Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; he will keep thy soul.
Psalm 121 has been building toward this line: the LORD who made heaven and earth guards one person, and guards them completely. Two questions follow — how far does "all evil" reach, and what does God keep when He keeps the "soul"?
The English wording hides a repetition that shapes the whole psalm:
The one recurring thought in these verses is the constant care of the LORD. "Keep" is the characteristic word of the Psalm. Remember that the word "preserve," in verses 7 and 8, should be translated "keep." Then you will notice that this encouraging word occurs six times in the last six verses.
Verse 7 drops the pictures of verse 6 and names no limit. Part of the comfort lies in what we never notice:
(v. 7) Fifth, the Lord is a Keeper from "all evil." We see only a few of the evils that lie in our path. The Lord sees and keeps us "from all evil."
That evil is not only physical. The same writer lists the shapes it takes and where the real pressure falls:
Scripture speaks of evil thoughts, evil imaginations, evil words, evil deeds, and evil doers. The Christian is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, so he faces special opposition from the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" that work behind the scenes. Still, the believer who looks to the LORD can stand against every attack of the enemy on "the evil day," "in the strength of His might," and so be kept from evil.
Commentators differ on the second half of the verse. The word behind "soul" has no one fixed sense, which is why the ESV renders it "he will keep your life":
The next clause is, "He will keep your soul." The word translated "soul" is a little ambiguous, as it is in Greek too. It is sometimes translated "life." Being kept for the blessings of Messiah's kingdom is a typical Jewish promise, so it is possible that this is its meaning here.
Another writer reads it of the inner life held firm under pressure, and is frank about death:
So He kindly preserves the godly from all evil. He does not only keep the body from harm; He keeps opposition from overwhelming the soul (v. 7)… Believers today may certainly count on the same preserving care, whatever the affliction they meet — even the pain of death. In that case He preserves in death, though not from it.
The promise is not a guarantee of an untouched life. Faith takes hold of it, and it matches the way Jesus prayed for His own:
The promise, "The LORD will keep you from all evil," should not, we think, be treated as if it worked apart from the state of the soul. As said before, the living link between the soul and God is faith, and God works through it to bless and protect the believer. So faith can take up this word of comfort and rest on it in the darkest days, when Satan shows his power on all sides. The believer will also remember that, when the Lord presented His own before the Father, He said, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one."
Another writer marks off what belongs to Israel from what belongs to us now, without losing the comfort:
But we must note that this does not apply literally at the present time. Christ has been counted among criminals, and we have to go on without looking for absolute deliverance. Yet we are to be sure that the hairs of our head are numbered. God does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous now. But we do not therefore expect to be preserved in earthly life, as the Jew rightly will in the path of faithfulness. Still, our Father does watch over us with unceasing care. We may be at peace under the shadow of His wings. Our instruction is, in the middle of every evil, to look only to the Lord.
The verse says nothing about the strength of the one kept. That is the point:
It is good to think this over, and to notice that the foundation of all our security lies in what God is for His people… "But must we not watch and pray, and so on?" Even for the power to watch and pray we depend on the Lord, and it is as we realise this that we rest quietly and peacefully on Him.
- Keep — the verb, not "preserve," is the psalm's heartbeat, sounding six times in six verses.
- All — the guard covers the dangers you see and the many you never notice, including evil thoughts, words and unseen opposition.
- Soul — commentators differ: some read the inner person held steady under attack, others read "life" kept for Messiah's kingdom.
- Faith — the promise is no charm; faith takes hold of it. Jesus asked not that His own leave the world, but that God keep them from the evil one.
- God — safety rests on what God is for His people, not on the strength of the one kept. Even the power to watch and pray comes from Him.
Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in, from henceforth and for evermore.
This closing line ends a run of promises where one word keeps coming back. It stretches the Lord's care over both halves of ordinary life, and over all the time to come. It raises two simple questions. How much of my life does "going out and coming in" cover? How far does "forevermore" reach?
Older translations say "preserve" here, which hides the link between this verse and the ones before it. One writer counts the repeats and finds one theme in the whole song.
In the rest of the Psalm the Spirit of God answers this simple faith. He unfolds for us the blessings of the one who looks to the LORD for his help. The one recurring thought in these verses is the constant care of the LORD. The word "keep" is the characteristic word of the Psalm. The word "preserve," in verses 7 and 8, should be translated "keep." Then you can see that this encouraging word occurs six times in the last six verses.
The two words picture a life that never stays still. The promise meets that restlessness head on.
"Going" and "coming" speak of the changing circumstances that mark a world of unrest. In the gospel day, the Lord could say to His disciples, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (Mark 6:31). In His compassionate care the Lord will give us times of rest "apart" from the busy world. But down here it will only be "rest a while" — words that show we must be on the move again. For the eternal rest we must look ahead. "There remains … a Sabbath rest for the people of God." Of the one who enters that blessed rest we read, "Never shall he go out of it" (Heb. 4:9; Rev. 3:12). In the meantime life is a busy round of toil in a world of need. Yet the one who looks to the Lord for help can count on the Lord to keep him in every circumstance.
Another writer reads the pair differently, and takes the second word as the answer to the first.
The first of the two is the evil God's people were liable to; the second is their sure, safe, and secure refuge, and that for ever.
One writer traces how far the last phrase reaches. It runs far past our own lifetime.
Finally, Jehovah's sheltering care covers the going out and the coming in of His people "from this time forth and forevermore." It runs on through the thousand years, to the close of the millennial kingdom. God thinks of everything. So He gives us a glimpse into His heart for His people. We see it in the daily, tireless watch He keeps over them, to preserve and bless them.
One writer takes that endless reach one step further. Eternity is not idleness.
Eternity will have its blessed activities, lived in equally blessed dependence on the unfailing God.
So where does this security rest? Not on us. Dennett presses that home against our instinct to add something of our own.
This is worth pondering. Note that the foundation of all our security lies in what God is for His people. We need to remember this at all times. Our hearts cling to a wretched legalism. If we are not settled in grace, we are tempted to think that something depends on ourselves. No! We depend wholly on God, on what He is as revealed in Christ. "But must we not watch and pray, and the like?" Even for the power to watch and pray we are dependent on the Lord.
Dennett passes on another writer's words on how a Christian should read this psalm today. Being kept is not the same as being spared trouble.
Certainly, believers today may count on the same preserving care, whatever may be the affliction they encounter — even the pain of death — for in this case He preserves in death, though not from it.
Dennett quotes another writer making the same distinction more sharply, and adding what the Christian does keep.
We must note that the literal application of this Psalm does not hold for us now. Christ was counted among transgressors, and we go on our way without looking for complete deliverance. Yet we can be sure that the hairs of our head are numbered. God does not turn His eyes away from the righteous. But we do not expect, in the end, to be kept for earth, as the Jew rightly will while walking in faithfulness. Yet our God and Father does watch over us with unceasing vigilance. We may be at peace under the shadow of His wings. Our instruction is, in the midst of every evil, to look only to the Lord.
- Kept — the word. "Preserve" means "keep," and it sounds six times in the last six verses. This verse is the final beat of one drum.
- Kept everywhere. "Going out" and "coming in" cover the whole restless round of leaving and returning. The Lord keeps in every circumstance, not just some.
- Kept always. "From this time forth and forevermore" runs on through the thousand years, to the close of that kingdom. Eternity itself will have activity, lived in dependence on God.
- Kept by God, not by me. All security rests on what God is for His people; even the strength to watch and pray comes from Him.
- Kept, not exempted. The Christian should not expect complete deliverance from trouble. Yet the hairs of our head are numbered, and our Father watches over us without a break.