24th October 2025

When I was at school I was very fortunate. We had an assembly each morning which included a Bible reading, a hymn and the chanting of a Psalm. Once a week it was the ‘School Psalm’ – Psalm 121. Why that particular Psalm was chosen I never discovered. Nevertheless I think it was a good choice, and the words have stayed with me ever since:

I will lift up my eyes unto the hills,
Whence cometh my help?
My help cometh from the Lord

Or in a more modern translation:

Where shall I find help?

The hymn by Timothy Dudley-Smith based on this Psalm puts its comforting words into everyday context:

I lift my eyes
To the quiet hills
In the press of a busy day

The Bible contains many challenging passages but also words of comfort and none more so than this Psalm. Of course, there are other Psalms that offer comfort – for many the well-known words of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want

Whatever challenges we face, we often feel the need for some comfort and where better to look for it than in the Psalms?

David T Roberts