SUMMARY
God is a sure protector in times and places of danger.
ANALYSIS
This is one of the songs of ascents, perhaps sung as the pilgrims journeyed to the templeThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More for festival worship. Several images suggest travel: the hills, where danger may lurk (v. 1); the fierce heat of the Palestinian sun (v. 6); the many uncertainties of the night (v. 6); the “going out and coming in” (v. 8)–though this can also refer to any human undertaking (Deuteronomy 28:6). The reference to being “moonstruck” (v. 6) may reflect the notion that the moon (or moon god) can have negative effects on people, but that is not certain.
Certain is that, in all things, God “keeps Israel” (vv. 4, 5, 7, 8), a very important word in the psalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More. To “keep” is also to “watch over” (same Hebrew word), which the psalm promises that God will do always and forever–not that believers are protected from all worldly harm, but that finally, with God, nothing can “strike” you. Though sometimes, given present difficulties, it may seem to the pray-er that God is asleep (Psalm 44:23), this psalm reassures the hearer that this is never actually true. The Lord is always on watch.
Another strong, yet gentle, image is God as “shade” (v. 5). Shade is nothing (it can’t be bottled or weighed), yet it is everything, especially when the sun is hot. God, too, is Israel’s invisible keeper, whose presence is a matter of life and death.
