Psalms 120 to 134 were put together for use by pilgrims attending the annual feasts of Israel. They did so because they pictured the journey they would make. Jesus would have sung these psalms as he travelled to Jerusalem for the feasts he attended.
Often since then, these psalms have been considered very suitable for reflection on the Christian life as a journey from this world to heaven. They contain details that we can use for own situations. So what details can be found in Psalm 120?
The first detail is that a traveller journeying to heaven is a person who prays (v.1). A reason why he prays is because he is in covenant with God. We can see that is the case from the name he uses for God – he is Yahweh, the covenant keeping God. When does our covenant with God begin? It begins when we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus. Because he is the covenant God, he answers prayer.
The second detail is that the traveller to heaven is distressed by the people he lives among. In verse 2, the psalmist says that they do not tell the truth, and in verses 6 and 7 he says that they don’t want to live peacefully. He finds that a real burden on his heart.
A third detail is that the traveller to heaven realises that life in this world is far away from God. That is brought out in verse 5 when the psalmist mentions Meshech and Kedar. It was impossible to dwell in both these places at the same time – Meshech is in modern-day Turkey and Kedar is in modern-day Saudi Arabia. He is using those distant places to illustrate that the people he lives among have no wish to travel to meet with God.
The fourth detail that we can see is that the traveller to heaven knows that God will judge those who live ungodly lives. The author mentions that in verses 3 and 4. They will find themselves up against a real Warrior who will deal with them for their sins.
The fifth detail that we can consider is how the traveller to heaven defines himself. He is for peace (v.7), but when he speaks about it, those listening to him don’t like what they hear, and they reveal their opposition to his message of peace. Don’t we experience the same when we speak about the gospel of peace? When we tell people that there is a way for them to be reconciled to God they don’t want to hear the gospel of peace.
What is the message of this psalm? Surely it is that there are two kinds of people in the world and they are very different from one another. The differences are shown in their speech and in their longing for true peace. For Christians, this psalm tells them that this world is not their home.
