Psalms 120

General context

The speaker says that in his distress he cried to the Lord and the Lord heard him. He asks the Lord to deliver his soul from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. He then turns to the false tongue itself and asks what shall be given or done to it, and answers with sharp arrows of the mighty and coals of juniper. He cries woe on himself because he sojourns in Mesech and dwells in the tents of Kedar. He says his soul has long dwelt with one who hates peace. The psalm ends with the speaker's statement that he is for peace, but when he speaks, they are for war.

Cited passages: Psalms 120:1, Psalms 120:2, Psalms 120:3, Psalms 120:4, Psalms 120:5, Psalms 120:6, Psalms 120:7

Psalms 120 (KJV)

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Historical context

The source prints no heading for this psalm; verse 1 begins directly with "In my distress I cried unto the Lord", so no title, author or occasion appears in the text used here, and none is asserted. The speaker is a single "I" whose trouble is speech: lying lips, a deceitful tongue, a false tongue. Two names of places appear, Mesech and Kedar, where the speaker says he sojourns and dwells; the psalm does not say where they are or why the speaker is there, and the source gives no further detail. The hater of peace in verse 6 is singular, while verse 7 speaks of "they", and the text does not say whether these are one party or several. The first verse reports a cry already heard, while verse 2 still asks for deliverance, and the psalm does not resolve which comes first in time. No Selah occurs.

Cited passages: Psalms 120:1, Psalms 120:2, Psalms 120:3, Psalms 120:5, Psalms 120:6, Psalms 120:7

Literary context

Seven verses move from report to petition to a question and answer to lament. Verse 1 speaks about the Lord in the past tense, verse 2 addresses him directly, and verse 3 changes addressee again, speaking to the "false tongue" as if it could be sentenced. The answer in verse 4 is two weapons, arrows and coals, set against a weapon made of words. Verses 5-7 drop the address and describe the speaker's position: a sojourner, a dweller in tents, someone whose soul has "long dwelt" beside a hater of peace. The final verse sets "peace" and "war" against each other in one line, with the speaker's own speaking as the trigger for the others' hostility, which ties the ending back to the tongues of the opening. The psalm gives no resolution; it closes on the contrast rather than on the deliverance asked for.

Cited passages: Psalms 120:1, Psalms 120:2, Psalms 120:3, Psalms 120:4, Psalms 120:6, Psalms 120:7

Key moments

1. A cry in distress heard (Psalms 120:1). The speaker reports that he cried to the Lord in distress and was heard.
2. Deliverance from lying lips (Psalms 120:2). The speaker asks to be delivered from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
3. Arrows and coals for the tongue (Psalms 120:4). The false tongue is answered with sharp arrows and coals of juniper.
4. Woe in Mesech and Kedar (Psalms 120:5). The speaker laments sojourning in Mesech and dwelling in the tents of Kedar.
5. For peace, they for war (Psalms 120:7). The speaker says he is for peace but they are for war when he speaks.

For reflection

The speaker says the Lord heard him, then asks to be delivered, then ends still living among those who answer his speech with war. What does the psalm treat as having been answered, and what is left open at its last line?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here:

• Kedar