Why read Psalm 120?
Psalm 120 is a prayer for protection on journeys and through life's changes. Its trust in the Creator and His care over coming and going make it appropriate before a journey or a new stage of life.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 120 — «I lifted my eyes to the mountains, from...» — is the prayer through which the Psalmist places before God the experience of a whole hour of life. It belongs to the 18th Kathisma and has 8 verses, which you will find below in full.
The text of Psalm 120
1. I lifted my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come.
2. My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3. He will not let your foot be shaken, nor will the One who guards slumber.
4. Behold, the One who guards Israel will neither slumber nor fall asleep.
5. The Lord will guard you; the Lord is your covering at your right hand.
6. By day the sun will not burn you, nor the moon by night.
7. The Lord will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul.
8. The Lord will guard your coming in and your going out, from now and for ever.
When Psalm 120 is read
- Protection on a journey — «I lift my eyes to the mountains».
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
Read also
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
