Psalms
Chapter 120
1
Confident Lament of the Righteous
I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me.
2
Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
3
How shall he pay you back, O deceitful and lying tongue?
4
He will punish you, with arrows hardened over the glowing coals!
5
Woe is me, who lives with barbarians, and dwells amid plunderers.
6
My soul is sick of dwelling among those who hate peace;
7
I want peace, but they only think of quarrels.
Commentaries
120
First of the ‘Psalms of Ascent’ (Ps 120 to 134) sung by pilgrims traveling to the holy hill of Zion. Compared to this sacred land, the whole world is corrupt. However, the psalm must be interpreted through the lens of the Christian faith: the Spirit of the New Testament is different. ‘Pray for them that calumniate you’ is our Lord’s instruction (Mt 5:43ff). We recognize no enemy but the soul. We pray that God will pour down his destructive judgments upon our enemy, who wages deceitful and treacherous war against us. We pray against our selfish selves.