October 2ndPsalm 120
I am for Peace
SONGS OF ASCENTS
Psalms 120-134 are known as ‘Songs of Ascents’, that is, songs for the way up to Jerusalem. They were songs sung by pilgrims as they travelled to Jerusalem (which lies about 2300 feet above sea-level) in order to attend one of the Covenant festivals. It is a kind of book of devotions for those ‘on the way’ to worship and give thanks to Yahweh, the Covenant God.
These psalms often deal with matters of daily life – place of residence (home), routine activities, the importance of family and community. There is also a concern with the nation and events it faces (123-126, 130-132). And the psalms illuminate, theologically, how disciples are to live with God. Themes include: God’s providential care, repentance, security, work, happiness, hope, obedience, community life. They are a rich devotional resource for all Christians.
PSALM 120 ‘ I am for peace’
‘A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he or she acquires an appetite for the world of grace.’ [Eugene Peterson]
Psalm 120 is the song of a person sick of the lies and hatred so prevalent in the world. It is a cry of pain, of distress, but that cry is the beginning, a new beginning – a journey to God which becomes a life of peace.
Note the first words of the psalm, ‘In my distress.’ The last word is ‘war.’ This is not a happy song but necessary one.
The psalmist laments that she lives in a world of lies. We know them only to well: the false promise of joy the advertisers offer; the lie that we deserve all we’ve got, and even more; the lies of politicians promising easy fixes to social problems; the entertainers who divert us from life in its seriousness and complexity; the pedlars of religion who offer five easy steps to health and wealth.
“Deliver me from the liars, God!
They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth.”
Rescue me from those who wish to tell me about life but who forget about Christ, from those wise in the ways of the world but deaf to the movement of the Spirit.
The word LORD (Yahweh) occurs only once in this psalm but it is the clue to the whole. Once God is admitted into our understanding, everything changes. God fills our horizon with truth, with illumination.
The Scottish teacher, John Baillie once wrote that ‘I am sure that the bit of the road that requires most to be illuminated is the point where it forks.’ LORD is the flash of light that illuminates the fork and requires a decision to take one way as over against the other. It is the decisive turning point. Each Sunday millions of Christians affirm this decision to follow the way of the LORD. Each Monday women and men go out into the world having made the decision to follow Christ and show by their lives the impact of that decision on their work and their play and their homes.
Our psalmist laments that her neighbours do not know the way of shalom. Their way of life is the way of violence, selfishness, and greed. Note carefully here that our psalmist says, I am peace’ v.7), not as the English translations have it, ‘I am for peace.’ In other words, peace is not just a concept or principle, it is something that must be lived out and exhibited in our lifestyle. This in fact is what the NT says about Christ. He is not merely a teacher or example of peace; rather ‘He is our peace’ (Ephesians 2.14).
At a conference in Winnipeg, I heard stories of ordinary Mennonite Christians who lived and worked for peace in their neighborhoods. Those stories included the following:
It was a Canadian Mennonite woman who gained national attention by lobbying (successfully) for less violent scenes in the children’s TV show “Power Rangers” in the 1990s.
Mennonites also hopped on the anti-war toys campaign of the 1990s. Ontario Mennonite Fred Snyder bought his local Sears’ entire stock of GI Joe toys on his credit card, and then returned them after Christmas. Sears was forced to return the toys to the manufacturer!
In 1980 a large group of farmers, including Mennonites, testified against building a uranium refinery, the El Dorado nuclear site, on farmland in Warman, Saskatchewan. 40% of those giving witness were women. The protests were heard and the refinery was not built on that site.
Thomas à Kempis (1380 - 1471)
Grant me, O Lord, to know what is worth knowing,
to love what is worth loving,
to praise what delights you most,
to value what is precious to you,
and to reject whatever is evil in your eyes.
Give me true discernment,
so that I may judge rightly between things that differ.
Above all, may I search out and do what is pleasing to you;
through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen.