Chapter One Hundred Twenty

Psalm 120 can be considered written by the Hebrews during the captivity: with the words of this psalm they prayed, having turned to Zion.

I constantly turn to my native mountains and look for help only from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth (1–2). Lord, your keeper does not slumber over you: He will preserve Israel from all evil, in all his deeds (3–8).

Psalm 120:1. I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come. Psalm 120:2. My help comes from the Lord, who created heaven and earth. A Hebrew in captivity raised his eyes in prayer to the mountains of his native Judea, and from there, from Zion, from God, the Creator and Lord of all the world, he waited for help for himself.

Psalm 120:3. He will not let your foot slip, He who guards you does not slumber; Psalm 120:4. He does not slumber nor sleep, He who keeps Israel. “He will not let your foot slip.” The writer encourages the praying and discouraged captive. He counsels not to waver in faith in God, not to despair in hope of salvation from captivity, since God watches over him, who will not let him perish.

Psalm 120:5. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. Psalm 120:6. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon at night. Psalm 120:7. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul [the Lord]. “The Lord will keep you from all misfortunes” – the sun will not burn you by day, and the moon will not [burn you] at night. The moon here is considered a source of the often burning cold of the night in the East (cf. Gen 31:40).

Psalm 120:8. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from now on and forever. “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in” – He will preserve Israel, wherever he may be – whether in his house or outside it. The entire psalm represents a prayer to God for encouragement during the captivity and for liberation from it. This psalm is used at the vigil, which has at the basis of its origin the parable of Jesus Christ about the Bridegroom who came at midnight and the ten virgins. This parable indicates the unexpectedness of the onset of the Last Judgment, which is why the Church impresses upon the faithful watchfulness over their conduct, constant prayer to God, and faith only in Him alone.