He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
 nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life. The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121 ESV

Aren’t we all travelers, pilgrims on a journey? Psalms 120-134 are referred to as the “Songs of Ascent” or the “Pilgrim Psalms”. They were sung by those who journeyed along the road to Jerusalem as the faithful made their pilgrimage to the temple for three annual feasts.

These verses, beginning with Psalm 120, take the reader on a quest to draw closer to God, not just physically, but also in their knowledge of Him and His attributes. They are sequential and build toward a final blessing in the closing verse of Psalm 134:

“May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.”

Receive this blessing from the rich heritage of pilgrims who have gone before you and ask God how these words can draw you closer to Him as we begin preparation for Advent.