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0:33

Audio The

0:35

Bible Study Podcast, Episode 860. Today

0:38

the Bible Study Podcast continues the study

0:40

of the book of Psalms with Psalm

0:42

120. Welcome

0:52

to the Bible Study Podcast. I'm your

0:55

host, Chris Christensen. We're going to continue

0:57

on with the study of Psalms, Psalm

0:59

120. We're probably going to do at

1:01

least three Psalms today. We're entering into

1:03

the songs of Ascent. And

1:06

the songs of Ascent are songs that mean

1:08

to go up. And there's two different theories.

1:11

One is that they were for pilgrims who were

1:14

going up to Jerusalem for

1:16

one of the different festivals. And

1:19

the other one is that the 15 Psalms of Ascent

1:21

match the 15 steps of the temple. So

1:26

we'll continue on with Psalm 120. The

1:28

first of these, but first a word from this

1:30

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enoblefirst.com. Psalm

2:36

120, a song of ascent. I

2:38

call on the Lord in my distress

2:40

and he answers me. Save me, Lord,

2:42

from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

2:45

What will he do to you and

2:47

what more besides, you deceitful tongue? He

2:50

will punish you with a warrior's sharp

2:53

arrows, with burning coals of the broom

2:55

bush. Woe to me that

2:57

I dwell in Meshech, that I

2:59

live among the tents of Kedar. Too

3:01

long have I lived among those who hate peace.

3:04

I am for peace, but when I

3:06

speak, they are for war. Two

3:09

different things going on here. One

3:11

is this lying tongues. The psalmist lives

3:13

among people with lying tongues. I call

3:16

on the Lord in my distress and

3:18

he answers me. Save me, Lord, from

3:20

lying lips and from deceitful

3:22

tongues. We know

3:24

that lying is bad. We learned that from

3:26

our parents. I hope you

3:29

learned that from your parents or if not, from

3:31

your Sunday school teacher or

3:33

your kindergarten teacher or someone. But

3:36

there are different ways that lying can be

3:38

bad. Lying can be bad because somebody is

3:40

lying about us and there are things that

3:42

are untrue and it's so hard, as we've

3:44

talked about before, to put

3:46

lies back in the bottle. There's

3:49

something that clings with lies. So if people

3:51

say things about us that are untrue or

3:53

about other people that are untrue,

3:56

even if you hear the truth, the

3:58

lie tends to persist. What

4:01

is it? The lie can make it halfway around the world

4:03

before truth even gets out of

4:05

bed? Isn't that the way the saying goes? And

4:08

so that's one problem. And the other problem,

4:10

I think, with lies is the lies that

4:13

we believe. And if

4:15

you think about that, whether

4:17

we're talking politics, obviously, there's a great

4:19

place for lies, or

4:21

you're talking heurithies, or you're

4:23

talking at work, you

4:26

know, that somebody is trying to move you

4:28

in a different direction and they're lying about

4:30

what's going on, or all

4:32

sorts of different places where if

4:35

we get caught up in lies,

4:37

it also can have bad consequences.

4:40

If we're acting in ways that we think,

4:42

for instance, are the right way but

4:44

it turns out it's based on a lie, how

4:46

difficult that is. So the trouble with

4:48

lies, and one of the reasons why

4:51

God hates lies, is the damage that

4:53

they do. What will he

4:55

do to you, and what more besides

4:57

you deceitful tongue? He will punish you

4:59

with the warrior sharp arrows with burning

5:01

coals of the broom bush. This

5:04

is how much God hates liars. This is

5:06

what God doesn't want us to be doing.

5:09

Woe to me for I dwell in Meshech and I

5:11

live among the

5:13

tents of Kedar, too long have I lived among

5:16

those who hate peace. I am

5:18

for peace, but when I speak they are for war.

5:21

The thing we have to remember is it's

5:23

tough. Think of right now,

5:25

I'm in the conflict

5:27

between Russia and Ukraine. Russia

5:30

clearly invaded, so I'm on the side

5:32

of Ukraine, I would have

5:34

to say, because I'm on the side in general

5:37

of the ones who are defending

5:39

their freedom rather than those who

5:41

are attacking and invading. But

5:44

news just happened, for instance, that there

5:46

were civilians who were killed in

5:48

a terrorist attack in Moscow, and what should

5:51

I say? Should I hate the

5:53

people who are in Moscow because

5:55

I like the people who are in Ukraine?

6:00

disapprove of what happened in

6:02

Gaza where Hamas went out

6:04

and attacked Israel and

6:06

took hostages, but also disapprove

6:09

how Israel has come in

6:11

and attacked and killed civilians

6:13

there. It's easy for

6:15

us to pick a side and

6:17

decide that this side is right and

6:19

always right. And I think

6:21

God is on the side quite often of peace

6:24

and of love and understanding.

6:26

And so the psalmist

6:29

here has problems with he

6:31

is living among people he says who hates peace

6:33

and he is for peace. And

6:36

it's tough to be for peace because sometimes

6:38

you have to be for peace even

6:41

when it's uncomfortable. You have to

6:43

be for peace for the person you don't like

6:45

as well as the person you do. Going

6:49

on for Psalm 121. Psalm 121, A

6:51

Song of Ascent. Again, number two out

6:53

of 15. I lift up

6:55

my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from?

6:58

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of

7:00

heaven and earth. He will not let

7:02

your foot slip. He who watches

7:05

over you will not slumber. Indeed,

7:07

he who watches over Israel will

7:09

neither slumber nor sleep. The

7:11

Lord watches over you. The Lord is

7:13

your shade at your right hand. The

7:15

sun will not harm you by day

7:17

nor the moon by night. The Lord

7:20

will keep you from all harm. He

7:22

will watch over your life. The Lord

7:24

will watch over your coming and going

7:26

both now and forevermore. This

7:29

is an encouraging psalm and it's interesting

7:32

this song remember that

7:34

all psalms are songs the song of

7:36

ascent here remember thinking about this

7:38

as and I and I want to use in

7:41

that controversy of what kind of what

7:44

the psalms are a sent for for

7:46

I like that idea that these are

7:48

songs that pilgrims would sing as they

7:50

head up towards jerusalem and so

7:52

think about that if people are heading

7:54

up towards jerusalem And they're

7:56

heading to the Holy City. And they're heading there

7:59

to worship. This prayer.

8:02

This. Belief in the promises of God

8:04

that God would protect the people of

8:06

God and in this case the people

8:08

of Israel especially old test a mentally

8:10

they would be the people have gone

8:12

and so this is I think both

8:14

a prayer and calling on the promise

8:16

of god. I left my eyes to

8:18

the mountains where does my have come

8:20

from heat My help comes from the

8:22

Lord the maker of Heaven and earth

8:24

And I think about I left my

8:26

eyes to the mountains that we walk

8:28

up to Jerusalem that Jerusalem is above

8:30

that places ahead of us. And

8:32

so am I. Looking at Mount

8:34

Zion as I lift my eyes

8:37

to the mountains. Don't know for

8:39

sure? He will not let your

8:41

foot snap. He will. He who

8:43

watches over you will not slumber.

8:45

indeed who watches of Israel When

8:47

the their slumber nor sleep. God

8:49

does not get tired. God does

8:51

not get tired of caring for

8:53

you got doesn't get tired of

8:55

loving you Got is looking out

8:57

for and desires the best for

8:59

you. His. Child. The

9:01

Lord watches over you. The Lord is

9:03

your shade at your right hand. The

9:05

sun will not harm you by day

9:07

and of them moon by night. Now

9:09

I've not yet gotten a moon burned

9:12

so as not been harmed by the

9:14

moon by night. But it's nice to

9:16

think the idea here with us almost

9:18

is that always and for all time

9:20

that God is watching over you, one

9:22

of his people, The Lord will keep

9:24

you from all harm. He will watch

9:26

over your life. The Lord will watch

9:28

over your coming and going both now

9:30

and forever. now

9:33

the liberal keep you from all harm

9:36

is a hard thing and we've talked

9:38

about that as the podcast that's an

9:40

things do happen to good people but

9:43

we know that god desires what is

9:45

best for those who are his children

9:47

cat does it keepers always from all

9:50

harm to though but this is thus

9:52

prayer i think of this worshiper who

9:54

was walking up towards true islam and

9:57

towards the city of god Psalm

10:01

122, a song of

10:03

a sense of David. It's

10:30

easy to see within this psalm that idea of this pilgrim

10:32

going up to Jerusalem. It's

11:00

Jerusalem. You get that sense here that

11:02

this would be a wonderful song to

11:04

sing as a pilgrim heading to Jerusalem.

11:07

Jerusalem is built like a city that

11:09

is closely compacted together. That is where

11:11

the tribes go up. And

11:13

again, this is a song of a sense. The

11:15

tribes are going up to the tribes of the

11:17

Lord to praise the name of the Lord, according

11:20

to the statutes given to Israel. There stands

11:22

the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the

11:24

house of David. And so we're going up

11:27

to Jerusalem to worship. Now

11:29

we don't go to Jerusalem to worship,

11:31

necessarily. I have been to

11:33

Jerusalem. I have worshipped in Jerusalem. I don't know

11:35

whether you have. It's a great experience. But

11:37

it's not the seminal experience

11:39

it would be for the people of God

11:41

in that day. Where

11:43

do we go up to? Where do we

11:46

go to worship? Certainly we go to church

11:48

and sometimes we go to retreats or up

11:50

to the mountaintop experiences or those sorts of

11:52

things. But where do we

11:54

go to meet God? And That's

11:57

really what part of worship means, is

11:59

to have that meaning. Full experience with

12:01

Conrad! And it's

12:03

interesting to think about this song

12:06

in that way. The worshiper who

12:08

is looking for a chance to

12:10

worship God had to be in

12:12

the presence of God Which for

12:14

them mad Jerusalem. For us, it

12:16

can mean all sorts of different

12:18

places. Where do you go to

12:20

meet God and to tell God

12:22

how much you value that relationship

12:25

with him, Prefer the piece of

12:27

Jerusalem. May those who love you

12:29

be secure. May there be peace

12:31

within your walls and security with in your

12:33

citadel's for the sake of my family and

12:35

friends I will say peace be with in

12:37

you for the sake of the house of

12:39

Lord I will seek. You are prosperity. As

12:42

a some of this can be taken

12:44

completely literally. plate Pray for the Piece

12:46

of Jerusalem The pray for the Pieces

12:48

Israel. I would say also for the

12:50

the piece of Israel's neighbors because you

12:53

can't really have one without the other.

12:55

I think we're seeing that right now

12:57

at this time. But pray for the

12:59

security and a piece of your. Family.

13:02

And friends as well. And that is

13:04

a a prayer that I do every

13:06

day. It certainly one I would encourage

13:08

you to do. Think about those you

13:10

love and care for, thank God for

13:12

them and pray that God will bless

13:14

them. And then pray that

13:16

God will bless you this week and

13:18

with that will end this episode of

13:20

The Buffs and He passed. If you

13:22

have any questions and an email to

13:24

host at the Bible Study podcast.com or

13:26

better yet leave a comment on this

13:28

episode at the Bible Study Podcast com

13:30

and six. So. Much for this.

13:43

I want to take just a

13:45

second to thank the team and

13:47

Lifeaudio for their partnership with us

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on this podcast. If you go

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to lifeaudio.com you'll find dozens of

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other faiths centered podcasts and their

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network. They've got shows about prayer,

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