Show Don't Tell: Psalm 120

Instead of saying "The pilgrim calls for deliverance from liars," start the ascent. First of fifteen Songs of Ascent (120-134)—sung by pilgrims climbing to Jerusalem. "I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues." The journey begins in distress, among liars. "What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue? He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush." Arrows and coals—painful judgment. "Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar!" Meshek—far north. Kedar—desert east. Both distant, hostile, pagan. Symbolic of living among those who oppose peace. "I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war." The pilgrim's condition before reaching Jerusalem.