Reflections on Psalms 120

 Psalms 120(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A song for worship.) When I am in trouble, I pray,
   
2. "Come and save me, LORD, from deceitful liars!"
   
3. What punishment is fitting for you deceitful liars?
   
4. Your reward should be sharp and flaming arrows!
   
5. But I must live as a foreigner among the people of Meshech and in the tents of Kedar.
   
6. I have spent too much time living among people who hate peace.
   
7. I am in favor of peace, but when I speak of it, all they want is war.

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The psalmist was up against an enemy whose weapon was slander. It is an effective weapon against which there is little defense. Like an arrow that has been shot from a bow, once it leaves the bow there is little means of stopping it from striking its target. Those who do not know or do not like the one slandered are quick to accept it, and for those who are his or her friends doubts are raised.

What options do the one slandered have for their defense? Retaliation is likely the first to come to mind, but though it may hurt the offender, it does little to remove the harm done. The psalmist chose the best option by turning to the Lord, asking Him to "deliver me from lying lips and a deceitful tongue." (120:2) How will the Lord deal with the deceitful tongue? The psalmist tells us that He will send to the offender "A warrior's sharp arrows, with burning charcoal!" (120:4) What does this do for the offended? Besides providing retaliation on his behalf, it discredits the offender. He is harmed without the one he offended lifting a hand against him. It must be at God's hand.

The psalm closes with the psalmist's lament of his enforced stay among the tribes of Mesheck and Kedar who were noted as savage and uncivilized people. While he spoke of peace, they spoke of war as if they enjoyed inflicting pain on others. But the Lord obviously delivered him from this experience and he lived to write the psalm.