Psalm 120:5
everyone needs a bodyguard
The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand. (Psalm 120:5 DR)
Whenever we face adversity of some difficult challenge, it is almost always easier to do with someone else alongside. Even if there isn’t anything they can “do” in the situation, solidarity in and of itself is often enough to give us the fortitude to take on whatever may come our way. We as humans are not mean to be alone but find strength and perseverance when surrounded by others of like mind.
The Psalmist on his pilgrimage looks to the Lord for this solidarity and protection. Travel in the ancient world was fraught with peril, even over (to us) relatively short distances. Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan demonstrates this well; there was always danger from wild beasts, inclement weather and bandits. Yet despite these dangers he makes his ascent towards the holy city, confident in God’s ability to preserve him from all harm.
The language of right hand in the biblical texts is is laden with meaning. It often symbolizes strength, authority and blessing. Thus when Jesus’ says that his interlocutors will behold Him sitting at the right hand of the power of God (cf. Luke 22:69), they immediately understood what he was saying. The Psalmist elsewhere declares:
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I make thy enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 109:1 DR)
As the dialogue has shifted in the past couple verses, the pilgrim is himself being addressed. The idea that the Lord is his keeper is then poetically expanded by means of parallelism to the idea that God is the protection of his right hand. This is meant to convey that the protection provided is not merely an earthly one (such as from an escort of soldiers) but rather of God himself.
Such protection could be seen in two images. Firstly, that of something like a bodyguard who is always nearby and prepared to defend. Secondly in the sense of a shield that the right hand holds. The first is probably more likely as to hold a shield with the right hand in the ancient world would have been unusual, but the second may come into play in the following verse.
The important aspect of this is found within the context of this verse. The pilgrim Psalmist is travelling to the holy city, making his ascent to the temple so as to render worship to God. This can be understood as framing the understanding of this protection since it is not that God is protecting him because he his something special or has some special claim to it, but rather that this journey towards the holy city is within God’s will. The Psalm begins by invoking God’s help as he journeys towards the holy city, and when the dialogue shifts that help is provided as he is on that journey. His will has aligned with God’s will as he seeks to obey the commandments of the Lord, and thus can be assured of God’s protection and aid. This is a common theme in the Psalms, perhaps nowhere more poignantly than the beginning of Psalm 90:
He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in Him will I trust. For He hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word. He will overshadow you with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust. (Psalm 90:1-4 DR)
As we journey towards the heavenly city, we can have confidence that our Lord is with us in all adversity as we abide in His will and follow his commandments as our Lord said:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me… If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you… If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love. (John 15:4, 7, 10 DR)
I wanted to play around with Shadow Studio 3 again for this animation, so I typed out the text and a simple box around that text and precomped it. Inside that precomp I added some wiggle hold to the position and rotation of all the items. Back in the main composition I added the plugin to the precomp and adjusted the parameters to get something that I liked. Finally I linked the source point to a Null and adding a looping wiggle expression tot he position to randomize the camera position.
Pretty simple but I like it.
Enjoy.
The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand.
(Psalm 120:5 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: