Psalm 120: A Cry for Help Among Deceitful People

120:1 In my distress I cried out to the Lord and he answered me. 120:2 I said, “O Lord, rescue me from those who lie with their lips and those who deceive with their tongue. 120:3 How will he severely punish you, you deceptive talker? 120:4 Here’s how! With the sharp arrows of warriors, with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. 120:5 How miserable I am! For I have lived temporarily in Meshech; I have resided among the tents of Kedar. 120:6 For too long I have had to reside with those who hate peace. 120:7 I am committed to peace, but when I speak, they want to make war. Psalm 121 A song of ascents.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

The psalmist cries to the Lord in distress and says that God answers him. He asks to be rescued from lies and deceitful speech. He then laments that he has lived too long among people who hate peace, while he himself desires peace.

Psalm 120 begins with a testimony of prayer answered. The singer was in distress and cried to the Lord, and the Lord answered. That gives confidence to the whole psalm.

His first request is for rescue from people who lie and deceive with their words. The problem is not only pressure or inconvenience. It is false speech. Scripture treats lies as serious because they damage trust and peace.

The next lines speak of judgment on the deceptive talker. The images of sharp arrows and burning coals show that God will deal with deceit in a serious and fitting way. The psalm is not calling the worshiper to take revenge. It is placing judgment in God’s hands.

The psalm then turns to the singer’s long trouble among hostile people. He says he has lived among Meshech and Kedar, likely as poetic pictures of distant and foreign surroundings. He is not naturally at war with others. He says plainly that he is for peace. But those around him want war instead.

So the psalm ends with tension still unresolved. That is fitting for a lament. It teaches God’s people to speak honestly when they live among hostility, to trust God with judgment, and to keep longing for peace.

• God hears the distressed cry of his people.
• Deceitful speech is a serious sin.
• God will not ignore lies and treachery.
• The psalmist desires peace, not war.
• A lament may end without immediate relief, while still expressing faith.

• Warning: deceitful speech brings God’s judgment.
• Warning: some people hate peace and choose conflict.
• Promise: the Lord answers the cry of the distressed.
• Command: bring distress to the Lord in prayer.
• Command: hold to peace as far as it depends on the worshiper.
• Do not answer hostility with personal revenge.

Psalm 120 belongs to the Songs of Ascents and gives God’s people words for life in a hostile world. It begins the pilgrimage collection by moving from distress toward trust. In the larger Bible story, it points toward the peace that only the Lord can finally establish. Canonically, it fits with the later hope for righteous peace and with Christ, who endured false speech and opposition and will bring final justice.

Believers can bring real distress to God and trust that he hears. They should take lies seriously and guard their own speech. They should also love peace, even when others do not return it. This psalm helps God’s people pray honestly in a hostile world without losing faith or becoming quarrelsome.

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