Into the Hills
This week on our journey through the Psalms, we get to 121, "I lift up my eyes to the hills," etc. This one is a favorite of many, and partly because it is a very emotionally accessible song. For many, in the end, it doesn't matter what it may "mean," because it brings comfort and hope.
Nothing wrong with that!
But a few words about this Psalm are in order that, I hope, will increase appreciation and not just be needless explication.
First, those hills. This Psalm is one of 15 designated as "Psalms of Ascent," or Psalms that were sung as pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem for one festival or another. Jerusalem is at one of the higher point above sea level of all the land of Israel, so that journey was uphill all the way for many. One scholar (Erik Routley) thinks these Psalms (120-134) were like folk songs that people would sing while traveling. They are all short and to the point.
The hills. Three ideas. The hills were places of potential danger. Wild animals, tough climbs, robbers and assorted bad guys, uncertain weather. The traveler looked at the forbidding hills and wondered, "How am I going to make it through there?"
Or, the hills were places where other religions had shrines to idols, the "high places." These idols offered help of all kinds for everything that ailed or bothered you. Are these idols the place to get help?
Or, the hills mean the hills of Jerusalem itself, and particularly Mt. Zion, the hill on which the Temple stood. The hills are places of hope where the presence of God is felt. Where will my help come? From God on Mt. Zion at the Temple. The God who made all the hills, and all the creatures in them. Us, too.
The other interesting thing to me about this Psalm is the repetition of the Hebrew word "samar." I have found it translated in various Bibles as "keep," "watch over" (it's the same word used to designate the watchers at the city gates elsewhere in scripture), "guard," "take care of," "protect." God the watcher is attentive to the least detail (those rocks on which your feet might stumble, for example) as well as the big picture (sun and moon). God is present, deeply present in this Psalm. God doesn't do away with evil, but is present and caring for us through it. Much like Psalm 23 with which this Psalm is often paired.
Nothing wrong with that!
But a few words about this Psalm are in order that, I hope, will increase appreciation and not just be needless explication.
First, those hills. This Psalm is one of 15 designated as "Psalms of Ascent," or Psalms that were sung as pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem for one festival or another. Jerusalem is at one of the higher point above sea level of all the land of Israel, so that journey was uphill all the way for many. One scholar (Erik Routley) thinks these Psalms (120-134) were like folk songs that people would sing while traveling. They are all short and to the point.
The hills. Three ideas. The hills were places of potential danger. Wild animals, tough climbs, robbers and assorted bad guys, uncertain weather. The traveler looked at the forbidding hills and wondered, "How am I going to make it through there?"
Or, the hills were places where other religions had shrines to idols, the "high places." These idols offered help of all kinds for everything that ailed or bothered you. Are these idols the place to get help?
Or, the hills mean the hills of Jerusalem itself, and particularly Mt. Zion, the hill on which the Temple stood. The hills are places of hope where the presence of God is felt. Where will my help come? From God on Mt. Zion at the Temple. The God who made all the hills, and all the creatures in them. Us, too.
The other interesting thing to me about this Psalm is the repetition of the Hebrew word "samar." I have found it translated in various Bibles as "keep," "watch over" (it's the same word used to designate the watchers at the city gates elsewhere in scripture), "guard," "take care of," "protect." God the watcher is attentive to the least detail (those rocks on which your feet might stumble, for example) as well as the big picture (sun and moon). God is present, deeply present in this Psalm. God doesn't do away with evil, but is present and caring for us through it. Much like Psalm 23 with which this Psalm is often paired.
Labels: Psalm 121
posted by shelly @ 11:48 AM
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