Psalm 121 — I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

Why families choose it

A pilgrim song, read at the end of a journey. Its eyes go up to the hills and then past them, to the maker of heaven and earth; from there the whole psalm is promise — a keeper who does not slumber, shade at the right hand, no harm by sun or moon. The last line blesses going out and coming in, which is why it belongs at partings: the psalm does not end the journey, it keeps it.

Reading it aloud

The psalm changes hands after the first two lines — ‘I’ becomes ‘thee’, as though someone answers the one who looked up. Let that turn be audible: a small pause after ‘heaven and earth’, then read the rest as assurance given to the person, not about them. The repeated words — keep, preserve — are the structure; lean on them gently rather than hurrying past. End slowly on ‘for evermore’.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Scripture Reading — Psalm 121” with the reader’s name beside it. The full text is public domain and may be printed on the life-story or back page.