We've been lied to.

(all major Scriptures are from NASB, Shorter quotations verses are paraphrased by myself.)

This, and subsequent studies on the Songs of Ascent, are loosely based on a book I read years ago, whose title was to the effect of 'A Long Journey in One Direction', and which, if memory serves, was written by a Mr. Robertson. Hopefully, I will come across it once more, and be able to provide better references.

Ps 120 Repentance

5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech.

David's prayer, David's example.

Background

Assuming David as the author, there remains the question of whether this was written during the time when he was being harassed by Saul, or at some later stage in life, such as when Absalom revolted.

Assurance in Trial (1-4)

In my trouble I cried to the LORD,
And He answered me.
1
Assurance and confidence. "I have long called on Him in times of distress, and ever He has answered." (Calvin) In this present trial, He will surely answer as well. Whether before Saul or Absalom, David was in the presence of his men, who also needed to know the assurance of God's answer.
This stands as an example of the prayer of faith that James speaks of. (Jas 1:6 - But let him ask in faith without any doubting. Jas 5:16 - The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.)
Prayer in time of trial is not a bad thing, but the confidence it expresses, and the assurance it brings depend on a well developed life of prayer.
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
2
Problem statement. In uncertain times, attack comes both from the barbarian without, and the kinsman within. David seeks delivery from lying 'friends' whose aim is to destroy, and delivery from lying enemies, who forge false charges. (Mic 6:12 - the men of the city speak lies; they have deceitful tongues in their mouths.)
In this, David is a type of Christ, who was laid upon by false charges. And so, the righteous are sure to be attacked by lies, for the chief of their opposition is the father of lies. If they spared not the Son, how then should we expect to be spared? Yet, the godly may be assured in the face of such attacks, that they will come to nothing, as God will disappoint their plans.
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
3
Warning reminder. Consider what will be given by your Judge: sharp and mighty arrows, and burning wrath. God is the one who will give the due to lying lips.

Ps 64

 
1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
 
2
Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of those who do iniquity,
 
3
Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
 
4
To shoot from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.
 
5
They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, "Who can see them?"
 
6
They devise injustices, saying,
"We are ready with a well-conceived plot";
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.
   
 
7
But God will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
 
8
So they will make him stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will shake the head.
 
9
Then all men will fear,
And will declare the work of God,
And will consider what He has done.
 
10
The righteous man will be glad in the LORD, and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
 

Ps 52:4-7

 
4
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
 
 
 
5
But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up, and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living.
Selah.
 
6
And the righteous will see and fear,
And will laugh at him, saying,
 
7
"Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
And was strong in his evil desire."
 Ps 7:13-14He has prepared weapons and fiery arrows working wickedness, and conceiving mischievous falsehoods.
 Hos 9:14what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning coals of the broom tree.
4
Question Answered. "so may the LORD do…and more" Verse 4 is the answer. He will give sharp arrows, and add burning coals. Thus the punishment is poetic justice to the crime.
(Jer 9:8 - The tongue is a deadly arrow of deceit. He speaks peace, but sets an ambush. Jas 3:6 - The tongue is a fire, set on fire by hell, and setting on fire the course of our life. Ps 140:9-11 - May the wicked be covered by the mischief of their lips, burning coals falling upon them, as they are cast into deep pits of fire. Let the liar be hunted by evil. Isa 33:14 - Sinners in Zion are terrified. "who can live with the consuming fire? With the continual burning?")

In the midst of the trial, David remains confident that God's justice must prevail. He will yet be vindicated of those who have lied to him and about him.

 

Honesty in Trial (5-7)

Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
5

Alienation. Meshech and Kedar are held out as typical of the people he is forced to be among, not the literal. He was held at distance from the ordinances of God, and as such never felt at home. (Is 66:19 - I will send them to nations that haven't heard of My fame or glory: Meshech, Tarshish, Tubal, Javan…) He cries out over his prolonged absence from the altars of God. (Matthew Henry)

Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
6
Longsuffering. It is a prolonged suffering. David is not afraid to be honest with His God, nor is God ashamed to hear that honest cry.

I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.

7
Steadfastness. "I peace." My nature is peace, but at my words, they speak only of war. They take my words as cause for war. (JF & B)
Even as a man of war, he prays for and seeks after peace. "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable." In the face of reason and respect, the wicked clamor for a fight.
Christ's enemies were such: hearing good words and seeing good works, they sought to stone Him. We ought not to be surprised by similar treatment, we mustn't be overcome with evil, but must rather overcome evil with good. (Matthew Henry)
"We are taught by his example, that it is not enough for the faithful to abstain from hurting others: they must, moreover, study to allure them by gentleness, and to bend them to good will." (John Calvin)

Clarifying the imagery

 

1

 
Trouble (tsarah[6869]): also indicates a vexer, or a rival wife
He answered me ('anah[6030]): to answer, to respond to; to testify, respond as a witness
 

3

Given (nathan [5414]): to be bestowed, granted, permitted, ascribed to
If this is written later in David's life, how this word must have reminded him of his own sin! If earlier, how Nathan must have stood as a reminder when he came to speak of David's sin with Bathsheeba - his own case of lying tongue.

4

 
The arrows of the Almighty: his terrors (Job 6:4).
Juniper coals are notorious for their vehement and persistent heat, that continues even after it seems to have gone out.
 

5

 
Sojourn (guwr[1481]): to dwell for a time, to be a stranger, to seek hospitality with
 
Meshech [4902]: 'drawing out' as in long-lasting. The sons of Japheth, the peoples north of Israel
Meshech is of Magog (Eze 38:2 - along with Rosh and Tubal, against whom GOD stands to put the hook into their jaws. [think Assyrians]).
(ISBE) Listed by Assyrian writings as enemies of that country, along with Tubal, a fellow son of Japheth.
[another case of archeology confirming the truth of Scripture]
(Ge 10:2) - so, too, were Magog and Javan (Greece). Noted as being in the slave trade: (Eze 27:13).
(Fausset's) warlike race around Armenia. Lawless and fierce. Source of name Moscow? Frequently embattling the Assyrians.
(Illustrated) Assuming that the Assyrian 'Mita - king of Meshech' is the same Midas known to the Greeks, the Phrygians of Greek history would then be the Mushki of Assyrian history, and thus, Meshech.
Together with Kedar, they represented the bounds of the civilized world: Meshech to the north, and Kedar to the southeast.
 
Kedar [6938]: 'dark', a son of Ishmael
(ISBE) 2nd son of Ishmael (Ge 25:13). They will be accepted at His altar eventually (Isa 60:7). Assyrian writings put them with the Arabs, and Nebaioth (1st son of Ishmael), with whom Scripture also joins them (Jer 2:10), and notes them fighting King Assurbanipal. One of the major tribes in Ishmael, and so taken as indicative of the whole of Ishmael. Mohammed came from the Kedar tribe.
(Fausset's) Representative of the Arabs. Warriors and archers, marauding lovers of strife. (Ge 16:12 - His hand will be against every man, and every man's against him.)
(Illustrated) Fought against Sennacherib, and often raided Assyrian lands. From the west. Defeated by Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer 49:28-33 - the defeat of Kedar)
Dwell (shakan[7931]): to settle down to abide, to establish, to tabernacle

"Woe is me for I dwell for a time, too long a time, amongst the long-lasting violence of surrounding peoples. I am forced to settle down amidst marauding lovers of strife, they whose hands are against every man, and against whom is every man."

 

6-7

 
Peace (shalom [7965]): completeness, soundness, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, friendship

Making it personal

1
The habit of godly prayer, like the reminder of the feasts of Israel, serves to build up belief and confidence in God. It provides us with a history of answers from our Lord. The effective prayer avails much…but the effective prayer seeks the things of the kingdom of Christ. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." "Thy will be done."
The prayer that seeks God's rubber stamp approval of our own ideas, that seek His hand without seeking His Lordship, will rather serve in the long run to do just the opposite, as prayers He cannot honor go unanswered, and our faith becomes weak.
2-3
Herein is recognition of our true situation. We've been lied to. And we've bought into that lie hook, line, and sinker. We've been lied to about the world we live in, about the meaning or meaninglessness of our existence, about what it means to have a good life. The father of lies has been hard at work, the serpent still spins his story in our ears. But who's our worst enemy? Jer 17:9 puts the danger deep in ourselves, for the heart is deceitful above all things. This is the liar we most need to be delivered from, and as that recognition dawns, repentance can finally begin. Seeing the enemy within, and reminded of God's faithfulness, we are firmly reminded to seek our answer in Him.
4
Isa 33:14 - Sinners in Zion are terrified. "who can live with the consuming fire? With the continual burning?"
5-6
I live amidst a warlike and implacable people, yes. But do they notice any difference in me? Do I notice any difference in the me that I haven't yet let Christ shine into? No, the new life birthed within me by the Grace of God is forced to dwell against the warlike and implacable me. And this has gone on far too long. Cry out! He will surely answer the cry of our soul to be freed from this captivity!
7
And Christ Jesus cries over us: "I peace. I am peace. But when I speak, when My truth breaks through the deception, will you be for war? Will you fight Me as I seek to renew you after the image of your Creator?"

The road to Jerusalem must begin with repentance. But repentance cannot come before recognition of the need.

  

©2001 - Jeffrey A. Wilcox