Psalms 121:1-2

Psalms 121:1-2 opens a pilgrim song: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth." Psalms 121:1-2 was sung by pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, a city set high up, along mountain roads where there were bandits and shrines of other gods. Looking to the hills, in Psalms 121:1-2, means facing danger and the temptation to seek help in the wrong place.

The psalm's answer is explicit: help does not come from the hills, nor from the shrines scattered over them, but from the one who made heaven and earth.

The whole psalm turns on one verb repeated six times: keep. He keeps your soul, he does not slumber, he is your shade at your right hand, he keeps your going out and your coming in.

It is a travel text, and that is why it remains the psalm most prayed on journeys, moves and farewells. It is worth reading all eight verses before getting in the car or boarding.