What does Psalm 121:2 mean?

In this verse the psalmist answers the question he raised in verse 1 (Psalm 121:1). This passage was used by travelers on their way to Jerusalem. That journey could be dangerous, as bandits or other hostile men might hide in the hills to attack vulnerable pilgrims. The ultimate source of confidence, in any such situation, is God.

The psalmist describes the Lord as the creator of heaven and earth. Not all people of Israel were faithful to that truth. Some worshiped false gods and built shrines on the high places in the hills. For example, King Ahaz of Judah sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills (2 Kings 16:1, 4). The psalmist worshiped the true God and recognized that He had created everything in heaven and on earth. There was no reason to fear anything because such a powerful God was his helper.

The Bible acknowledges that God does not absolutely guarantee our safety in earthly life (Psalm 22:12–18; 25:16; John 16:33). Yet our omniscient and loving heavenly Father watches over us, all the same. Nothing that happens is outside His control or His knowledge. Therefore, we have nothing to fear. In Genesis 18:14, when Sarah laughed at the announcement that she would bear a child, the Lord asked Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" And in Luke 1:37, when the angel Gabriel told Mary, a virgin, that she would give birth to the Son of God and that her barren cousin Elizabeth would give birth in her old age, he explained, "For nothing will be impossible with God."