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PSALM 121

A Song of degrees.

1. I lift up mine eyes to the mountains, whence comes my help.
2. My help is from jehovah, who has made heaven and earth.
3. He will not suffer your foot to be moved; your guardian will not slumber.
4. Behold the guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep,
5. jehovah will be your guardian; jehovah will be your shade upon your right hand.
6. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.
7. jehovah will guard you from all evil; he will guard your soul.
8. jehovah will guard your going out and your coming in, from this time forth even for ever.

Verse 1. I will lift up mine, eyes to the mountains, etc. Inasmuch as mountain signifies the good of love, and in the supreme sense the Divine good, and from Divine good proceeds Divine truth, therefore the mountain of Zion was above Jerusalem, and by the mountain of Zion in the Word is signified the church which is in the good of love to the lord, and by Jerusalem the church which is in truths from that good, or the church as to doctrine; on this account also Jerusalem is called the mountain of holiness, and likewise the hills, for by the mountain of holiness is signified spiritual good, which in its essence is truth from good, in like manner as by hill. AE 405.

Verses 3, 4, 5, 6. It is called the morning watch, because the night was divided into watches, of which the last of the night and the first of the day was the morning watch: the watchers were upon the walls, observing whether an enemy approached, and by a cry announcing what they saw; by them, in the internal representative sense, is meant the lord, and by watch his continual presence and protection, as in David, " Thy guardian, or watchman, will not slumber, behold the guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep; jehovah is your guardian." AC 8211.

Verse 6. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. By the sun is there meant the love of self, and by the moon the false principle thence derived; inasmuch as from that love is derived all evil, and the false principle derived from evil, therefore it is said that "jehovah will guard you from all evil, he shall guard your soul," for by soul is signified the life of truth. AE 401.

Verse 8. jehovah will guard your going out and your coming in, etc. To guard the coming in and going out denotes every thing of the life according to a state of good and of truth; wherefore to enter in and to go out denote to be led of the Lord as to every state of life; to enter into a house, to abide there, and thence go forth, denotes to enjoy heavenly consociation with those who receive the lord in faith and love; for in heaven, they who are together in one society, are also in one house, and enter in there and go out, for they are in similar good; but they who are in dissimilar, cannot do so; and if they enter in, they enter not through the doors, but some other way. AC 9927.