Song of Ascent: The Cry
The first of fifteen pilgrimage songs. The journey to Jerusalem begins with a cry from a place of conflict. Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
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1In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He answered me.
2Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
3What will He do to you, and what will be added to you, O deceitful tongue?
4Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!
5Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
6Too long have I dwelt among those who hate peace.
7I am in favor of peace; but when I speak, they want war.
Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), a collection associated with pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This individual lament cries out against deceitful tongues and false lips, with the psalmist lamenting their forced residence among hostile peoples—Meshech and Kedar. The imagery of 'warrior's sharp arrows' and 'burning coals of broom wood' describes the destructive power of slander.
The Songs of Ascents may have been sung by pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem for the three annual festivals. Meshech (associated with Anatolia) and Kedar (Arabian desert) represent geographically opposite, culturally alien territories, symbolizing exile among hostile strangers.
The psalm introduces the pilgrimage collection with a cry from the margins—the psalmist is far from Zion, surrounded by those who hate peace. This geographical and spiritual displacement creates the longing that drives the entire Ascents sequence toward Jerusalem.
The psalm validates the experience of living as a person of peace in a hostile environment. It acknowledges that the journey toward God often begins in a place of conflict and longing.
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