Psalms 120

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1In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.2Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.3What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?4Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.5Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!6My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.7I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

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Notes for this chapter

Historical Background

Psalm 120 stands as the first of fifteen consecutive psalms, chapters 120 through 134, each bearing the title “A Song of Ascents.” These were pilgrim songs sung by worshippers as they made their way up to Jerusalem for the great annual festivals. The Hebrew word translated “ascents” carries the sense of going up, both physically, since Jerusalem sat on elevated ground, and spiritually, as the worshipper's heart ascended toward God in prayer and praise. Scholars have long discussed whether these psalms were sung on the fifteen steps of the temple or simply on the journey to it, but the broader agreement is that they accompanied a community of faith moving through a sometimes hostile world toward the dwelling place of God.

This opening psalm sets the tone perfectly, beginning not with arrival and celebration but with longing, conflict, and a cry from the depths of distress. The pilgrim has not yet arrived. He is still living among enemies, and he speaks honestly about what that feels like.

The psalm opens with a breathtaking declaration of answered prayer: “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.” Matthew Henry notes that this brief opening is not merely a memory of past help but a foundation of ongoing confidence. The psalmist has tested God and found Him faithful, and that experience now gives him courage to pray again. The specific distress he brings before God in verse 2 is not physical violence but the cruelty of slander and deception.

“Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.” Adam Clarke observed that in the ancient Near East, a man's reputation was among his most vital possessions, and a false accusation could ruin relationships, livelihoods, and standing within the community. The psalmist is not dealing with swords but with words, and he understands that words can wound as deeply as any weapon.

Core Teaching

Verses 3 and 4 form a vivid rhetorical question addressed directly, and almost sardonically, to the false tongue itself. What punishment could possibly be adequate for such treachery? The answer that follows is poetic and piercing: “Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.” The juniper, or broom tree, was known throughout the ancient Middle East for producing coals that burned with exceptional intensity and retained their heat for a remarkably long time.

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown connect these images together to say that the false tongue sends out words like razor-sharp arrows that fly fast and wound deeply, and the damage they cause smolders like these long-burning coals, leaving injury that does not quickly cool. The punishment therefore fits the crime: the deceitful tongue shall meet judgment that is swift, piercing, and enduring.

Commentary Insights

Verses 5 through 7 reveal the psalmist's deeper anguish, which is not simply about slander but about the environment in which he is forced to live. Mesech was a region far to the north, mentioned in Genesis among the sons of Japheth and associated in Ezekiel with distant, barbaric peoples. Kedar refers to an Arab tribal group descended from Ishmael, dwelling in the desert regions to the south and east. The psalmist is not necessarily claiming to be in both places literally at once; rather, he is using these two distant and uncivilized locations as metaphors for a life spent among those who are spiritually alien to him.

Barnes explains this as a proverbial way of saying he has been thrust into the company of the most godless and quarrelsome people imaginable. He is surrounded by those who are hostile to peace, to covenant community, and to God. This is the exile's lament, the longing of someone who belongs elsewhere.

Reflection & Application

The psalm closes with perhaps its most poignant line: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” This is the cry of someone whose every sincere gesture toward reconciliation is met with aggression. Ellen White, writing of those who experience opposition because of their faithfulness to God, consistently emphasized that peace-loving believers will often find themselves accused and attacked precisely because their peace threatens those around them who live for conflict and self-interest. The Great Controversy theme surfaces quietly here, for this is the experience of every soul who has chosen the side of righteousness in a world bent on strife.

The psalms that follow this one will move progressively upward toward confidence, protection, and the joy of arriving at Zion. But this first song wisely begins where many believers actually live, not yet in the sanctuary, still surrounded by lies and hostility, crying out to a God who hears.

Go deeper — references Classic commentaries on this chapter

Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Adam Clarke's Commentary Adam Clarke (1760–1832) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) Barnes' Notes on the Bible Albert Barnes (1798–1870) EGW Writings Ellen G. White Blue Letter Bible Study tools and lexicon

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