Psalms 120-125

SONGS OF ASCENT (or "Degrees")

The Songs of Ascent are 15 psalms (120-134), possibly sung as the Israelites traveled up to Jerusalem for their three annual feasts. Some theorize that they were sung by priests while ascending the 15 steps up to the temple, one psalm for each step. For more, see this excerpt from The Treasury of David by C. H. Spurgeons.

Psalm 120
Prayer for Deliverance from Slanderers.

1-2 In my distress I cry "Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips."
3-4 A deceitful tongue should be pierced with arrows and burned with hot coals.
5-7 I am an alien here, a man who seeks peace among those who seek war.

Psalm 121
Assurance of God's Protection

1-2 My help comes not from the hills but from the LORD. Previously, when I read this Psalm or sung the hymn Unto the Hills, I supposed it was talking of lifting up one's eyes to the hills to seek God there. But in one of Bill's (my husband's) sermons, his reference to Jeremiah 3:23 gave me a different interpretation. In that passage, Jeremiah is chastising his people for their participation in the degenerate practices of idolatry: "Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel." The hills - the high places - are the sites of idol worship - not a reliable source of help.
3-6 The LORD, who never sleeps, will protect you from slipping, from being struck blind by the sun or "moonstruck."
7-8 The LORD will keep you from evil and be with you at every place and at every time.

Psalm 122. Of David
Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.

1-2 "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD!'"
3-5 The city of Jerusalem is the destination for all the tribes, the site for the thrones of judgment and the house of David.
6-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for the prosperity of those who love her, for the sake of the house of the LORD.

Psalm 123
Supplication for Mercy

1-2 Our eyes look up to the LORD as servants to the eyes of their master.
3-4 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, for we have had enough of contempt from the proud and scorn from those who are at ease.

Psalm 124. Of David.
Thanksgiving for Israel's Deliverance

1-5 If it had not been for the LORD, we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies.
6-7 Blessed be the LORD who has helped us escape like a bird from the snare of the fowlers.
8 Our help is in the LORD's name who has made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125
The Security of God's People

1-2 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which abides forever, surrounded by God like it is surrounded by mountains.
3-5 Wickedness cannot last in a land where the righteous do good, for God will do good to the upright, but will lead away those who turn aside to their own crooked ways.