Psalms 121:3

3. It is maintained by some grammarians that the negative particle ’al “sometimes expresses merely the subjective feeling and sympathy of the speaker with the act” (Davidson, Syntax, § 128, R. 2), and consequently the rendering of the A.V. is retained in the R.V. Psa_121:4 will then repeat the ‘subjective feeling’ of Psa_121:3 as a categorical assertion. But here at any rate it is preferable, with R.V. marg., to retain the usual deprecative meaning of ’al; May he not suffer thy foot to be moved; may he that keepeth thee not slumber! and in Psa_121:4 the speaker as it were corrects himself, or possibly another speaker chimes in: ‘Nay, there is no need for such a prayer, for Israel’s keeper never sleeps.’ Israel’s watchman is not like a human sentinel, liable to be overcome by sleep upon his watch; He is not such as the heathen suppose their gods to be (1Ki_18:27), but unceasing in His vigilance. He that keepeth Israel may be an allusion to Gen_28:15.

3, 4. It is possible to suppose that the speaker of Psa_121:1-2. addresses himself, but it is more natural to hear in these verses the voice of another speaker, answering the first with words of encouragement.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Ver. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved] Not greatly moved, Psa 62:2, an utter prolapsion.

He that keepeth thee will not slumber] And if King Philip could say that he could sleep securely because his friend Antipater watched by him, may not we be much more confident who have God to keep us?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_121:3

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved

Any of you who have tried to climb the hills know that that is just the great danger of it. One slip, and you may go sheer down hundreds of feet, and be dashed to pieces. Do we not use this expression to cover the idea of safety? We talk about the sure-footed guide, and the sure-footed mountaineer, the man of keen eye and cool nerve, and of muscles like iron all over his body; a man who can be depended on. If he gets a foothold for his foot, he will put his foot there, and keep it there, until he gets another as good. So is the Christian. Why, in one sense, we are engaged in a perilous journey. We are going up. We are climbing. To brace yourself to climb the Matterhorn is a small thing compared with this girding of your mind to be sober and climbing right up from hell to heaven. And that is the climb for every one of us. (John McNeill)

The Christians stability

The North Pole is perpetually roving within the limits of a circle sixty feet in diameter. What is the North Pole to-day is not the North Pole to-morrow. The true North Pole has been known to travel more than four feet in a week, while sometimes it has required more than a month to cover a yard. Suppose that you and I were to sail from opposite points to discover this turning-point. We will say that you, with your astronomical instruments, planted your flag upon the exact North Pole six months ago, and then went away. I, arriving to-day, make equally accurate calculations and plant my flag also upon the true North Pole. My flag is probably forty feet from yours, yet neither of us is in error. To-morrow the elusive little tip-top of the earth will have slipped away from both of us. And if I were to claim a building site the corner-stone of which was marked by this North Pole, a strange predicament would follow. I should have to place my fences upon castors, and keep them continually moving in order to mark strictly my own reservation. So it is with too many Christian lives. Want of stability in the Christian faith and life is one of the great--one might say the greatest--hindrances to the true development of Christianity among us. We are constantly veering round in our faith and life, following the latest new belief, accepting every modern faith, or doubting some established Christian doctrine. Let us be more stable in our religion. (Signal.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 121:3-8. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved — To wit, so as to fall into mischief. He speaks, as it were, from God to himself, but, withal, to the encouragement of all good men. He that keepeth thee will not slumber — Will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand — Both to refresh thee, and keep thee from the burning heat of the sun. In those countries where the heat of the sun was intolerable, shady places were esteemed not only very refreshing, but likewise salutary, and necessary to the preservation of health and life. When, therefore, the psalmist styles God his shade, he means that he protected him from danger, and refreshed him with comforts. The sun shall not smite thee by day — With excessive heat; nor the moon by night — With that cold and damp which come into the air by it. Intemperate heats and colds are the springs of many diseases. And, “as the heat of the sun by day, so the copious dews, which fall most abundantly in the moonshine, were very pernicious in those countries.” The sense is, He shall protect thee from all evils, both day and night. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in — Shall guard and assist thee in all thy expeditions, journeys, and affairs, both at home and abroad; from this time forth, and even for evermore — He will be thy guide even unto death, and then bring thee to his heavenly kingdom. God will protect his church and his saints always, even to the end of the world; the Spirit, which is their preserver and comforter, shall abide with them for ever.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. (Psa 121:3) May he not suffer to be moved thy foot; may he not slumber—thy keeper. This is the expression of a wish, the only sense consistent with the form of the orignal. Let him not give up to moving thy foot. See above, Psa 38:16; Psa 66:8. The figure is peculiarly appropriate in the mouth of pilgrims, making their way among the hills and rocks of Palestine. The same thing is true of the figures in the subsequent verses.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He showeth that God’s providence not only watcheth over his Church in general: but also over every member thereof.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved] The foundation, God's infinite power and goodness, on which thou standest, cannot be moved; and whilst thou standest on this basis, thy foot cannot be moved.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to stumble. Here the Prophet, in order to recall the faithful to the right path, and to defeat the influence of all the allurements which are wont to distract their minds, affirms that whatever advantages worldly men are accustomed to desire or hope for from the world, true believers will find abundantly and at hand in God alone. He not only attributes power to God, but also teaches that He is so affectioned towards us, that he will preserve us in all respects in perfect safety. As often as the power of God is extolled, there are many who immediately reply, It is very true that he can do such and such things if he is so inclined, but we do not certainly know what is his intention. In this passage, therefore, God is exhibited to the faithful as their guardian, that they may rest with assured confidence on his providence. As the Epicureans, in imagining that God has no care whatever about the world, extinguish all piety, so those who think that the world is governed by God only in a general and confused manner, and believe not that he cherishes with special care each of his believing people, leave men’s minds in suspense, and are themselves kept in a state of constant fluctuation and anxiety. In short, never will the hearts of men be led in good earnest to call upon God, until a persuasion of the truth of this guardianship is deeply fixed in their minds. The Psalmist declares that the purpose for which God is our keeper, is, that he may hold us up. The Hebrew word, מוט, mot, which is here used, signifies both a sliding or falling, and a trembling or staggering. Now, although it often happens that the faithful stagger, yea, are even ready to fall altogether, yet as God sustains them by his power, they are said to stand upright. And as amidst the many dangers which every moment threaten us, it is difficult for us to get rid of all anxiety and fear, the Prophet at the same time testifies, that God keeps watch unceasingly over our safety.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(3) He will not.—The LXX. and Vulg. rightly, “may He not suffer,” &c. The Hebrew cannot be a simple negative. That it is Israel which is addressed the next verse seems to prove.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. He that kept Israel or Jacob, when asleep, and appeared to him in a dream, and promised to keep him in all places, and did; who found his posterity in the wilderness, and kept them as the apple of his eye: he keeps his spiritual Israel, whom he has chosen, redeemed, and calls; and he that is in general their keeper, is the keeper of every particular believer, who may promise themselves the utmost safety under his care; since, though he may sometimes seem to sleep, when he withdraws his gracious presence, defers help, and does not arise so soon to the assistance of his people as they wish for and expect; yet does not in reality sleep, nor is any ways negligent of them; no, not so much as slumber, nor is in the least indifferent about them, and careless of them; see Gen 28:15. So Homer (k) represents Jupiter as not held by sleep, while other gods and men slept all night; and hence Milton (l) has the phrase of "the unsleeping eyes of God": but the Phrygians had a notion that their god slept in winter, and was awake in summer (m).

(k) Iliad. 2. v. 1, 2. (l) Paradise Lost, B. 5. v. 647. (m) Plutarch. de Iside & Osir. prope finem.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved - He will enable you to stand firm. You are safe in his protection. Compare the notes at Psa 38:16. This, with the remainder of the psalm, seems to be of the nature of an answer to the anxious question in Psa 121:1 - an answer which the author of the psalm, in danger and trouble, makes to his own soul, imparting confidence to himself.

He that keepeth thee will not slumber - He will be ever watchful and wakeful. Compare Isa 27:3. All creatures, as far as we know, sleep; God never sleeps. Compare Psa 139:11-12. His eyes are upon us by day, and in the darkness of the night - the night literally; and also the night of calamity, woe, and sorrow.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He speaketh as it were from God to himself, but withal to the encouragement of his followers and of all good men.

To be moved, to wit, so as fall into mischief.

Will not slumber; will not overlook nor neglect any thing which is necessary for thy preservation.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. Though the paths of life are dangerous and difficult, yet we shall stand fast, for Jehovah will not permit our feet to slide; and if he will not suffer it we shall not suffer it. If our foot will be thus kept we may be sure that our head and heart will be preserved also. In the original the words express a wish or prayer, "May he not suffer thy foot to be moved." Promised preservation should be the subject of perpetual prayer; and we may pray believing; for those who have God for their keeper shall be safe from all the perils of the way. Among the hills and ravines of Palestine the literal keeping of tim feet is a great mercy; but in the slippery ways of a tried and afflicted life, the boon of upholding is of priceless value, for a single false step might cause us a fall fraught with awful danger. To stand erect and pursue the even tenor of our way is a blessing which only God can give, which is worthy of the divine hand, and worthy also of perennial gratitude. Our feet shall move in progress, but they shall not be moved to their overthrow.

He that keepeth thee will not slumber, or "thy keeper shall not slumber". We should not stand a moment if our keeper were to sleep; we need him by day and by night; not a single step can be safely taken except under his guardian eye. This is a choice stanza in a pilgrim song. God is the convoy and body guard of his saints. When dangers are awake around us we are safe, for our Preserver is awake also, and will not permit us to be taken unawares. No fatigue or exhaustion can cast our God into sleep; his watchful eyes are never closed.

Ver. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. The sliding of the foot is a frequent description of misfortune, for example, Ps 38:16, Ps 66:9, and a very natural one in mountainous Canaan. Where a single slip of the foot was often attended with great danger. The language here naturally refers to complete, lasting misfortune. E.W. Hengstenberg.

Ver. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. A man cannot go without moving of his feet; and a man cannot stand whose feet are moved. The foot by a synechdoche is put for the whole body, and the body for the whole outward estate; so that, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved", is, he will not suffer thee or thine to be moved or violently cast down. The power of thine opposers shall not prevail over thee, for the power of God sustains thee. Many are striking at thy heels, but they cannot strike them up while God holds thee up. If the will of thine enemies might stand, thou shouldest quickly fall; but God "will not suffer thy foot to be moved". Joseph Caryl.

Ver. 3-8. There is something very striking in the assurance that the Lord with not suffer the foot even of the most faint and wearied one to be moved. The everlasting mountains stand fast, and we feel as if, like Mount Zion, they could not be removed for ever; but the step of manhow feeble in itself, how liable to stumble or trip even against a pebble in the way! Yet that foot is as firm and immoveable in God's protection as the hills themselves. It is one of his own sweet promises, that he will give his angels charge over every child Of his, that lie come to no harm by the way. But, oh, how immeasurably beyond even the untiring wings of angels is the love promised here! that love which engages to protect from every danger, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. In the hours of occupation and hurry, in the conflicts and perils of the day, in the helplessness of sleep, in the glare and heat of the noonday, amid the damps and dews of night, that wakeful eye is still over every child for his good. Man, indeed, goeth forth to his work and to his labour till the evening; but alike as he goes forth in the morning, and as he returns in the evening, the Lord still holds him up in all his goings forth and his comings in; no manner of evil shall befall him. And oh! what a sweet addition is it to the promise, "He shall preserve thy soul". It is the very argument of the apostle, and the very inference he draws, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry", "He neither slumbereth nor sleepeth", and then he asks, "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" From the very dawn of life to its latest close, even for evermore, "He will preserve thee from all evil; he will preserve thy soul." Barton Bouchier.

Ver. 3,4,5. A great practical difficulty is to find a keeper who will remain awake during the whole night. The weariness of those who keen a faithful watch, and their longing for day during the tedious lonely hours of darkness, is alluded to in a graphic and beautiful figure of the Psalmist

"My soul waiteth for the Lord

More than keepers for the morning,

More than keepers for the morning."

The usual method adopted to secure due vigilance is to require the man to call out loudly, or to blow a whistle, every quarter of an hour... Yet, notwithstanding all precautions, as soon as sleep falls on the tired camp, it is too often the case that the hireling keeper lies down on the ground, wraps around him his thick "abaiyeh", or cloak, and, careless of his charge, or overcome with weariness yields himself up to his drowsy propensities.

Viewed in the light of these facts, how full of condescension and cheer is the assurance of God's never ceasing care

"He who keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he who keepeth Israel

Doth not slumber or sleep.

Jehovah is thy keeper."

While the services of the keeper constitute at all times a marked feature of life in Palestine, they are perhaps more needed when travelling through the country than at any other time. Then, when the moving camp is nightly pitched in strange fields, it becomes absolutely necessary to apply to the nearest authorities for a nocturnal guardian, before one can safely lie down to rest. Now this Psalm 121 being one of "the Songs of Degrees, "was probably composed to be sung on the way to Jerusalem, as a pilgrim hymn, when the Israelites were coming up annually to keep the three great feasts. As a journeying psalm, it would therefore have peculiar significance in its allusion to the keeper by night. James Neil, in "Palestine Explored", 1882.

Ver. 3,4. When one asked Alexander how he could sleep so soundly and securely in the midst of danger, he told him that Parmenlo watched, Oh, how securely may they sleep over whom he watcheth that never slumbers nor sleeps! From "The Dictionary of Illustrations", 1873.

Ver. 3,4. A poor woman, as the Eastern story has it, came to the Sultan one day, and asked compensation for the loss of some property. "How did you lose it?" said the monarch. "I fell asleep", was the reply, "and a robber entered my dwelling". "Why did you fall asleep?" "I fell asleep because I believed that you were awake". The Sultan was so much delighted with the answer of the woman, that he ordered her loss to be made up. But what is true, only by a legal fiction, of human governments, that they never sleep is true in the most absolute sense with reference to the divine government. We can sleep in safety because our God is ever awake. We are safe because he never slumbers. Jacob had a beautiful picture of the ceaseless care of Divine Providence on the night when he fled from his father's house. The lonely traveller slept on the ground, with the stones for his pillow, and the sky for his canopy. He had a wondrous vision of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, and on which angels were seen ascending and descending. And he heard Jehovah saying to him, "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest." N. McMichael.

Ver. 3 (First clause). The preservation of saintly character the care of the Creator.

Ver. 3. Comfort for a pilgrim along the 'mauvais pas' of life. We have a Guide omniscient, omnipotent, never slumbering, unchanging.

Ver. 3. He that keepeth thee will not slumber.

1. The Lord's care is personal in its objects. The keeper of Israel is the keeper of the individual. God deals with us individually.

(a) This is implied in his care of the church, which is

composed of individuals.

(b) It is involved in the nature of our religion, which

is a personal thing.

(c) It is affirmed in Scripture. Examples; promises;

experiences. "He loved me, "etc., etc.

(d) It is confirmed by experience.

2. The Lord's care is unwearied in its exercise: "Will not slumber."

(a) He is never unacquainted with our condition.

(b) He is never indifferent to it.

(c) He is never weary of helping us. We sometimes think

he sleeps, but this is our folly.

Frederick J. Benskin, of Reading, 1882.

Psalms 121:4*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Thy foot to be moved—The word “moved” may signify to slip, slide, or to tremble, totter, or even to fall. An insecure foot-hold is a casualty specially incident to the pilgrim on a long journey, and is an emblem of disaster and defeat. Psa_38:16; Psa_94:18. The statement is equal to saying, that God would give to the true pilgrim a prosperous journey.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. The psalmist addresses himself with consolatory assurances. God will not allow any evil to approach him, so as to do him hurt. He that keepeth thee will not slumber. God does not sleep his vigilance is unceasing. (comp. Isa_27:3)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

There is a shift here to the second person. This may mean 1) the writer begins speaking to the people of Israel or 2) the writer is quoting another person speaking to the writer. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

your foot to slip

The slipping of a foot is associated with falling. AT: "you to fall" (See: Metonymy)

he who protects ... the guardian

These two phrases means the same thing, and emphasize God's role as a protector. (See: Parallelism)

he who protects you will not slumber

Here to "slumber" means he would stop protecting. The negative form strengthens the statement. AT: "God will not fall asleep and stop protecting you" or "God will always protect you" (See: Metonymy and Double Negatives)

will not slumber ... never slumbers or sleeps

These two phrases have similar meanings. The second one strengthens the thought in the first. (See: Parallelism)

See

This word alerts us to pay attention to the important information that follows.

never slumbers or sleeps

These two words mean the same thing. Here to "slumber" means to stop protecting. The negative form strengthens the statement. AT: "will not sleep and stop protecting you" or "will always protect you" (See: Doublet and Metonymy and Double Negatives)

translationWords

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.