Psalm 121
The traveler's psalm — "My help cometh from the Lord."
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper:
the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out
and thy coming in
from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Amen.
About this prayer
Psalm 121 is one of the Songs of Ascents — pilgrim songs sung on the road up to Jerusalem. It has become the prayer of every traveler since: parents sending children to school, friends seeing each other off at airports, the faithful at the bedside of the dying. "He that keepeth thee will not slumber."
When to pray it
Before a journey. When someone you love is far away. At the end of the day, for everyone you have entrusted to God.