Psalms of Ascents Road trips and Play lists Psalm 120-121
- Psalms is Plural because there are 15 total Psalms of Ascents. From Psalm 120 to Psalm 134.
- And Ascents is Plural because there would have been many of them.
- Ascents refers to the pilgrimage people would have taken to the Temple in Jerusalem.
- The Hebrew word translated as Ascents is the technical term for pilgrimage.
- All the men were required to make this pilgrimage or ascent for the three major feasts.
- These fifteen Psalms are the songs they would sing as they made the journey or pilgrimage.
- In a very real sense this was their road trip play list.
- These Psalms of Ascents are telling an important story about God.
- It’s the order that they are presented in that is important. There is a sequence to them.
Psalm 120:1 This begins to set the stage for their journey or pilgrimage. The people were in distress.
Verse 2 The Psalmist now begins to give details as to why they were in distress.
- They were surrounded by people with lying lips and deceitful tongues.
- The Hebrew word translated here as tongue, can for sure mean tongue. It can also mean: babbler, or evil speaker.
- Some English translations use the words “deliver me from” others use “come and save me.”
Verse 3 The CEV version is a little easier to understand. “What punishment is fitting for you deceitful liars?”
- The people are not trying to come up with their own punishment. They are leaving it in God’s hands.
Verse 4 Commentator Robert Alter points out that in the Psalms when the writer wants to use Malicious speech they refer to a sharp arrow or sword.
- And Broom wood was known to burn hot for a long time, even after it appeared to just be ash.
- Saying a warrior’s sharp sword and coals of broom wood was their way of saying you $^%$%^.
Verse 5 Meshek and Kedar are real geographic places. But here they represent hard and dry places.
- Wow to me, because I am in a hard and dry place. This verse is lament.
Verse 6 Apparently, the lying lips and deceitful tongues also hated peace.
- Or just as likely the lying lips and deceitful tongue brought about a lack of peace.
Verse 7 The Psalmist is for peace. But the culture is for war.
Psalm 121: 1 When we are surrounded by lying lips and deceitful tongues and people of war, or temptation is to join in and or fight back. That is our culture. But the Pslamist tells us to instead lift our eyes up to the Lord.
- Now the term “lift my eyes to the Mountains” refers to looking up toward the Temple in Jerusalem.
- So, lifting my eyes to the Mountains was to say look to the Temple in Jerusalem.
- The Temple was of course where the Presence of God dwelled.
- So, they are really saying. Look to God. Look toward his Presence.
Verse 2 In the midst of hard and dry times from lying lips and deceitful tongues.
- They know their help comes from the Lord.
- Why, can they be so confident? Because “he made the heavens and the earth.”
Verse 3 This could be speaking of the journey up to Jerusalem.
- One on pilgrimage would not want to slip as they make climb up.
- This could also speak of God protecting them from succumbing to the temptations of the lying lips and deceitful…
- The second phrase he who watches over you will not slumber
- This Speaks to the pagan gods of the people around them.
- This is reminiscent of Elijah in1 kings 18 when he took on the prophets of Baal. 1 King 18:26
Verse 4 That is a little shot at the foreign gods who are accused of sleeping.
Verse 5 Here shade is used in a positive way. Unlike Palm 23 where shade refers to a dark and lifeless valley.
- As they move toward the presence of God in Jerusalem, they will not get sun burnt.
Verse 6 In the Hebrew the wording is more like, “the Moon shall not strike you.”
- In this time period, it was wildly believed that exposure to moon light would cause craziness, lunacy, or madness.
- This ties back to verse 2, which said that “God made the heavens.”
- There is no evil moon god. If Yahweh made the heavens.
Verse 7 This verse could be rendered as, “The Lord Guards you from all harm, He guards your life.”
- The Hebrew word at the end of the verse can certainly mean life.
- But it is also frequently translated as soul.
Verse 8 The Psalm started by saying that God is the maker of heaven and earth.
- Here the Psalm reminds us of God’s eternal nature.