Psalm 120

Psalm 120 belongs to Book V (Psalms 107–150), the last of the five books of the Psalms. It immediately follows Psalm 119, the longest psalm, which celebrates God's law. The fifteen psalms from 120 through 134 bear the superscription "A Song of Ascents" (KJV "A Song of degrees"). Psalm 120, the first of them, opens with a lament over the hostility the psalmist endures in a foreign land.

Structure

• Verses 1–2: The psalmist testifies that he cried to the LORD in his distress and was answered. He then prays that his soul be delivered from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
• Verses 3–4: He asks the deceitful tongue what shall be given to it in return. The answer is the sharp arrows of the mighty warrior and coals of the broom tree (KJV "juniper").
• Verses 5–7: He laments his lot, crying woe that he sojourns in Meshech and dwells among the tents of Kedar. He has long lived among those who hate peace; he desires peace, but they are for war.

Key Verses

• Psalm 120:1 "In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me." This verse opens the entire collection of pilgrimage songs with a confession of answered prayer.
• Psalm 120:7 "I am for peace: but … they are for war." In a single sentence, this verse captures the isolation of one who seeks peace.

People and Places

• Meshech: The name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah (Genesis 10:2; see Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and also of the people descended from him. They are commonly identified as a people living far to the north of Israel, usually in eastern Asia Minor.
• Kedar: The name of a son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13; see Hagar and Ishmael), and also of the nomadic tribe of the Arabian desert descended from him.
• Broom tree: A shrub that grows in the wilderness. Its charcoal is known to burn hot for a long time, and it is the tree under which Elijah rested (1 Kings 19:4).

Interpretive Considerations

• The meaning of "Song of Ascents": The most widely held interpretation is that these were songs sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the festivals. A Jewish tradition also holds that the Levites sang one psalm on each of the fifteen steps of the temple, and another interpretation regards them as songs sung on the journey home from the Babylonian exile. The superscription itself does not indicate which is meant.
• Meshech and Kedar: The two regions lie far apart. For this reason, the phrase is often read not as a statement that the psalmist actually lived in both places but as a figurative description of living among fierce and warlike people.
• The arrows and coals of verses 3–4: Some read these as God's judgment that will fall upon the lying tongue. Others read them as a description of the lying tongue itself, which pierces like arrows and burns like coals.
• Connections with the New Testament: This psalm is often read together with the following passages:
• James 3, which likens the harm done by the tongue to fire
• Romans 12:17–21, which urges living peaceably with all men, if it be possible
• The Beatitudes, which speak of the blessedness of the peacemakers
• Hebrews 11:13–16, which portrays believers as strangers and pilgrims on the earth

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Psalms 120–134 are frequently grouped together as the "Songs of Ascents" and treated in sermon series. Eugene Peterson's book interpreting these psalms as a pilgrimage of faith, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, was translated into Korean under the title Han Gil Ganeun Sullyeja ("A Pilgrim on One Road") and has been widely read. The book is known for treating Psalm 120 as a psalm of repentance, the first step of the pilgrimage.