The assurance that Yahweh can and will keep his own: An exegesis of Psalm 121:1–8

Abstract

Psalm 121 is one of the most popular and the most read psalm. That is the reason why the New Testament quotes and alludes to the book of the psalm more than any other book of the Bible. Christians all over the world see the book of psalm as the most prestigious book of the Old Testament. Luther sees the book as the ‘little Bible’ in the Bible. It is not only the most read it is the memorised book of the Bible. Psalm 121 represents the most trusted chapter of the psalm. The main purpose of this article is to do an exegesis of Psalm 121 with the hope that readers will find hope and trust in Yahweh. Psalm 121 has an emphasis on hope and protection by Yahweh. A look at the outline of the entire chapter shows that hope and security is the theme: Assistance from Yahweh is the theme of verses 1–2, the gazing into the mountain is where protection from Yahweh is vs 1, Yahweh’s constant watchful Eyes (3–4), Yahweh as the protective shade (5–6) and Yahweh as the Protector for all Lives way (7–8). The exegesis of these various sections in Psalm 121 will be carried out with the hope that any reader who believes it or not will find hope, comfort and security.