Psalm 121 – I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. (NLT)

Most Bibles have titles over each individual psalm.  The title of Psalm 121 is: A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.  There are a number of psalms with this title.  These psalms represent songs that were sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem.  For many of the pilgrims, this was a once in a lifetime trip.  We must note that in those ancient times, a journey to Jerusalem from even fifty to one hundred miles away was huge undertaking, and often a perilous journey.  At night the pilgrims would have to post sentries on the tops of the hills to keep watch for bands of robbers who made a living by stealing from the pilgrims.  One can imagine the pilgrims looking up to the hills, and as they noticed the sentry, they also acknowledged that there was one even greater who kept watch over them.

While this psalm was sung for a specific journey in ancient times, the spiritual application for modern day Christians is an easy one to make. Like people of any era, we look for help.  We pay money to read books or to attend seminars that teach us how to have a better marriages, raise better children, have larger bank accounts, have better bodies – we all want help!  The first place anyone needs to look for help is to the maker of heaven and earth (verse 2).  Our helper is always aware of us (verse 3 and 4), and is aware of our need.

While singing this psalm, the ancient Jewish pilgrims were on their way to worship God.  With every step along the perilous journey they were aware of God, and aware of worship.  If we truly want to receive help from the Lord, we must be aware, too!  We must strive to be aware of God in every step of our journey through life.  With each step we take, we need to be aware of our worship to God.  The Apostle Paul wrote: “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1).

Today, let us live each moment aware of our helper!  Let us worship with every step. 

Posted by Ramón Torres