1
A Song of Ascents.
In my distress I cried to the LORD, and he answered me:
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O LORD, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
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What shall be given to you, and what shall be added to you, you deceitful tongue?
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Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
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Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
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Too long have I dwelt with those who hate peace.
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I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
🕊️🙏📖 Summary of Psalm 120 – “A Cry from the Midst of Affliction and Falsehood”
Psalm 120 is the first Song of Ascents (Shir HaMa’alot), a song sung as the people of Israel journeyed up to Jerusalem.
This chapter speaks of a cry from a soul suffering because of slander and deceit, longing for peace yet surrounded by conflict.
📌 1. A Cry from the Midst of Affliction (verses 1–2)
➡️ “In my distress I cried to the LORD, and he answered me.”
➡️ The psalmist pleads:
“Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue!”
🎯 Prayer is the way of escape from oppression and painful lies.
📌 2. Judgment upon the Deceitful Tongue (verses 3–4)
➡️ The lying tongue will be judged by the LORD — like:
“Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.”
➡️ The picture is of burning and piercing judgment.
🎯 The LORD does not let lies and slander continue without justice.
📌 3. A Sense of Estrangement and a Longing for Peace (verses 5–7)
➡️ “Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!”
➡️ The psalmist is a lover of peace, yet whenever he speaks of peace, others desire war.
🎯 The righteous often feel like strangers in a world full of deceit and hostility.
📖 Main Teaching
- In pressure and slander, cry out to the LORD — he hears.
- A lying tongue will be judged — God does not tolerate falsehood.
- Believers may feel estranged in this world, but their longing for peace will be fulfilled by God.
- The world may answer peace with war — but the LORD is the source of comfort and defense.
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 Matthew 5:11
“Blessed are you, when men shall revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake…”
➡️ Psalm 120 echoes the blessing upon those who suffer for righteousness.
📖 Romans 12:18
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
➡️ The psalmist loves peace — this is the attitude God’s people should have.
📖 1 Peter 3:10
“He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil…”
➡️ The emphasis is on the danger of a deceitful tongue and the call to guard one’s speech.
🕊️ “In my distress I cried to the LORD, and he answered me.” – Psalm 120:1
🕊️ “Deliver me… from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue!” – Psalm 120:2
🕊️ “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” – Psalm 120:7
