STEP THREE: Explore the Bible Passage

Explain that Psalm 121 was written about the journey itself, one that for many travelers would have taken multiple days to complete, was physically demanding, and fraught with dangers.

Read verses 1-2. Ask:

• What do you think it meant that the psalmist was looking to the hills? (That the psalmist was looking ahead at the difficult and dangerous area he would have to cross.) Point out that, in that moment, the psalmist wondered who would keep him safe during the journey.
• In verse 2, how did the psalmist answer his own question?
• Why could he be confident that God would be able to do that? (Because God is the Creator of the entire world and universe; since He has the power to create everything, God also has the power to protect His creation.)

Read verses 3-4. Ask:

• What is a “guardian”? (Someone who has responsibility for taking care/meeting needs of someone else)
• What evidence did the psalmist give that God was his Guardian? (God would not let his foot be moved; He protected him while on the journey; God keeps watch over His people and never takes His eyes off them; God never sleeps.)

Emphasize that Yahweh is always available, always watching, and always ready to “help.”

Read verses 5-6. Ask:

• What additional ways are given in these verses that God is Guardian over the world? (Provides shade against the hot, dry sun; casts His own shadow under which His people will be safe.)

Read verses 7-8. Ask:

• What three sentences did the psalmist used to explain how God would “keep” His people safe? (He protects individually; He protects against evil; and He will protect now and forever.)
• What time periods are listed in these verses? (Daily; the present; the future) What does this tell you about God?
• What exactly did the psalmist say about the future? (That the future will last forever without ceasing; that God’s protection will continue into the future and would last forever.)

Share that, from the words of the Psalmist, we can tell that prayer was a part of his life. Say: He didn’t pray because the journey was getting tough. He prayed because he depended upon the strength of Lord for the journey. He pursued prayer with the Lord. Share that Martin Luther wrote of his understanding of this dependence upon God in prayer: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”