Psalms 121 - Introduction

This exquisite Psalm, inspired by perfect trust in Jehovah's guardianship of His people, was probably composed to be sung by pilgrims going up to the Feasts at Jerusalem, possibly at the point where they first caught sight of the goal of their journey (Psalms 121:1). We seem to hear in it the voices of the pilgrims encouraging one another with words of faith and hope, as they journeyed to Jerusalem, once more in the centre of national life and worship to realise the relation of Jehovah to Israel and to each individual Israelite as their guardian in all the vicissitudes of life. Though we cannot determine the precise manner in which it was sung, it is specially adapted for antiphonal singing, and gains in point and vividness if it is divided between different voices. It consists of four pairs of verses. In the first pair of verses, we may conjecture, one of the pilgrims (or a group of pilgrims) expressed his calm trust in Jehovah's help. In the next pair of verses another singer or group of singers responded with words of prayer and assurance; and Psalms 121:5 may have been sung antiphonally, verse by verse, or in pairs of verses.