Psalm 121 – A Song of Steps

“Songs of Ascent” is the title given to fifteen of the Psalms (120-134) whose theme is drawing near to God on His holy hill for a tryst between heaven and earth.

In liturgical imagery, the worshipers ascend the steps of the mountain-altar of Eden as blameless “living sacrifices” that their praise might rise from there as a “smoky” tower to heaven, an ascension offering which is acceptable to God.¹For more discussion, see The First Ascension.

This act of ascending God’s altar on steps was forbidden (Exodus 20:26) because the nakedness of those who were ascending—their “private parts”—would be exposed to God. This alludes to the unworthiness of Adam and Eve, the fact that they were not invested with authority as God’s representatives, their subsequent expulsion from Eden, and the requirement of substitutionary sacrificial blood before they could draw near to God for fellowship.

The fifteen Songs of Ascent constitute two “matrix” cycles, the first of which includes Psalm 121.²For the second cycle, see The Final Ascent: Psalm 134. The theme of each psalm in the first cycle is represented in the following titles:

Setting Off To Bootcamp

Within this literary ziggurat, Psalm 121 exists as a smaller musical ziggurat, the second in the sequence. This means that its theme concerns Hierarchy and sanctification, that is, the setting apart of God’s people from the world in preparation for service, or in modern lingo, setting off to bootcamp. This helps us to understand the meaning of the Psalm, especially the first stanza. Moreover, as usual, each stanza is a covenant-literary ziggurat within the Psalm:

• In the first stanza, Israel is pictured as a new Egypt, a civilization that worships manifold gods. The placement of the “mountains” or “hills” in line 3 gives them a priestly connotation, and thus refers to the idolatrous high places in Israel.
• The psalmist separates himself from the syncretism of the idolaters of Israel through this public testimony of allegiance to Yahweh. This stanza reminds Israel that the true God is transcendent, and thus not limited to any locality.
• The “help” in line 5 alludes to the hosts of heaven (pictured as fragrant clouds) coming as the cavalry, and also to Adam’s helper, Eve the multiplier.

• The “Passover” stanza draws the worshiper into the veil of darkness, a place where the foot might slip. He who draws near to God must symbolically “die” before being “raised up” again for priestly service. This process is observed in the investiture of the prophets, who fall down as dead men before Yahweh. The sword that cuts off the generations of the wicked is not fatal for the princes of God who bear it.
• The Leviticus step is twofold, representing the Bronze Altar (Moriah) and the offering upon it (Isaac). Matching it in the chiasm, the Deuteronomy step responds with a double “legal” witness. In between them, Numbers brings the fiery Spirit of Pentecost, pictured as the Lampstand’s seven “open eyes.”

• This “firmament” of darkness is now revealed to be shelter under the glory cloud of God. The faithful, priestly submission of Israel to Yahweh would protect the nation from attacks by the kings of the earth, the rulers pictured by the sun, moon and stars. But when Israel bowed to the heavenly lights under her own kings (such as Manasseh), God gave them over to domination by earthly powers. Although the psalm is only fivefold, the sun and moon still appear at the center of the pattern as images of human rulers.
• This stanza works its way subtly through the Tabernacle. The meanings of lines 1 and 2 are obvious. Line 3 alludes to the ascended Lamb as the priest-king at God’s right hand (Revelation 4-5). The striking by earthly kings in line 5 alludes to the plagues for disobedience to the covenant—firstly the rule of unjust kings of Israel and then opportunistic invasions from surrounding Gentile rulers. In line 7, the subsequent, and ultimate, striking by demonic forces (such as in Matthew 17:15, where the demon-possessed boy with seizures is described by his father as “moon-struck”), is the final stage of cultural decay. Israel’s first-century torment under a curse of spiritual darkness was an inversion of the God-given rest of the Levitical lunar feasts. In spiritual terms, all corporate judgments are to some degree self-harm: the withdrawal of the Spirit of God leads to conflict within and vulnerability without.
• In line 7, the darkness of the cloud on the only true “high place,” the mountain of God (Exodus 40:34-38; Matthew 17:1-3), brings shelter to the godly but confusion to the wicked (Exodus 14:20; Judges 7:22).

• This step in the Covenant process concerns the blessings and curses meted out by God. It was at this point (Numbers) that the Egyptian-hearted generation of Israel was cut off by God in the wilderness.
• In terms of the quantum chiasm (general correspondence via common structure), this step is equivalent to the Day of Coverings (Atonement). Like Adam and Eve, instead of being dis-covered as naked, and exposed to the full penalty of the law, the believer is “covered” by God through faith in atoning blood. Another corresponding event is the faithfulness of Phinehas, who dis-covered and slew the idolaters/adulterers in their own tent, and was “covered” by God, invested with the Aaronic succession.
• Interestingly, these final two stanzas are only fivefold, which means they are future events in the mind of the psalmist, and conditional upon the faithfulness of the worshiper to God.

• The final stanza works through the fivefold covenant pattern, but with a “Deuteronomic” spin, an allusion to the final words of Moses to the sons of Israel before they inherited the territory and cities of Canaan which had been promised to them by God.
• The Hebrew word for “keep” has its final mention, and it is the word used to describe Adam’s priestly station in the Garden of Eden, the purpose of the flaming sword of the cherubim, and Cain’s shirked responsibility for his murdered brother. A keeper is a shepherd, and a true shepherd bears a sword to protect the sheep.

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