Passage Research
Psalm 121 — Sermon Preparation
A song of trust in which the pilgrim looks toward the hills and affirms that the sleepless LORD will guard every coming and going forever. Below is a research summary for Psalm 121, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 8
- verses
- 56 / 41
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 5
- classic sermon excerpts
- 4
- preachers & commentators
Psalm 121 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמַר | shâmar | H8104 | 6 | hedge, guard |
| נוּם | nûwm | H5123 | 2 | slumber |
| עֵזֶר | ʻêzer | H5828 | 2 | aid |
| יָרֵחַ | yârêach | H3394 | 1 | moon |
| יָשֵׁן | yâshên | H3462 | 1 | be slack, languid |
| מוֹט | môwṭ | H4132 | 1 | wavering, fall |
| מַעֲלָה | maʻălâh | H4609 | 1 | elevation, journey |
How preachers through history handled this text
5 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 121, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“Some call this the soldier's psalm, and think it was penned in the camp, when David was hazarding his life in the high places of the field, and thus trusted God to cover his head in the day of battle. Others call it the traveller's psalm (for there is nothing in it of military dangers) and think David penned it when he was going abroad, and designed it pro vehiculo--for the carriage, for a good man's convoy and companion in a journey or voyage. But we need not thus appropriate it; …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 121:1–30 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Jerusalem— Ps 121:1
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