The Morning Psalm
Verse meaning

Psalm 121:1-2 Meaning — I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1–2, KJV

What does Psalm 121:1–2 mean?

Psalm 121 is a song of degrees — a pilgrim song, sung on the climb to Jerusalem. The traveller looks at the hills ahead, with their steep paths and hidden dangers, and asks the honest question: from whence cometh my help?

The answer is the whole psalm: my help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Not from the hills themselves, nor from luck on the road — from the Maker of everything the eye can see. The question looks up; the answer looks higher.

The rest of the psalm unfolds what that help is like: a keeper who never slumbers, shade at your right hand, preservation for your going out and coming in — from this time forth, and even for evermore. It is the most complete travel insurance ever written.

Whatever journey you are on, the psalm's move is available: lift the eyes past the obstacle to the Maker. The hills are real, but your help does not come from assessing them. It comes from the LORD.

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1 Corinthians 10:13 · 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · 1 John 1:9 · 1 John 4:19 · 1 Peter 2:9 · 1 Peter 5:7 · 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 · 2 Corinthians 12:9 · 2 Corinthians 5:17 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · Colossians 3:2 · Colossians 3:23 · Deuteronomy 31:6 · Ecclesiastes 3:1 · Ephesians 2:10 · Ephesians 2:8–9 · Ephesians 6:10–11 · Exodus 14:14 · Galatians 2:20 · Galatians 5:22–23 · Galatians 6:9 · Genesis 1:1 · Hebrews 11:1 · Hebrews 12:1–2 · Hebrews 13:8 · Isaiah 26:3 · Isaiah 40:31 · Isaiah 40:8 · Isaiah 41:10 · Isaiah 43:2 · Isaiah 53:5 · Isaiah 55:8–9 · Isaiah 9:6 · James 1:5 · Jeremiah 1:5 · Jeremiah 29:11 · John 1:1 · John 10:10 · John 13:34–35 · John 14:27 · John 14:6 · John 15:5 · John 16:33 · John 3:16 · John 8:12 · Joshua 1:9 · Joshua 24:15 · Lamentations 3:22–23 · Luke 1:37 · Mark 12:30–31 · Matthew 11:28–30 · Matthew 18:20 · Matthew 19:26 · Matthew 28:19–20 · Matthew 5:16 · Matthew 6:33 · Matthew 6:34 · Matthew 7:7 · Micah 6:8 · Numbers 6:24–26 · Philippians 1:6 · Philippians 4:13 · Philippians 4:19 · Philippians 4:6–7 · Proverbs 16:3 · Proverbs 17:17 · Proverbs 18:10 · Proverbs 22:6 · Proverbs 27:17 · Proverbs 3:5–6 · Proverbs 31:25 · Proverbs 4:23 · Psalm 118:24 · Psalm 119:105 · Psalm 139:14 · Psalm 147:3 · Psalm 23:1 · Psalm 27:1 · Psalm 30:5 · Psalm 32:8 · Psalm 34:18 · Psalm 37:4 · Psalm 37:5 · Psalm 46:1 · Psalm 46:10 · Psalm 55:22 · Psalm 91:1–2 · Revelation 21:4 · Revelation 3:20 · Romans 10:9 · Romans 12:2 · Romans 15:13 · Romans 5:8 · Romans 6:23 · Romans 8:28 · Romans 8:38–39 · Titus 3:5 · Zephaniah 3:17