I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
The pilgrims' even-song as they caught the first sight of the hills (Psalms 121:1) round Jerusalem. In Psalms 122:1-9 they reach a further stage-namely, the gates of Jerusalem. In Psalms 121:1-2 Israel speaks; in Psalms 121:3-8 she is addressed by the Spirit in the Psalmist. Thrice Yahweh is called "He that keepeth Israel." Also in the conclusion thrice it is said "the Lord shall keep." The Hebrew for "keep" ( shaamar (H8104)) alludes to Samaria-the Psalmist thus making that dreaded name suggest confidence. The 'sliding foot' symbolizes danger; the "shade," protection; the sun-stroke and the moon-stroke, the trial; Israel's 'going out and coming in,' the undertaking in hand-the rebuilding of the temple.
A Song of degrees. The Hebrew here is not, as in the other psalm titles, of, but 'FOR lª- ascents,' implying the object for which these psalms were sung-namely, yearly goings up to the great feasts at Jerusalem.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. The hills to which the pilgrim looks as the quarter whence help is to come, are those seen in the distance surrounding Zion (Psalms 125:2; Psalms 68:16), the Lord's chosen seat on earth. Compare Psalms 24:3; Psalms 25:1; Lamentations 3:41; Psalms 123:1; Psalms 141:8. It is not the hills that give the help (Jeremiah 3:23, note), but the Lord, whose seat is on Zion omens them (Psalms 3:4; Psalms 14:7; Psalms 20:2; Psalms 43:3; Psalms 87:1-2; Exodus 15:17). Hengstenberg thinks that the Hebrew х mee'ayin (H370)], "whence," is always interrogative; and that the question does not express doubt, but gives occasion to the joyful answer in Psalms 121:2, 'Whence cometh my help? My help (cometh) from the Lord,' as in Psalms 120:3-4; Psalms 24:3-4. But Joshua 2:4 favours the English version.