The whole psalm is really a commentary on Genesis 28:15, God's promoise to Jacob: "behold I am with thee and will keep thee in all places where you go..." The promise is just as much to each regenerated believer as it is to Jacob. The geography is very signifigant in Psalms 120, 121, 122. The "hills" are the mountains surrounding Jerusalem (Psalm 125:2). The pilgrim in Psalm 121 should be compared with the exiled strangers in Psalm 120 who dwell in "Kedar", a son of Ishmael who became a wild Arab tribe, "Mesech" was a territory in northern Turkey. Taken together they are representative of dishonest, warlike heathen. "Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue...My soul has long dwelt with him that hates peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war." Sound familiar? Psalm 122 is about arriving in the city of God: Vs. 1,2,9. Psalm 121, the main text of the sermon is about pilgrimage to the city, more specifically it is about the Pilgrim's Keeper. |