Psalm 120: Deliverance from Deceit

After the epic poem celebrating the beauty of God’s truth (Psalm 119), we now come to the 15 Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). Each of these psalms begins with the title (ascent) which is the same verb (‘to go up’) used by pilgrims who would travel to Jerusalem at least three times per year (Passover, Pentecost and Rosh Hashanah [new year]) to worship the LORD. Each of these 15 psalms apparently marked consecutive (figurative) ‘mile markers,’ as streams of people ‘go up’ to Jerusalem (literally, up the hill to Jerusalem’s gates), worshiped the LORD, and returned to their homes.

The central psalm in this collection is Psalm 127, which provides a central focus for the whole collection: the people of God must act faithfully, but it is the LORD who builds houses, protects borders and governs the stock market. Let’s take a look at the unique contribution of Psalm 120 to the psalms of ascent: how does God rescue faithful believers from a world, full of slander, lies and conflict?
When we are distressed by lies and deceit along life’s journey…

We will continue to call out to the LORD for rescue. (1-2)
We know that the LORD will decisively respond. (3-4)
We persevere in the truth, the source of peace for the whole world. (5-7)