Foundation of the Pilgrim Song

“A Song of Ascents.

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.

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” (Psalm 120).

This is the first of the Songs of Ascent, a series of Psalms (120-134) to be sung on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Pilgrim, sojourner: the biblical attitude for the believer in this world (Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-3; Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11), whether a king in a palace (1 Chronicles 29:15) or a persecuted saint (Hebrews 11:37,38).

Hear the song. Regardless of the voices around you, be for peace (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14). Speak for peace. It is found only in Christ (Isaiah 9:6; 53:5; John 14:27; 16:33; Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:4-7).

This song reaches back to the beginning of the Bible, and forward to where it intersects us at the end of the Book. “Meshech,” in the tribe’s earliest description, is associated with the name “Magog” (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5; Ezekiel 38:2). Rather than trying to relate these names to modern groups (which I think just clouds the point of the text and relies on conjecture), hear the Psalmist’s cry. He is surrounded by those who speak lies and hate peace – and therefore hate those who speak the truth of God and proclaim the peace of God in Messiah, the Christ, the Prince of peace.

This aggression is found in the last pages of the Book: “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog [relative to Meshech], to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (Revelation 20:7-9).

In other words, no matter where you are, no matter the neighbors or co-workers, speak the truth and peace as it is found in Jesus Christ alone. This is the foundation from which the pilgrim sings and longs for home with the Lord.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Lake Taneycomo (Missouri) morning...within
the hour Table Rock Dam began generating,
and the stillness was gone.