Psalm 120: Living Below In This Old Sinful World Wisdom From God Psalm 120: Living Below In This Old Sinful World

The Psalms Of Ascents Special segment of the Psalms Known as Psalms of Ascents Hebrew: SHIR HAMA’ALOTH So called in both the Septuagint and also in the Latin Vulgate manuscripts. Pertaining to worship of God in Jerusalem – which is always approached by ASCENDING since it sits at a higher elevation than its surrounding areas.

The Psalms Of Ascents Designation for Psalms 120-134 15 in number Two primary proposals for their compilation Sang by Jewish pilgrims during the yearly feasts Sang by priests as they ascended the 15 steps from the court of women to the Holy Place.

Organization Of Psalms Middle psalm by Solomon Four psalms by David 122, 124, 131, 133 Two on either side of Solomon’s psalm Ascending theme: starts with trouble, hardship, and ascends to deliverance, peace, unity, and joy.

Beauty Of The Organization From turkeys to eagles: Learning to soar! Psalm 37:1-6: “Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.”

Psalm 120: Where Could I Go? Song in two stanzas Theme: facing the vexation of our souls as we live in a sinful world. Vexation of living amongst sinners Vexation of being a peacemaker amidst warmongers Summed up well in “Where Could I Go But To The Lord”

Verses 1-4 – Crying To The Lord “In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior, with the burning coals of the broom tree.”

Crying To God In Our Need I cried and He answered Psalm 18:6 – “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.” Psalm 30:2– “O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.”

God Is A Very Present Help Psalm 46:1– “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” How often are we vexed in our souls by the condition of this world?

Living With Liars and Deceivers Psalm 120:2 – “Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron….” Liars and deceivers abound

1 Timothy 1:8-11 “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

Judgment Against All Liars Verse 3-4 – “What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior, with the burning coals of the broom tree.” Revelation 21:8 – “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Cry Of A Peacemaker Verses 5-7 -- Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, for I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” Sojourning in the lost world. Meshech and Kedar?

When Our Souls Are Vexed By The Worldly 2 Peter 2:6-8 – “…and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)….”

War and Peace And The Christian I’m for peace, they for war We cannot embrace James 4:4 – “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

2 Corinthians 6:14-17a “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.”

We Are Peacemakers Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Romans 12:18 – “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

The Kingdom Of Heaven IS Peace Romans 14:17 – “…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 – “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”