Where My Help Comes From
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 18-19; Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
—Psalm 121:1
There is a common and understandable misreading of this verse. At first glance, it seems the psalmist is saying he’s looking up to the Lord for help when he says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills.” That assumption makes sense. It’s a beautifully poetic line, and it appears to parallel the next: “My help comes from the Lord...”
But in light of the historical context, it may mean the opposite.
Psalm 121 is one of the Songs of Ascent—psalms sung by pilgrims as they journeyed up to Jerusalem for the great feasts. Along the way, they would pass through hill country, places known for hidden dangers. Wild animals roamed there. Bandits often used the hills for ambushes. So one plausible interpretation is this: the psalmist is looking at the hills, seeing the threats, and asking, “Where can I find help for what lies ahead?”
There’s a second possibility. In the ancient world, hilltops were often centers of idol worship. This continued in Israel long after God forbade it. In fact, the phrase “high places” in the Old Testament almost always refers to places of false worship. I once climbed a hill in India and, at the top, found pottery shards and pennant-topped rods—signs of idol worship. Something similar likely occurred in Israel. The psalmist may be saying, “I see the hills—and the idols people trust in. But my help doesn’t come from there.”
Whichever interpretation you choose, the conclusion is the same: the hills—whether dangerous or idolatrous—are not where our help comes from. The Lord is. He made the hills. He made everything.
So whatever you’re facing in life, remind yourself where your help truly comes from. Not from the hills. Not from false hopes. Not from self-reliance. But from the Lord—the Maker of heaven and earth. As the psalm goes on to say:
“He who keeps you will not slumber...The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
Amen.
