In my distress, I called to the Lord, and He answered me. Deliver me, oh Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
– Psalm 120:1–2
I want you to get the context here. And I’m going to read directly from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. This is a great, helpful commentary, by the way, that is pretty brief, but gives really good explanation. If you are looking for a commentary that’s just helpful to shed light on verses you’re meditating on, I would definitely recommend it.
Psalm 120:1–2 is a prayer for deliverance.
This commentary points to the distress that the psalmist is under. To quote, “The Psalmist details his present adversity. Though he has been assured that the Lord will respond favorably, he still suffers, as he prays for deliverance from false accusations and treachery.” The lying lips and deceitful tongue are people who are attacking him. And he’s praying for help from God.
You get all the way to the end. After he talks about a warrior’s sharp arrows. How words can hurt and harm in so many different ways. You get to the very end. And again to quote from the commentary here, “The psalmist reminds the Lord he’s suffered long enough in this present situation. He’s lived among people who hate peace.” That’s where the psalm ends. “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” The commentary says, “They malign, slander, and make every aspect of life difficult for the Godly, and the psalmist is tired of his affliction.” Then it goes on to just talk about how the psalm is just praying for God’s help when you want peace, but people are speaking at you for war.
Psalm 120:1–2 encourages us to pray amidst distress.
Now, how does that apply to all of our lives? Well, so many different ways. But I just want to encourage you today in any level of distress you might find yourself in. This is Verse 1. In your distress, call to the Lord. Look to him. In our distress, we are so tempted to look at all the things that are causing that distress. It’s not that those things aren’t significant. But to see all of them through the lens of looking to the Lord… And knowing that the Lord will answer you when you call to him, that the Lord will ultimately deliver you.
That’s Verse 2. “Deliver me, oh Lord, from these lying lips, from these deceitful tongues.” Obviously, the rest of the psalm goes on to talk about the psalmist working for peace. Trying to promote peace. Knowing that ultimately only God can bring deliverance and peace amidst distress. I just want to encourage you today to trust in the Lord amidst any distress you are experiencing. To call to the Lord, who is the God of peace. The God who is your refuge and your strength and ever-present help.
This verse calls us to trust God as our protector.
That’s the next psalm. I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth. The Lord is your helper. Call out to him in the middle of your distress, and trust in him to deliver you, to provide for you, to protect you, to defend you, to lead you, to guide you, to be and do all the things that only he can do.
O God, I pray this over every single person who is experiencing any distress right now in this fallen world, that they would know that you see them and you hear their cries and you will answer according to your word, and you have power to deliver them, to strengthen them, to help them. Just as Psalm 121 says, you are our helper, God. I just pray that people who are walking through any kind of distress right now would know you’re their helper and you love them, and you hear them and you see them and you care for them, and you will provide for them in ways that only you can.
Prayer for the Malay People
God, we pray for people who don’t know you in this way, for people who don’t know you as their helper.
Lord, we pray specifically today for the Malay people of South Africa, specifically the Cape Malay people in South Africa, for 330,000 of them who have never heard the good news that you’re their helper who will deliver them from sin and ultimately from suffering in this fallen world. God, we pray that the Cape Malay people of South Africa would be reached with the good news of your love in Jesus. Use our lives to reach them, peoples of the world, and people right around us today with this good news, that you are the prince of peace, that you save us from our sins and ultimately from suffering in this fallen world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
