Wecan be quite sure that like all the faithful Jews our Lord would have sungthese psalms with his disciples as they made their way up to Jerusalem to keepthe feasts. No doubt, the words of the psalms would have expressed accuratelythe experience and pensive mood of our Lord as He journeyed on. And what istrue of our Lord would, no doubt, be true of all His disciples throughout theages, who walk together as a people filled with His Spirit, towards theheavenly Jerusalem.

Thisis true for Psalm 120 and for the rest of the Pilgrim Psalms. We may entitlethis Psalm: “The LORD’s Servant Weary with the Strife of Tongues.”

Wemay discern three parts in this short psalm. First, from verse 1-2, we have acry for deliverance from deceivers. Verses 3-4 contain a warning of destructionfor liars. Finally in verse 5-7, we have an expression of desire for peace.

1. A Cry for Deliverance from Deceivers

¹ In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heardme. ² Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitfultongue.

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus wouldsuffer on many occasions because of lying lips and deceitful tongues. Early onin His ministry, rumours were spread about Him being a glutton and awinebibber, a friend of publican and sinners, and a partner of the devil. Atthe end of His ministry He was accused of many things He did not do or say. Itwas upon these false accusations that our Lord was crucified. Thus it was withthe words of Psalm 31:5 that our Lord committed His soul unto His father on theCross: “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD Godof truth” (Ps 31:5).

Oh how our Lord must have been deeply grieved by allslander targeted against Him! But our Lord did not waste time trying to correctall the falsehoods said against Him. Rather He allowed the truth to speak foritself and committed Himself to the Father, the God of truth, to vindicate Him.

No doubt, our Lord would have found comfort in thewords of this psalm when He found Himself most deeply hurt on account of allthe falsehood spread about Him.

Well, as our Lord experienced such grief on account offalse tongues, so God’s children throughout the ages who walk with Him mayexpect the same treatment in the world. So the spirit of Christ gives thesewords for us to sing in union with Him to encourage our hearts.

Have there been times, beloved brethren, when likeHannah, your heart is overwhelmed with sorrow on account of wicked tongues. Youhave come to worship the Lord, but your heart has no rest because of thewagging tongues and accusing fingers that appear before your mind’s eyes. Willyou not at such times meditate on this psalm and think about how your Saviourunderstands?

Indeed,let use brethren learn to use this psalm too when we, as a congregation,experience slander. At such times, let us refuse to give in to the temptationto return evil for evil.  Let us ratherfind comfort in the Lord by singing the words of this psalm to encourage oneanother to rest in the deliverance of our Father as we walk together towardsthe Celestial City.

But as we do so, let us not withhold to warn at thesame time those who persist in lies. Who knows if these, hearing the Word ofGod, might be convicted to repentance? So our Lord does not only give us wordsto cry for deliverance but words of warning in the same psalm. Considertherefore the second part of this psalm, which contains…

2. A Warning of Destruction for Liars

³ What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be doneunto thee, thou false tongue? ⁴ Sharp arrows of the mighty, withcoals of juniper.

Those who continue to speak falsehood and slander thesaints may be likened to a big fat ‘false tongue’. You see God hates lies andthe sin of slander against the saints of God is so wicked that the sin, as itwere, envelops the sinner so that he appears to be nothing but a blob of lyingtongue.

What does this false tongue deserve? It deserves theseverest judgement of God. It deserved to be shot through with the sharp arrowsof a mighty army, each having a burning coal of juniper attached. The junipertree in this context is known as the white broom tree. Its wood is said to burnbrightly for a long time.

False tongues will in the words of James be “set onfire of hell” (Jas 3:6). Therefore let everyone take heed who would slander orgossip against the saints. “Every idle word that men shall speak” shall bejudged (Mt 12:36). How much more words that kill and words that pierce thehearts of the righteous.

God, the God of truth, shall vindicate His saints. Hewill not leave false tongues, which are not repented of, unpunished.

But now, the pain and exasperation that comes withbeing falsely accused is real and cannot be brushed aside until the day ofjudgement. No, no; we need to speak about it, and our Lord has given us wordsto express it. Thus the final section of this psalm is…

3. An Expression ofDesire for Peace

⁵ Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell inthe tents of Kedar! ⁶ My soul hath long dwelt with him that hatethpeace. ⁷ I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

Mesech (Gen 10:2) is a region in the far north wherebarbarous people lived. Kedar is in northern Arabia where some angry nomadicIshmaelites lived (cf. Gen 25:13). The psalmist is clearly not saying that hewas literally living in the two places for he could not be in the same place atthe same time.

But is it not true that sometimes even while we live amongst civilisedpeople, it feels like we are surrounded by a ferocious people ready to pounceon us to tear us apart. This would have been our Lord’s experience. He cameto preach the Gospel of peace, but Jews hated peace. They wanted to kill Him.His words which should have brought peace on earth became occasion for war andmurder.  “My soul hath long dwelt with him that hatethpeace. ⁷ I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.”


Conclusion

Oh beloved brethren and youths, are there not occasions when you felt like that? What shall we do at such times? Well, often talking about it does not help, for where the sin has to do with the tongue, the more we talk about it to one another, the more we add to the wild fire. What shall we do then?

Shall we not remember the words of this psalm? Shall we not use it as a prayer and as a means to comfort and encourage one another as we make our journey together toward the heavenly Jerusalem where we shall enjoy the perfect peace which our soul longs for today. Amen. Ω