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Passage Research

Psalm 121 — Sermon Preparation

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.

Alexander MacLaren 2 Matthew Henry 1 Spurgeon 1 John Wesley 1

“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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Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on Psalm 121, delivered in 45 minutes.