The Old Testament law of Moses prescribed three pilgrimages a year to Jerusalem for all the men of Israel. They were to appear before the Lord in The temple in Jerusalem three times a year.

Exodus 23:17
Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.

On their journey to Jerusalem they’d be singing some of the fifteen ‘Songs of Ascent’, a group of psalms comprising Psalms 120—134 also known as Pilgrim songs. They were written for people to sing as they made their way up to Jerusalem for these important Jewish festivals. They traditionally sang these songs on the “ascent” or the uphill road to the city of Jerusalem. This would help prepare them for worship and offer encouragement as they undertook the upward journey.

A typical example is Psalm 122:1 which invoked a keen sense of joy and gladness of heart as they journeyed to The Temple in Jerusalem to appear before and meet with God – I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

Psalm 121 was no different in its purpose. It offered serious encouragement as they approached The Temple to worship God. To date it offers the same encouragement in the form of three major lessons we’ll unpack together.

1. Establishing the God of Heaven as the go-to source for help.

The song starts with a rhetorical question and firm response establishing The Lord as the go-to source for help. It created anticipation and expectation raising their faith levels in God whom they were preparing to meet.

Psalm 121:1–2
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

As they lifted up their eyes on the approach to Jerusalem, they sought to set their focus on God. Verse 2 is the firm and unmistakable response to the rhetorical question posed in verse 1. More importantly, it represented an unequivocal affirmation of who or where their help lay in as they made that uphill journey.

My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

There was no doubting or prevarication about where their help was coming from. It was a firm and solid response. Their eyes were indeed lifted up to and they were walking up the hill but it was the Lord who made heaven and earth they’d put their trust in and were expecting help from. They made the uphill journey to the temple with full anticipation and expectation of divine help and intervention. They openly affirmed that the source of their help was none other than the One who made heaven and earth, the Author of life and creation Himself. They put their hope firmly in Him. They were brimming with excitement and anticipation of the help He would provide as they approached Him with faith. It was not just any God they had put their trust in and looked up to but the Creator God.

Remembering, recalling and openly reaffirming the person, nature and character of God as we approach Him creates anticipation and a sense of expectation – as well as a readiness to meet with, and receive, from Him. Songs prime and prepare our hearts as we focus on God and His goodness to us.

2. The song continued by expanding on and diversifying the help God is to His people and His incredible reliability. Psalms 121:3–7

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.

As these pilgrims approached God, the reaffirmation of these truths in song form helped them refocus and recalibrate their view of God. It would have helped them understand that their God was not distant or removed from their situations and circumstances but very near, embedded in and at the heart of them.

As Psalms 46:1 states –
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

He is a very present, very near God – not distanced or removed from our situations – a real help in every situation and circumstance of life.

God is indeed…
A supreme help
A sure help
A reliable help
An unfailing help
A consistent help
…in all situations and at all times.

The overwhelming thrust, the running theme of this help is God keeping His people and preserving them from anything that would cause them to fall or stumble. The phrase “he will keep your life” in verse 7 sums it all up. The root word used in the Hebrew implies a watching over and preserving something or someone in their desired place. God’s intention and desire is to uphold His people, preserve and keep them. God will not only keep you from stumbling and falling but He’s fully trustworthy and wholly reliable to do so.

Reflecting on the goodness and nature of God offers immense reassurance and untold encouragement to confidently approach Him.

3. Finally, these proclamations represented an acknowledgment and recognition of their helplessness and need for Him and His help in their lives. They demonstrated an acute awareness of their need for God’s help. So they gladly acknowledged it while actively seeking and looking to Him, for it.

A humble realisation of our own helplessness and openly admitting to our need for His help is key to receiving from God. God desires for our needs to organically drive us to Him.

This is so important and extremely pleasing to the Lord as we too proactively look to and trust in Him for our help openly expressing our need for Him. Hebrews 4:16 is an open invitation and encouragement to approach God for help in time of need – “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We however, are not only invited and encouraged but God has in Christ provided the confidence and full assurance to do so. Ephesians 3:12 – in whom (Christ) we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Even today, this and similar songs help us view and establish God as our go-to source of help and strength as we too approach His throne of grace. Indeed, those who approach the throne of grace and wait on the Lord are guaranteed to renew their strength like the eagle’s – Isaiah 40:31

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.