Psalm 121: God Watches Over Us
WORSHIP
LAUDS
Written by Lisa Rodriguez Watson
Read Psalm 121.
Let the words of hope, and security found in Psalm 121 flood your mind and heart.
The Psalmist opens the passage with a reference to the hills that hold the temple in Jerusalem, noting that he’s ‘lifting his eyes up…”. He’s looking to the place where the people of God believed that God dwelt. He’s looking to the place that held his help and ultimately, for the Psalmist, housed his salvation. In despair (as we talked about last week in Psalm 120) the Psalmist is looking for, and looking to the Lord.
The rest of the Psalm responds to the opening question, “Where does your help come from?” with the resounding response, “My help comes from the LORD”.
Verse 2 - My help comes from the Lord…
Verse 3 [the Lord] watches over you…
Verse 4 [the Lord] watches over Israel..
Verse 5 [the Lord] guards you….
Verse 7 [the Lord] will keep you from all harm & watch over your life
Then concluding in verse 8: The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.
Oftentimes, different translations of the Bible use the words watch over, guard, and keep at different points in the passage. However, in the original langage the Psalm was written in, it’s the same Hebrew word that is used over and over.
The word used is, “shamar”. It is a nuanced word that holds a number of meanings. It is this multiplicity of meanings that the English translators are trying to hold together. The predominant meanings are, “watch”, “keep”, and “guard,” which is why they often all show up in this Psalm in different verses. Same Hebrew word, different English meanings.
Each of the meanings gives us a subtle and beautiful insight into the ways that God helps us on our own journeys; journeys that can hold anguish and awe. One of the meanings of the Hebrew word “shamar” that’s used in Psalm 121 is “watches” and throughout the passage it can be read that God “watches over us”.
It’s similar to the word that can sometimes be translated as “vigil,” meaning to keep watch over someone, especially when they are vulnerable. It’s like “holding vigil” in a hospital room when someone is sick, or a “prayer vigil” through the night asking God to come through in a special way. In this way, those holding vigil are ‘keeping watch’ through the night while the rest of us rest.
Sometimes though, particularly in challenging seasons of life, we wonder if God has actually lost sight of us. Our lives get complex, complicated, and painful at times. In the pace of our lives and the largeness of the world and the world’s problems, we can begin to wonder if God is even aware of the heartaches, and pains, and hopes that we have for our lives and our futures.
The world can get dizzying. And yet, the Psalmist wants us to know that God sees us.
God has not lost sight of us. The Lord knows where we are, and how we are. The Lord knows who we are. Not only has God not lost sight of us. The Lord doesn’t tire of watching over us.
Verses 3 and 4 proclaim, “He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”
The Psalmist wants us to know that we are not exhausting to God. You are not boring to the Creator who knit you together in your mother’s womb. You are not too much to handle for the Almighty One who gave you your energy, your intensity, your humor, your emotions, your passion and zeal for life. God does not tire of watching over you. He doesn’t feel weary or worn out by you. He delights in you. God delights in watching over you.
REFLECTION:
Psalm 121 opens with imagery of mountains, and asks the question, “Where does my help come from?”
What are some of life’s mountains you’re facing? What are the challenges? Are there any breathtaking views of God’s goodness even in the challenge?
Can you remember a time when you had the strong sense that God watched over, guarded, or kept you? Think back to those circumstances. Celebrate the ways that God has been near to you in the past.
What is a situation that you’re currently facing wherein you need the watching, guarding, or keeping help of God?
VESPERS
Sabbaths 1999 - VI
By Wendell Berry
We travelers, walking to the sun can’t see
Ahead, but looking back the very light
That blinded us shows us the way we came,
Along which blessings now appear, risen
As if from sighlessness to sight, and we,
By blessing brightly lit, keep going forward
That blessed light that yet to us is dark.
