“I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

“The Journey of Worship: In ancient days, the people of Israel would journey to the temple at Jerusalem to worship the Lord during certain yearly festivals. As they travelled up and through mountains, they sang what are called songs of ascent. These songs recorded in Psalms 120-134 were songs reminding the people of God’s grace, mercy, provision, protection, and salvation.” – Pastor Ben Spencer, Fellowship West, https://fellowshipwest.com/

As mention in the quote above, and in agreeance with most commentary on verse 1, the palmist is most likely referring to the distant mountains (or hills in some translations) of Jerusalem. The sight would comfort the travelers as they approach the Holy temple of God. While it is unclear why the second part of verse 1 is formed as the question “where does my help come from?” I tend to think of this as a rhetorical question where the answer is well understood to be God. But even if the question was to be rhetorical, the psalmist still answers it anyway in verse 2 “My help comes from the Lord.” Affirming that true help comes from the Lord, who is the Creator of everything. This declaration emphasizes that divine assistance and support comes from God who is not only all-powerful but also intimately involved in the creation and order of the universe “Maker of heaven and earth.” In essence, these two verses are a declaration of trust and faith in God’s ability to provide support and protection, regardless of the challenges or threats that might be in our journey. Today we may also find ourselves looking to the high heavens or immovable mountains in our journey as Christians. And just like the travelers singing this psalm, we too know that our help comes from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Written in part with OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (version 3.5) [Large language model].