“...Let them "lift up their eyes to the hills whence cometh their help" [Psalm 121:1]. What meaneth, The hills have been lightened? The San of righteousness hath already risen, the Gospel hath been already preached by the Apostles, the Scriptures have been preached, all the mysteries have been laid open, the veil hath been rent, the secret place of the temple hath been revealed: let them now at length lift their eyes up to the hills, whence their help cometh..."Of His fulness have all we received," [John 1:16] he saith. Thy help therefore is from Him, of whose fulness the hills received, not from the hills; towards which, nevertheless, save thou lift thine eyes through the Scriptures, thou wilt not approach, so as to be lighted by Him.”

“When he says, "I lifted up," he shows that he had advanced to a certain contemplation. Lifting up is bringing something to higher levels. "My eyes" refers to the sight of the heart. The following has been written about them: "Unveil my eyes and I will consider marvelous things from your law" and "The commandment of the Lord is clear, illuminating the eyes." If you were to turn those eyes of flesh, what good would it have been if he had chosen to see mountains situated among forests or rough rocks? But if you were to investigate this matter spiritually, it is altogether beneficial that he be believed to have lifted the eyes of his heart either to holy men or to the divine books or to lofty angels. They are truly mountains in their size and solidity. If he sought help from them, he was sustained. But lest we should perhaps put our hope in the mountains previously spoken about, the second verse shows whence truly our help can come: the one arranging all things in a salutary order. Thus, insofar as there is hope in the mountains, it is nonetheless so that we may know that the Lord offers help to us through them. It is the Lord from whom are the needed kindness and salvific protection and unshaken happiness, as the apostle says: "Neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth." And lest you might think that there is another Lord, since this word is equivocable, he says, "[the Lord] who made heaven and earth," meaning the Word, through whom all things were made.”

“(A song for ascents The simple meaning is that when the Levites began to ascend the steps, they recited this song. Although this song is not written first, there is no chronological sequence.) (In other books I found:) A song for ascents [The Psalmist] alludes, in the second psalm, to the steps that ascend for the righteous in the future from beneath the tree of life to the Throne of Glory, as we learned in Sifrei (Ekev 47): “It does not say here, ‘A song of ascents’ but, ‘A song for ascents’; a song for the One Who is destined to make ascents for the righteous in the future.” This is what the Kalir established (in the concluding poem of the morning service for the second day of Succoth, which was composed by Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Simon the son of Yochai in Chagigah, chapter “We may not expound,” see there): “And from beneath them thirty steps, one above the other until the Throne of Glory, flying and ascending with the pleasant speech of the song of ascents.””

“The Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, God always, man for our sake, having become what he made—I mean, he became man, having made humankind—says to the Father, "I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth." "You are my Father, Lord of heaven and earth"; Father of the one through whom all things were made. The whole of creation, you see, is briefly unfolded in these two words, heaven and earth. That is why it says in the first book of God's Scriptures, "In the beginning, God made heaven and earth"12; and also, "My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." But by the word heaven is to be understood whatever is in the heavens, and by the word earth whatever is on the earth; so by naming these two parts of creation, you do not leave out a single creature, because it is either here, or it is there.”

“Sing therefore what follows; if you wish to hear how you may most securely set your feet on the steps, so that you may not be fatigued in that ascent, nor stumble and fall: pray in these words: "Suffer not my foot to be moved!" [Psalm 121:3]. Whereby are feet moved; whereby was the foot of him who was in Paradise moved? But first consider whereby the feet of him who was among the Angels were moved: who when his feet were moved fell, and from an Angel became a devil: for when his feet were moved he fell. Seek whereby he fell: he fell through pride. Nothing then moves the feet, save pride: nothing moves the feet to a fall, save pride. Charity moves them to walk and to improve and to ascend; pride moves them to fall...Rightly therefore the Psalmist, hearing how he may ascend and may not fall, prays unto God that he may profit from the vale of misery, and may not fail in the swelling of pride, in these words, "Suffer not my feet to be moved!" And He replies unto him, "Let him that keeps you not sleep." Attend, my beloved. It is as if one thought were expressed in two sentences; the man while ascending and singing "the song of degrees," says, "Suffer not my foot to be moved:" and it is as if God answered, You say unto Me, Let not my feet be moved: say also, "Let Him that keeps you not sleep," and your foot shall not be moved.”

“We attribute to God, as it were, every state that corresponds to our circumstances. For this reason, when we are half asleep and behaving slothfully, God, since he judges us unworthy of his observant watchfulness over us, is said to be asleep. But, when, after noticing at some time the harm that comes from his sleeping, we shall say, "Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord?" "Behold, he shall neither slumber nor sleep at that time, that keeps Israel." Some others, as it were, turn their eyes away from God because of their shameful deeds and their acts unworthy of the eyes of God. These, on repenting, say, "Why do you turn your face away?" Besides these, there are others who have cast out the memory of God and, as it were, are producing in him forgetfulness of themselves, and these say, "Why do you forget our want and our trouble?" In a word, people do the very things that are humanly spoken about God, making God behave in ways appropriate to the manner in which they have been made. Therefore, "I will extol you, O Lord, for you have upheld me; and you have not made my enemies to rejoice over me." And I will suffer nothing low or abject in my life.”

“[Daniel 4:13-14] "'And behold, a watchman and a holy one descended from heaven, and he cried out with a loud voice and spoke as follows: 'Cut down the tree and chop off its branches...'" Instead of "watchman" Theodotion uses the Chaldee word itself, hir, which is written with the three letters 'ayin, yodh, and resh. But it signifies the angels, because they ever keep watch and are prepared to carry out God's command. And so we too follow the example of the angels in their duties when we engage in frequent night-long vigils. Also it is said of the Lord: "He who keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). Lastly, we read a little later:”

“Choose for yourself Him, who will neither sleep nor slumber, and your foot shall not be moved. God is never asleep: if you dost wish to have a keeper who never sleeps, choose God for your keeper. "Suffer not my feet to be moved," you say, well, very well: but He also says unto you, "Let not him that keeps you slumber." Thou perhaps wast about to turn yourself unto men as your keepers, and to say, whom shall I find who will not sleep? What man will not slumber? Whom do I find? Whither shall I go? Whither shall I return? The Psalmist tells you: "He that keeps Israel, shall neither slumber nor sleep" [Psalm 121:4]. Do you wish to have a keeper who neither slumbers nor sleeps? Behold, "He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep:" for Christ keeps Israel. Be thou then Israel. What means Israel? It is interpreted, Seeing God. And how is God seen? First by faith: afterwards by sight. If you can not as yet see Him by sight, see Him by faith...Who is there, who will neither slumber nor sleep? When you seek among men, you are deceived; you will never find one. Trust not then in any man: every man slumbers, and will sleep. When does he slumber? When he bears the flesh of weakness. When will he sleep? When he is dead. Trust not then in man. A mortal may slumber, he sleeps in death. Seek not a keeper among men.”

“Regarding the divine nature the prophet David says, "Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." But the narrative of the Evangelist describes the Master Christ as sleeping in the boat. Now not sleeping and being asleep are two contrary ideas, so the prophet contradicts the Gospels if, as they argue, the Master Christ was God alone. There is no contradiction, for both prophecies and Gospels flow from one and the same spirit. The Master Christ therefore had a body, akin to all other bodies, affected by the need of sleep. So the argument for the confusion is proved a fable.Regarding the divine nature the prophet Isaiah said, "He shall neither be hungry nor weary" and so on. But the Evangelist says, "Jesus, being weary with his journey, sat thus by the well";23 and "shall not be weary" is contrary to "being weary." Therefore the prophecy is contrary to the narrative of the Gospels. But they are not contrary, for both are descriptive of one God. Not being weary is proper to the uncircumscribed nature that fills all things. But moving from place to place is proper to the circumscribed nature. When that which moves is constrained to travel, it is subject to the weariness of the wayfarer. Therefore what walked and was weary was a body, for the union did not confound the natures.”

“Let us now come to this verse of the Psalm: "The Lord is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand" [Psalm 121:5]. By hand he meaneth power. How do we prove this? Because the power of God also is styled the hand of God...Whereof John saith, "He gave unto them power to become the sons of God." [John 1:12] Whence hast thou received this power? "To them," he saith, "that believe in His Name." If then thou believest, this very power is given thee, to be among the sons of God. But to be among the sons of God, is to belong to the right hand. Thy faith therefore is the hand of thy right hand: that is, the power that is given thee, to be among the sons of God, is the hand of thy right hand...”

“"May the Lord shield thee upon the hand of thy right hand" (ver. 6). I have said, and I believe ye have recognised it. For had ye not recognised it, and that from the Scriptures, ye would not signify your understanding of it by your voices. Since then ye have understood, brethren, consider what followeth; wherefore the Lord shieldeth thee "upon the hand of thy right hand," that is, in thy faith, wherein we have received "power to become the sons of God," and to be on His right hand: wherefore should God shield us? On account of offences. Whence come offences? Offences are to be feared from two quarters, for there are two precepts upon which the whole Law hangeth and the Prophets, the love of God and of our neighbour. The Church is loved for the sake of our neighbour, but God for the sake of God. Of God, is understood the sun figuratively: of the Church, is understood the moon figuratively. Whoever can err, so as to think otherwise of God than he ought, believing not the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost to be of one Substance, has been deceived by the cunning of heretics, chiefly of the Arians. If he hath believed anything less in the Son or in the Holy Spirit than in the Father, he hath suffered an offence in God; he is scorched by the sun. Whoever again believeth that the Church existeth in one province only, and not that she is diffused over the whole world, and whoso believeth them that say, "Lo here," and "Lo there, is Christ," as ye but now heard when the Gospel was being read; since He who gave so great a price, purchased the whole world: he is offended, so to speak, in his neighbour, and is burnt by the moon. Whoever therefore erreth in the very Substance of Truth, is burnt by the sun, and is burnt through the day; because he erreth in Wisdom itself ...God therefore hath made one sun, which riseth upon the good and the evil, that sun which the good and the evil see; but that Sun is another one, not created, not born, through whom all things were made; where is the intelligence of the Immutable Truth: of this the ungodly say, "the Sun rose not upon us." Whosoever erreth not in Wisdom itself, is not burnt by the sun. Whosoever erreth not in the Church, and in the Lord's Flesh, and in those things which were done for us in time, is not burnt by the moon. But every man although he believeth in Christ, erreth either in this or that respect, unless what is here prayed for, "The Lord is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand," is realized in him. He goeth on to say, "So that the sun shall not burn thee by day, nor the moon by night" (ver. 6). Thy defence, therefore, is upon the hand of thy right hand for this reason, that the sun may not burn thee by day, nor the moon by night. Understand hence, brethren, that it is spoken figuratively. For, in truth, if we think of the visible sun, it burneth by day: doth the moon burn by night? But what is burning? Offence. Hear the Apostle's words: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?"”

“"For the Lord shall preserve you from all evil" [Psalm 121:7]. From offenses in the sun, from offenses in the moon, from all evil shall He preserve you, who is your defence upon the hand of your right hand, who will not sleep nor slumber. And for what reason? Because we are amid temptations: "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. The Lord preserve your soul:" even your very soul.”

“"May the Lord protect your coming in and your going out." Now look at the coming out of the furnace and the going into it; "Reckon it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials." There you are, you have heard about the entrance; now find the exit. It is easy enough to go in; coming out is the big thing. But do not worry: "God is faithful"—because you have gone in, you are naturally thinking about getting out—"God is faithful and does not allow you to be tempted above what you are able to bear, but with the temptation he will also make a way out." What is the way out? "That you may be able to endure." You have gone in, you have fallen in, you have endured, you have come out.”