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Psalm 120 | King James Audio Bible
YouTube | Psalm 120 KJV | A Song Of Ascents
Psalm 120, a cry for deliverance and peace, is the first of the fifteen Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) in the Book of Psalms. Traditionally attributed to King David, these psalms were sung by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem for the great feasts. Psalm 120 reflects a deep yearning for deliverance from deceit and falsehood.
The opening verse, ‘In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me,’ sets a tone of urgency and vulnerability. The psalmist’s distress is not a fleeting emotion but an experience that drives him to seek divine intervention. This opening appeal to the Lord is a powerful reminder of the psalmist’s dependence on God for deliverance and relief. The phrase ‘In my distress’ suggests a situation of intense difficulty or trouble, indicating that the psalmist’s plea arises from a place of deep personal anguish.
The verse, ‘Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue,’ expresses the nature of the psalmist’s distress. Reference to ‘lying lips’ and a ‘deceitful tongue’ highlights the struggle against falsehood and dishonesty. This plea for deliverance from deceit is especially relevant in our contemporary world, where truth is often obscured or manipulated.
Verses 3 and 4 pose a rhetorical question and provide an answer: ‘What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.’ These verses evoke destructive power of deceitful words, likening them to ‘sharp arrows’ and ‘coals of juniper’. The imagery of arrows suggests the piercing, wounding nature of lies, while the coals of juniper, known for their intense heat, symbolize the burning, lingering pain caused by deceit.
The psalm shifts to lamentation of the psalmist’s circumstances in verses 5 and 6: ‘Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.’ The locations Mesech and Kedar, interpreted as symbolic of barbarous and hostile lands, metaphorically represent the psalmist’s alienation in a world filled with deceit and conflict. The psalmist feels like an outsider, weary from living among those who oppose peace. This sense of alienation expresses the psalmist’s longing for a different, more harmonious existence.
In the final verse, the psalmist declares, ‘I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.’ This stark contrast between the psalmist’s desire for peace and the reality of war encapsulates the central theme of the psalm – the struggle between truth and falsehood, peace and conflict. It underscores the challenges faced by those who seek peace in a world marred by strife and deception.
Psalm 120 can be seen as a microcosm of human experience, with themes of honesty, conflict, alienation and yearning for peace. Powerful imagery and heartfelt pleas resonate with anyone who has ever felt besieged by falsehood or longing for a more truthful and peaceful existence. The psalm’s structure, oscillating between personal lament and universal longing, allows it to transcend time and culture, speaking to the core of the human condition.
Psalm 120 | Song Of Ascents
Psalm 120 is an introduction to the Songs of Ascents, setting the stage for a spiritual journey. This journey is not just a physical pilgrimage to Jerusalem but also a metaphorical journey towards spiritual growth and enlightenment. Each subsequent psalm builds on this theme, exploring various facets of human life and the soul’s journey toward God.
In a broader theological context, Psalm 120 illustrates the essential role of prayer in seeking divine guidance and intervention. The psalmist’s direct appeal to God demonstrates a profound faith in the Almighty’s ability to deliver and protect. This act of turning to God in times of distress is a foundational aspect of many religious traditions and underscores the importance of faith and reliance on a higher power.
Psalm 120 | King James Audio Bible
In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 | King James Audio Bible
- Cry For Deliverance: The psalmist’s urgent plea to God for rescue from distress, highlighting a deep yearning for divine intervention in times of trouble.
- Conflict With Deceit: A strong emphasis on the struggle against lies and deceitful speech, portraying the pain and turmoil caused by dishonesty and false accusations.
- Desire For Peace: A profound longing for peace in the midst of conflict and hostility, underscoring the psalmist’s inclination towards harmony over discord.
- Sense Of Alienation: Feelings of isolation and being an outsider in a hostile environment, as symbolized by the references to Mesech and Kedar, places perceived as distant or foreign.
- Contrast Between Peace And War: The stark contrast between the psalmist’s peaceful intentions and the aggressive, war-like stance of others, highlighting the tension between the desire for peace and the reality of conflict.
- Dependence On God: The psalmist’s reliance on God for protection and justice, indicating a deep faith in divine power and righteousness.
- Symbolism And Imagery: Use of vivid imagery, such as ‘sharp arrows’ and ‘coals of juniper’, to convey the harmful impact of deceitful words and actions.
- Human Struggle And Resilience: The psalm reflects the universal human experience of dealing with adversity, maintaining integrity in the face of deceit, and the resilience required to continue seeking truth and peace.
- Introduction To The Songs Of Ascents: Setting the tone for the subsequent collection of psalms, which are characterized by themes of journeying, both physically and spiritually, towards a state of higher understanding and closer relationship with God.
Sometimes, when I read my Bible, I pause in the reading and say to myself: ‘This bit’s real.’ It would be fair to say, I have issues with Mary, because, contrary to what we are taught to say, Mary isn’t my mother. Rather: Mum is. One bit of the Bible-text says this: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, “He is beside himself.” … And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3: 21; 31-35.) Here she comes. She is in considerable distress. I can imagine that. I can relate to that. To save her boy from whatever he’s got himself into this time. And you’re not telling me there isn’t something inside that. Her boy is beside himself. Radical. Radicalized. Radicalizing. A misunderstood word. /ˈradɪk(ə)l/ adjective & noun. 1 Forming the root, basis, or foundation; original, primary. 2a Inherent in the nature of a thing or person; fundamental. b Of action, change, an idea: going to the root or origin; far-reaching, thorough. c Advocating thorough or far-reaching change. d Characterized by departure from tradition; progressive; unorthodox. ‘He has a demon! And he is mad!’ – thus ‘the Jews’. (e.g. John 10: 20.) Come home! It’s all she wants. His family want him back now. But it is an exclusive cult: there is an inside and there is an outside; and on the outside, they are not meant to understand, lest they be converted. He has defined himself as different from anything she was. Only at the end does Jesus say to his Mum – and with savage, bitter irony: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ And then he dies. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. We ask that we might find Mary in our hearts as a Yes! place for Jesus. It is also recommended that we pray to Jesus that we may be further in oneness with Mary. It is self-emptying, such that we only exist insofar as we are responsive to God’s Word. * Last term, and put-out to pasture, the old Archbishop Emeritus came over to stay for a few days and did the odd class with us. He spoke of Yes! as the meaning of Mary’s virginity. And we were not very nice about him. One or two took umbrage. One or two got the hump. In a sense, his Grace, the Arch, basically wanted to move anyone he’d ever known from a high-place – a mountain – received theological ‘truth’ – to an imminent, human plane. Earthing the spiritual. Recalibrating metrics of life’s believability toward a spiritual sense of things. He might have asked the impermissible question: what happened? His Grace described it. God’s love as a cloud. This descended upon Mary – and subsumed her. Within the cloud, Mary capitulated utterly. She became only and purely a response to God’s love. As he spoke, the Arch cradled her. He carried her in his lap – in his hands. His Grace was a consecrated bishop. He was faith. He sat squat, a rounded man, hands cupped and ankles crossed, fingers interlocked, with parted thighs. Rumpled, washed, speckled. A lifetime’s skin… There could be no doubt His Grace spoke through long-term personal relationship with Mary. It was Julian went for him: ‘So are you saying Mary was a Virgin? Or are you not saying Mary was a Virgin?’ Nasty. No, it wasn’t pretty. Julian twisting his silver ring. For a moment, what Julian had said to the Arch simply failed to communicate. No, for a moment, that dumped on the air meant nothing. Then His Grace said: ‘There is a range of possible meanings we may understand in the question of Mary’s virginity. For example, there are understandings of the word virginity entailed in the action of giving birth.’ Julian said: ‘Duh! So had she had sex or hadn’t she?’ Trigger words. No, it wasn’t pretty. On that went for a little while. At length, Julian’s point seemed reluctantly conceded. Then the Arch told us a new story, an additionally human event, the more to baffle us. Controversially, he told us that Mary could not have been Joseph’s first wife, for this would not have been the way of things in the society of that time. His belief was that Joseph must have taken Mary into his household through pity. That would be normal, he said, for Joseph to bring a young, vulnerable girl, who is about to have a baby, within his protection, not meaning to enjoy with her marital relations, but through kindness. ‘And this story of the inn and stable,’ the Archbishop said, ‘it can’t have been like that really. Joseph has travelled with Mary to stay with his family, at home in Bethlehem, and they don’t want Mary in their house, for reasons which I am sure we can understand. It must have been there was considerable resistance to Mary. But Mary gives birth, and who can resist a baby? That’s what happened. It must have been. ‘I’m convinced that must have been how it happened really.’ Later that term, toward the beginning of Advent, we met boys who had been here before, in Valladolid, and now were in regular seminary. They had heard and recited verbatim all the Archbishop had said to them. Their spot-on impressions of each of the fathers were scathing. […]
Saint Dominic, born Domingo de Guzmán, was born around 1170 in Caleruega, Spain. He hailed from a noble family; his mother, Blessed Joan of Aza, and his father, Felix Guzmán, provided a pious and nurturing environment. Dominic was educated in the faith and developed a deep spiritual foundation from an early age [ … ]
Psalm 136 is a mosaic of praise, history, and theology. The psalm invites the community of believers to remember, recite and relive manifold demonstrations of God’s mercy. Each of the psalm’s 26 verses ends with the refrain, ‘for his mercy endureth for ever.’ This structure not only provides rhythm but also deeply ingrains the core truth of God’s steadfast love. From creation to historical events, from personal deliverance to provision for all life, the psalm celebrates the enduring and comprehensive nature of God’s mercy [ … ]
