Chapter Text
120:1 A Song of Ascents. In my distress I called to Yahweh, And He answered me.
120:2 O Yahweh, deliver my soul from a lying lip, From a deceitful tongue.
120:3 What shall He give to you, and what shall He add to you, O deceitful tongue?
120:4 Sharp arrows of the warrior, With the burning coals of the broom tree.
120:5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
120:6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling With those who hate peace.
120:7 I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "called", "song", "ascents", "distress", "yahweh", "answered", and "deliver". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "song", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local LSB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "called" and "song" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "song" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.