Psalm 120 (World English Bible)
1 In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
3 What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
What Psalm 120 means
The song opens with a cry: "In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me." The pilgrim is surrounded by lying lips and deceitful tongues, and the words of others cut like sharp arrows and burn like coals of juniper.
Then comes a strange line: "Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!" Meshech was a people far to the north, and Kedar a tribe of the Arabian desert. No one could live in both places at once. The names paint a picture of living among hostile people wherever you happen to be.
The psalm ends with the line to hold onto: "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war."
Why the climb starts here
Eugene Peterson pointed out that every pilgrimage begins with a dissatisfaction with where you are. You don't set out for Jerusalem if you are content in Kedar. Lament comes before praise. The first song of the climb is an honest naming of where you are, and that honesty is what turns your feet toward God.
Notice where this goes. The pilgrim who says "I am for peace" in Psalm 120 will pray for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122, the city whose very name means peace.
A question to sit with
Where do you feel far from home right now?
A prayer you can pray
Lord, I am tired of the noise, the lies and the conflict around me. I bring You my distress, because You answer those who cry out to You. Turn my heart toward Your presence and set my feet on the road home. In Jesus' name, amen.
Go deeper
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (public domain).
