The big picture
Psalm 120 opens the Songs of Degrees without movement toward a peaceful sanctuary already completed. The setting is distress, deceitful speech, and prolonged residence among people who hate peace. The speaker remembers that the LORD heard an earlier cry, yet immediately asks for deliverance again, so remembered help becomes the ground of present prayer rather than a reason to stop praying. A lying tongue is treated as dangerous enough to deserve imagery of sharp arrows and burning coals. The Book of Psalms then widens the problem from one false speaker to an alien social environment symbolized by Mesech and Kedar. The final line is deliberately unresolved: “I am for peace,” but whenever the speaker speaks, those around him are for war. The ascent begins, then, not with harmony but from the place where truthful and peaceable speech receives no matching answer.
Central truth
Psalm 120 begins the Songs of Degrees with a worshiper who is heard in distress, surrounded by deceit and hostility, and committed to peace among people bent on war.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Psalms 120:1: “In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.”
Slow down at the turning point
Psalms 120:3: “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?”
Keep this word trail visible
LORD, peace, soul, tongue, arrows, coals
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Psalms 120:1-2
Heard, and still asking
Start with the heading, a song of degrees, and explain that Psalms 120 to 134 are traditionally linked with ascent, perhaps the pilgrims' climb to Jerusalem for the feasts. Then read verse 1: the psalmist cried and was heard. Teach that the prayer of verse 2 rises out of that memory. The trouble is lying lips and a deceitful tongue. Explain that slander and deceit were then, as now, a way of destroying a person without lifting a weapon.
Psalms 120:3-4
What the false tongue will receive
The psalmist turns to address the false tongue: what shall be given to you? The answer comes in two images, the sharp arrows of a warrior and the burning coals of the broom tree, a wood known for long, hot embers. Explain that lying words are elsewhere likened to arrows and fire (Psalm 64:3; James 3:6), so the judgment fits the offence. Teach these as God's verdict on deceit, not as a call for the psalmist to retaliate.
Psalms 120:5-6
Living among strangers
The psalmist cries woe because he sojourns in Meshech and dwells in the tents of Kedar. Explain Meshech in the far north and Kedar among the desert tribes, two places no one could live at once. The names are a picture: he feels like an exile among hostile peoples, wherever he actually lives. Verse 6 adds the length of it; his soul has long dwelt with one who hates peace. Teach this with care for anyone who feels like a stranger at work, in the neighbourhood or at home.
Psalms 120:7
I am for peace
End on the sharp last line: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” Explain that the psalmist does not give up on peace, but his peaceful words meet hostility. The psalm stops there, unresolved. Then point forward: the next psalm lifts its eyes to the hills and to the Lord who keeps his people. Teach the movement of the whole collection, from distress far away to blessing in Zion, and let this psalm be honest about where the journey starts.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
“A believer who seeks peace will always be treated peacefully.”
120:7 says the opposite: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” Seeking peace does not guarantee that others will answer in kind. Jesus blessed the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) and also warned his followers to expect hostility. Teach this for anyone who has tried to make peace and been rebuffed: their effort is still right before God.
“Arrows and coals mean I can hit back at liars.”
The question of 120:3 is what God will give to the false tongue, and verse 4 describes his judgment. The psalmist does not take up arrows himself; he prays, and he names himself a man of peace. Bring lies and slander to God, as the psalmist does, and leave the recompense with him rather than answering deceit with deceit.
“The psalmist really lived in Meshech and Kedar.”
The two places lie far apart, one in the far north and one in the Arabian desert, so the pairing is a figure of speech rather than an address. The psalmist means that he feels like an exile among harsh neighbours, a feeling many believers know without travelling anywhere. Teach the names briefly and do not let a geography quiz swallow seven sharp verses.
Learning objectives
- Identify the complaint that opens Psalm 120 and the answer already given.
- Explain the judgment images aimed at the deceitful tongue.
- Locate Meshech and Kedar as names that sharpen the speaker’s sense of alienation.
- Describe the contrast between the speaker’s desire for peace and the neighbors’ desire for war.
- Explain why truthful speech matters in a psalm dominated by lying lips.
- Place Psalm 120 as the opening movement of the Songs of Degrees.
Teacher preparation
- Read Psalm 120 beside Psalm 121 so the movement from hostile surroundings to confident keeping is visible.
- Prepare the KJV phrase 'coals of juniper' in verse 4 as a picture of severe judgment, not a lesson on modern barbecue fuel.
- Locate Meshech in the far north and Kedar among Arabian peoples; explain that the paired names emphasize distance and hostile company rather than one shared neighborhood.
- Note that 'Songs of Degrees' is traditionally associated with ascent or pilgrimage, while the heading does not explain the exact historical performance setting.
- Keep the teaching centered on speech, distress, peace, and hostility. Do not let the geography quiz consume seven very sharp verses.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Verse 1 states both distress and response: the speaker cried to the Lord, and the Lord heard him.
Scripture-supported
Verses 2–4 directly connect lying lips and a deceitful tongue with the images of a mighty warrior’s sharp arrows and burning coals.
Strong inference
Meshech and Kedar are geographically separate peoples, so their pairing strongly suggests the speaker is describing life among alien or hostile company rather than giving one residential address.
Possible or traditional reading
A traditional reading sees Psalm 120 as a pilgrim’s opening song on the way toward Jerusalem because it begins the Songs of Degrees. The heading supports the collection name, but it does not specify a procession.
Limit
The psalm does not identify the liars, describe the original dispute, or tell when the conflict occurred. It also does not authorize the speaker to answer deceit with personal violence.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What has already happened before the speaker asks for deliverance in verse 2?
What a good answer contains
He has already prayed and been heard: “In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me” (120:1). The psalm begins with a remembered answer. A good answer sees that the request of verse 2 comes from someone who knows God listens, so the psalm is trusting prayer in ongoing trouble rather than panic. A weak answer treats verse 1 as the result after the psalm instead of the ground beneath it.
Show teacher guidance
Verse 1 says he cried in distress and was heard. Let that answered cry frame the remaining request rather than treating the psalm as unanswered panic.
2. What exactly is the danger named in verse 2?
What a good answer contains
Speech. “Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue” (120:2). The first named threat is lies and deceit, words that wound and isolate. A good answer keeps the focus on words and notices that the psalm later turns to war, as though lying speech were the seed of the hostility. A weak answer jumps straight to the violence of verse 7.
Show teacher guidance
Keep the answer verbal: lying lips and a deceitful tongue. The psalm later mentions war, but its first named threat is corrupt speech.
3. How do arrows and burning coals answer the question in verses 3–4 about the false tongue?
What a good answer contains
The psalmist asks the false tongue what it will receive, and answers with images of judgment: “Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper” (120:4). Arrows pierce, and the wood of the broom tree burns long and hot. The false tongue has wounded like arrows and burned like fire, and that is what will come back to it. A good answer reads them as severe recompense from God that fits the offence. A weak answer builds a hidden code out of each object.
Show teacher guidance
Read them as images of severe recompense. Avoid making each object stand for an elaborate hidden code the psalm never supplies.
4. Why are Meshech and Kedar striking names to place together in verse 5?
What a good answer contains
Because they are far apart. The psalmist says he sojourns in Mesech and dwells “in the tents of Kedar” (120:5): Meshech lay in the far north toward the Black Sea, and Kedar among the desert tribes of Arabia. No one could live in both. A good answer sees them as pictures of living among hostile strangers, a feeling of exile wherever one is. A weak answer tries to plot a journey between them.
Show teacher guidance
They point in different geographic directions. Their pairing underlines estrangement and hostile surroundings more than a precise travel itinerary.
5. What is the final contrast in verses 6–7?
What a good answer contains
“My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war” (120:6-7). The psalmist wants peace; his neighbours want conflict, and even his peaceful words provoke them. A good answer sees that the psalm ends unresolved, still among the hostile. A weak answer expects the psalmist to win or his enemies to change.
Show teacher guidance
The speaker has long lived among those who hate peace; he identifies himself with peace, yet his speech meets their readiness for war.
6. How does Psalm 120 function as an opening to Psalms 120–134?
What a good answer contains
It begins the Songs of Degrees, the psalms of ascent, with distress and displacement. The pilgrim starts far from Jerusalem, among liars and warmongers, longing for peace. A good answer sees that the journey toward God begins in need, and that the following psalms move toward Zion and the Lord who keeps his people. A weak answer expects a pilgrim collection to open with arrival and celebration.
Show teacher guidance
Notice that the collection starts with distress, displacement, and a cry to the Lord. The ascent begins with need, not with a polished arrival scene.
Responsible application
Guard the room from verbal weapons
Use verses 2–4 to set a discussion rule: challenge false claims directly, but do not answer distortion with distortion, mockery, or retaliation.
Practice peace without pretending
Use verses 6–7 to distinguish a commitment to peace from denial that others may remain hostile. Build community expectations around truthful, non-escalating speech.
Start the journey where the text starts
When beginning a new study or ministry effort, name the actual pressure in the passage before rushing to a triumphant ending. Psalm 120 begins in distress and still calls to God.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
A song of ascents
Explain the Songs of Degrees and read Psalm 120 aloud. Take question six.
Heard in distress
Read 120:1-2 and take questions one and two.
Arrows and coals
Read 120:3-4 and take question three and confusion two.
Meshech, Kedar and war
Read 120:5-7. Take questions four and five, then confusions one and three.
Handout
Read Psalm 121:1-2 to show where the journey goes next. Give out the handout and read the key verse together.
90 minutes
How a journey starts
Ask how a long journey usually begins, with excitement or with trouble. Explain the Songs of Degrees and read Psalm 120.
Heard
Read 120:1 and take question one. Ask people to recall privately a time they cried out and were heard.
Lying lips
Read 120:2-4 with James 3:5-8. Take questions two and three and confusion two.
Exile
Read 120:5-6 and take question four and confusion three. Discuss what it feels like to live among people who do not share your faith.
For peace
Read 120:7 and Romans 12:18, and take question five and confusion one.
Up to the hills
Read Psalm 121 and Psalm 122:1, and return to question six, noticing the direction of travel.
Handout
Give out the handout, read the key verse together, and pray for peacemakers.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Talk about what it feels like when someone tells lies about you or when people around you want to fight. Read 120:1-2 and say that the man in this psalm told God, and God heard him. Read 120:7 and talk about choosing peace even when others do not. Leave out the arrows and coals, or describe them simply as God being fair.
Youth
Lies and online pile-ons are familiar to young people. Read 120:2-3 and ask how deceitful words hurt. Discuss 120:7: what do you do when you want peace and others want a fight? Talk about feeling like a stranger in your own school or group, and point them to Psalm 121 for where to look next.
Adults
Adults can explore the Songs of Degrees as a collection and ask why it opens in exile. Discuss slander in workplaces and churches, the long weariness of 120:6 and the costly work of making peace. Some will feel like strangers at work or in their own families; let the psalm name that without sliding into despair.
One to one
Ask the person whether they feel surrounded by hostility or lies anywhere in their life. Read 120:1-2 and remind them that God hears. If they have been trying to make peace and failing, read 120:7 and affirm that seeking peace is still right. Read Psalm 121 together as the next step of the journey.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Psalms 120:1–7
The passage in brief
Psalm 120 is the first of the Songs of Ascents, the pilgrim songs. The singer remembers that when he was in trouble he cried to the Lord and was heard. Now he asks to be rescued from lying lips and deceitful tongues, and says that God will judge them. He feels like a stranger living among hostile people far from home. He wants peace, but when he speaks, they want war. The journey toward God begins here, in need.
A verse to keep
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.
Psalms 120:1-2 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What does the singer remember in 120:1?
What danger does he ask to be rescued from in 120:2?
Where in your life do you want peace when others want conflict?
This week
When someone speaks against you this week, bring it to God in prayer before you answer them.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
