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Lent · Second Sunday in Lent · Year A

Psalm 121

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills

March 1, 2026

Looking Down Yosemite Valley, Albert Bierstadt
Looking Down Yosemite Valley, Albert Bierstadt, 1865Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
Painted the year the Civil War ended, with the valley filled by light coming straight down it and the cliffs reduced almost to silhouettes.I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where will my help come?Albert BierstadtA German-American painter of the far West on a theatrical scale, who travelled with survey expeditions and sold the results as spectacle.Birmingham Museum of Art, AlabamaAn Alabama museum, free to enter, with a notable collection of Asian and Native American art alongside European painting.Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelJohn 3:1-17Jn 3:1-17
EpistleRom. 4:1-8, 13-17Rom 4:1-8, 13-17
Old TestamentGen. 12:1-9Gn 12:1-9
PsalterPs. 121Ps 121

Overview & Insights

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

Among the psalms of ascent, hints of pilgrimage are particularly evident in this psalm. Mention of one’s “foot slipping” and “your coming and going” point to travel. The journeys to and from Jerusalem were made through hills and under “the sun . . . by day” and “the moon by night.”

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Commentary

Psalm 121 - Enduring Word Bible CommentaryPs 121 - Enduring Word Bible Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik on the help that comes from the Lord who keeps and does not slumber.

Commentary on Psalm 121Commentary on Ps 121 Working Preacher

The appointed Lent 2 psalm read as a song of ascents trusting the Lord's constant keeping.

Psalm 121 ResourcesPs 121 Resources Precept Austin

Verse-level notes and word studies on lifting the eyes to the hills and the keeper of Israel.

Psalm 121:1 CommentariesPs 121:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentators gathered on where help comes from for the pilgrim.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 121:1 InterlinearPs 121:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew text with parsing for the words help, keep, and slumber.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 121 commentary from the Church FathersPs 121 commentary from the Church Fathers Catena

Patristic readings of the pilgrim song of the Lord's protection.

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