# Psalm 120 📖: A Cry for Peace [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 119]] | [[Psalm 121]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) #### A song of ascents. [[#Verse 01.]] In my distress I cried out to the Lord and he answered me. [[#Verse 02.]] I said, “O Lord, rescue me from those who lie with their lips and those who deceive with their tongues. [[#Verse 03.]] How will he severely punish you, you deceptive talker? [[#Verse 04.]] Here’s how! With the sharp arrows of warriors, with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. [[#Verse 05.]] How miserable I am. For I have lived temporarily in Meshech; I have resided among the tents of Kedar. [[#Verse 06.]] For too long I have had to reside with those who hate peace. [[#Verse 07.]] I am committed to peace, but when I speak, they want to make war. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120 to 134). 2. The Songs of Ascents were likely sung by pilgrims traveling up to Jerusalem for the yearly feasts. 3. Jerusalem sits high in the hill country, so travelers always "went up" to it, no matter which direction they came from. 4. The Mishnah mentions fifteen steps in the temple on which the Levites sang, and some connect these fifteen psalms to those steps. 5. The collection begins far from Jerusalem in Psalm 120 and ends in the temple at night in Psalm 134. 6. Meshech (120:5) was a people in far-off Asia Minor (Genesis 10:2), and Kedar was an Arabian desert tribe (Genesis 25:13). Together they picture living among hostile strangers. 7. Since Meshech and Kedar were far apart, most scholars read them as symbols rather than literal home addresses. 8. Coals of the broom tree (120:4) burn hot and long, a picture of how destructive a lying tongue is. 9. The deceitful tongue is compared to a warrior's sharp arrows (120:4; compare Jeremiah 9:8). 10. The word "peace" (*shalom*) appears in 120:6-7, a theme that runs through the Songs of Ascents. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). The psalmist was for peace while others wanted war (120:7), and Jesus, falsely accused by lying lips (Matthew 26:59-60), made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The psalmist cries out to the Lord about lying lips and a deceitful tongue (120:2). How have words wounded you, and how do you bring that to God? 2. He feels like a foreigner living among people who hate peace (120:5-6). Where do you feel out of place as a follower of Jesus? 3. He says, "I am committed to peace" (120:7). What does it look like to pursue peace when others do not? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: In my distress I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me. - 📖 verse 2: Lord, rescue me from lying lips and a deceptive tongue. - 📖 verse 7: I am committed to peace, but when I speak, they want war. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Ephesians 02#Verse 14.|Ephesians 2:14-17]] - Christ Himself is our peace. - 🔗 [[Matthew 26#Verse 59.|Matthew 26:59-60]] - False witnesses accuse Jesus. - 🔗 [[James 03#Verse 05.|James 3:5-8]] - The tongue is a fire. - 🔗 [[Romans 12#Verse 18.|Romans 12:18]] - Live at peace with everyone as much as possible. - 🔗 [[Hebrews 11#Verse 13.|Hebrews 11:13-16]] - Strangers and exiles looking for a better country. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Psalm 120- SOAP|Take Your Burdens to the Lord]] ## 📂 Internal Notes