God’s Word for You
Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, February 4, 2026
A Song of ascents.
The psalms of ascents were special songs for travelers going far away to the temple to worship. The step-like structure that predominates (it isn’t always there) make them psalms of various degrees or ascending moments. Here in Psalm 121 there are clearly four stages: (1) Where does my help come from? (2) God won’t let you down (3) No harm will come to you, and (4) It is the Lord who keeps us from harm.
In some ways, this Psalm is organized like a concerto or symphony, which in the classical style would have four movements (usually 1. fast 2. slow 3. dance 4. fast) with the final movement often incorporating elements of two or even all three of the others.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made the heavens and the earth.
Israel is surrounded by mountains and hills, and on every peak there is a story to tell about the way God looks out for his people. In the far north is Mount Hermon, probably the place where Jesus was transfigured before his final long march to Jerusalem that ended on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins.
Far to the south is Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. To the east across the Jordan is Mount Nebo, where God showed the Promised Land to Moses before he died. West along the coastline is Mount Carmel, where God blessed Elijah as he stood up to four hundred and fifty false priests of the false god Baal.
In Galilee is the big Hill of Moreh. On one side, the prophet Elisha raised a child from the dead. On the other side, centuries later, Jesus did the same thing in the little village of Nain. There is also Nazareth on a high cliff, where Jesus’ own home town tried to throw him down, but he passed through them unharmed and without harming any of them.
Near Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed for the strength to face the cross and the pain and death that meant our salvation. And Jerusalem itself is built on the slopes of Mount Zion and the little hillcrest called Calvary, where the Son of God, our Savior, offered his life as the payment for our sins.
The Lord constantly wants us to seek things that are above (Colossians 3:1). Our treasure is in heaven (Matthew 6:21), and our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and Jesus revealed himself to his disciples on a mountain after his resurrection (Matthew 28:16), and he wants our hearts to be thinking of these things, “in the hills” (as it were), “where my help comes from” (verse 1). For even though we know that God does not live up on a mountain anywhere on earth, still, he talks about this and that mountain, especially Horeb, as his holy mountain (Exodus 3:1), but also Jerusalem (Psalm 87:1). Sometimes people in our time wonder how God can live in the clouds, but he doesn’t say that he lives in the clouds; only that Jesus will descend from out of them. Why? Because they, too, are above the earth, and that is the way that he ascended (Acts 1:11). But God is on his throne in heaven, and he is also here among us, with us, always.
For the author of our Psalm, wherever one turns in any direction in Israel, God had shown his strength, his power, his compassion, and his holy promises. He has delivered his people and us from the cruelty of the devil and his temptations. He has given us the victory of the cross, and everlasting life.
Prayer: Lord God, do not hold my sins against me, the sins I freely admit. Look on my faith in Jesus and count it as righteousness for Jesus’ sake.
If I should die before I wake,
I know that Lord my soul you’ll take.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.