. God most readily hears the prayers which are poured forth in places appointed by him. (Worthington) — Jerusalem was situated among mountains, and the Jews turned towards it in prayer, Daniel vi. 10. They did not depend on human aid, Jeremias iii. 22.

 

[Hodos]

This is a Song of Ascents. It is one of about 15 Psalms that have this title, and it is believed that pilgrims to Jerusalem would sing these psalms as they began their ascent to the temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem sits upon the central mountain ridge that spans the land of Israel, and those who would come to visit would likely either take the road along the coastal valleys, or the kings road along the low-lying areas on the east bank of the Jordan River. The king’s road is actually the direction that Christ traversed when he passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. It recognizes that YHWH is the God who provides protection to individual and nation.

 

[Justin_Mary]

By the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth forever, I heard Psalm 21 and it absolutely sent shivers down my spine. The Holy Spirit is clearly telling me that this verse means something important to me:

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help”

It’s been my experience that whatever Our Lord is trying to tell you, it’s just for you. A spiritual director may be of some help. Someone experienced, who knows what you are going through & what you’ve been going through.

Still, if it helps, in Carmel the mountain represents Jesus. Which reminds me of something I read in the imitation of Christ.

Your tardiness in turning to prayer is the greatest obstacle to heavenly consolation, for before you pray earnestly to Me you first seek many comforts and take pleasure in outward things.

 

[adgloriam]

Hello @catholic03 ,

The interpretation of the verse is this:

The prophets went up to the mountains to be closer to God.

(You can see Moses going up the Sinai before Jerusalem was Jewish, before the chosen people entered the promised land.)

You can see Elias and other prophets continuing the tradition. Hence:“Climbing mount Carmel”. The desert hermits also chose the mountains at times.

And Why?? Go up a mountain, and see for yourself…

 

[catholic03]

Good explanation.

 

[Gorgias]

The prophets went up to the mountains to be closer to God.

And Why??

Well, originally, it’s because the ancients believed that their gods lived on the mountaintops.

 

[Gorgias]

This is proven false throughout history since, to this day, animist religions find god’s everywhere. The river, the rock, the creek, the air, the water, even in the animals.

Not saying its true for all religions. It was the situation in the ancient near east, however.

So that all encompassing claim doesn’t specify “which ancients”.

Umm… the context here are the cultures that preceded the Israelites, who wrote the Scripture quoted here.

Since Genesis Judaism placed God in heaven, and so in the sky.

So, ask yourself a question that’s going to feel very uncomfortable for you: when was Genesis composed? And, once you’ve gotten through that questioning, you might follow it up with, “and what was believed prior to the composition of Genesis?”

The question of the timeline of the cosmos and the timeline of the belief systems of the ancients (in the near east) are two distinct questions, and conflating them only leads to invalid conclusions.

 

[Gorgias]

Gorgias:

the context here are the cultures that preceded the Israelites

Nope. The context is psalm 121.

Yes, yes: Psalm 121, which was written by the Israelites, whose ancestors believed that the gods lived on mountaintops. Are we really going to have to get that pedantic?

recognized that God had power not only in Canaan, but also in Egypt

That’s Exodus and end of Genesis. But I’m pretty sure Abraham already had a pretty good relationship with God.

Unless I’m mistaken, I think you just claimed that the Israelites reverted back to polytheism (or older beliefs about local deities) some time following the life of Abraham?

when was Genesis composed?

Well even the scholars have conflicting views on this one

Fair enough. For our purposes in this thread, we can ask the question another way: was Genesis composed before or after the inhabitants of the Levant believed in local gods who lived on the mountains?

If before, then your comment might hold. If after, then you’re being anachronistic, I’m afraid.

“and what was believed prior to the composition of Genesis?”

Interesting academic question for historians, anthropologists, and archeologists. But it holds a minor significance in the context of bible studies.

Hardly! It helps us understand the contexts which gave rise to the civilizations that wrote the Scriptures!

conflating them only leads to invalid conclusions

I wasn’t the one conflating.

 

[Justin_Mary]

Halfway down, third day of Novena

To flee to the mountain is also symbolic of turning or fleeing to God, for the mountain is a figure of God and it comes repeatedly into the God’s communication with man, as well as in the life of Christ: God first appears to Moses on a mountain; the Ten Commandments are given on a mountain; Abraham is to sacrifice Isaac to God on a mountain; Our Lord is transfigured on a Mount Tabor; He prays on the Mount of Olives; He dies on Mount Calvary; and He ascends to Heaven from Mount Tabor.