There are times when we feel tired not from overwork, but from hearing too many hurtful words. Hate speech, slanderous whispers, and twisted sentences become part of our daily lives. Words that are supposed to be bridges turn into walls. In the midst of such an atmosphere, we feel alienated, as if we are living in an inhospitable place for honesty and sincerity. Psalm 120 was born out of a similar experience: from the heart of a pilgrim surrounded by lying lips, but still holding a longing for peace.
This psalm opens the Pilgrimage Hymn series, as if to remind us that the journey of faith often begins with the realization of a wound. The psalmist cries out in distress, but his cry is not an empty one. He remembers that God has heard and answered in the past. It is that memory of faith that sustains him today. He did not deny the bitterness of oppressive words, but he also did not let that bitterness determine the direction of his life. She brings the hurt before God, the unchanging source of truth.
In Psalm 120, the tongue is described as a weapon. Words can pierce deeper than arrows, and lies can burn longer than coals of fire. The psalmist does not try to retaliate with the same weapon. He leaves judgment to God, trusting that no lie will escape His notice. Here we learn that faith does not always mean explaining or defending, but rather entrusting the truth to God alone.
When the psalmist mentions Meshech and Kedar, he is describing a world far from shalom, a world accustomed to strife and suspicious of peace. Yet in the midst of such a world, he dares to speak of peace. Peace that is not simply not fighting, but inner wholeness, a serenity born out of a life bound to God.
Friends of the Bible, Psalm 120 invites us to choose the unpopular path of resisting lies with peace. Not with bitter silence, nor with equally sharp words, but with a heart that remains intact. Being a peacemaker in a noisy world is an inner pilgrimage, step by step, towards a faithful God, while bringing shalom to the public spaces that need it most.
