Songs of Ascents - bwaychurch.orgbwaychurch.org/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Lesson-2.pdfPsalm 120 1 A song of the steps.To Yahweh, in my distress, to him I call that He

SongsofAscentsLesson2

“Psalm120”

Objective: To inspire a greater appreciation of the Psalms, more understanding, an understanding that is far richer, more comforting, more encouraging, and more challenging. We have become a culture that values that which is new and innovative, and this has dramatically affected our usage of the Psalms which are part song book, and part prayer book, and part theological treatise, all at the same time. The Psalms have a way of expressing the deep cries of the soul in powerful and evocative ways that draw us ever more deeply into relationship with God. They are time tested, effective, and God-breathed. The Psalms of Ascents in particular provide some additional challenges and it will be the goal of this study to explore; their usage in both ancient and more modern times. A part of our goal is to demonstrate how they can still be powerfully relevant for us today in our pilgrimage of faith.

Materials:TheBible,textbooks,journalarBcles,maps,chartsandotherresourcesasmaybeappropriate.

Procedures

1. ToexaminetheancientusageofthesePsalms,andtheiroriginalcontext.

2. ToseektounderstandthemeaningandimpactthatthesePsalmshadonancientpeople.

3. ToendeavortocomprehendhowweshouldunderstandthesePsalmsinourmodernerawhileatthesameBmehonoringandrespecBngtheoriginalintent.

PAGE OF DURATION: SERIES 1 - 8 WEEKS1 21

4. ToallowtheseancientPsalmstoinspireandchallengeourpilgrimagetowardgreaterunderstandinganddeeperrelaBonshipwithGod.


Psalm120

1Asongofthesteps.ToYahweh,inmydistress,tohimIcallthatHe

shouldanswerme.2OYahweh,rescuemysoul,fromlyinglip,from

deceiBultongue.3Whatwillbegiventoyou?Andwhatwillbe

addedtoyou,deceiBultongue.4Awarrior’ssharparrows,with

burningcoalsofjuniper!5Woeisme,thatIamanalienin

Meshech,ImustdwellamongthetentsofKedar.6Verylonghas

mysouldweltwiththeonehaPngpeace.7Iamforpeace;but

whenIspeak,theyareforwar.

ThetranslaBonaboveisfromtheHebrewMasoreBctextwith

referencetotheSeptuagint(theOldGreektranslaBon)andother

ancientsourcessuchasRashi(thefamousmedievalFrenchrabbiwho

woreextensivecommentariesonHebrewScripture).TranslaBonof

thewordsisnotthedifficultpartwithpoetry,itisunderstandingthe

imageryandhowthewordplayillicitsmorethanamerelycerebral,

intellectualresponse;poetry,likethis,touchestheemoBons,the

soul.ThesePsalmsinparBcular,havedonethisformanythousands

ofyearswitheachnewgeneraBondrawingmeaning,comfort,and

encouragementfromtheseancientwords.Aswebeginourjourney


ofexploringthisPsalm,wewilltrytobeginbyunderstandingasmuch

aswecanabouttheoriginalmessage,andthenunderstandingthis

PsalminitsoriginalseSngandseektoprogressthroughthevariety

ofinterpretaBonsthathavecomeintoplaythroughproceeding

generaBons.TimesandcircumstanceshavechangeddramaBcally

fromthentonow.Despitethis,thesePsalmshaveretainedan

enduringappealandusefulnesstosucceedinggeneraBonsofpeople

seekingtofollowYahweh.

ThereareseveraldifficulttranslaBonalandtextualproblems

involvedininterpreBngPsalm120.Thesewillneedtoatleastbe

addressedbeforeproceedingfurtherinordertobeginourdiscussion

ontheproperfooBng.Inthefirstinstance,thereisnotanyreal

consensusamongscholarsregardingthetenseoftheverbsinverse1.

Someseethetenseasintheperfectaspect,butasconveyinga

presentmeaning,asifwearetoseetheprayerasourprayernow,in

thismoment.ThemainreasonforthissupposiBonisthatwhat

followsappearsnottorepresentanansweredprayer,butapeBBon

foraprayeryettobeanswered.Despitethis,agoodmanyscholars

viewthisPsalmasrepresenBngaprayerthathasalreadybeen


answered,sothentheyseetheverbsconveyingasenseofbeingin

thepasttense.Theproblemthatthisraisesisthatalthoughthe

perfecttenseoughttodenotepastBme,inthiscontext(mostoXen

inprayersthisisexactlywhatitdoes),toviewtheverbshereinthat

wayisineffecttodenythepoignancyofherestofthepsalm.It

appearsthatintherestofthepsalm,thepsalmistisstruggling

intentlyinhishopeofthiscomingaboutratherthaninthecomfortof

theansweralreadyhavingarrived.Inlightofthis,Crowtakesthe

verb(קראתי)tobeintheperformaBve,oriteraBvesenseasisseen

intheidioms“ItesBfy”(e.g.Deuteronomy8:19)and“Iswear”(e.g.

Jeremiah22:5).Ifthisthenisthecase,thesecondverb(יענני)

carriesthemeaningof“thatGodshouldanswerme.”Thissense

thendoesjusBcebothtotheperfecttenseofthefirstverbandtothe

imperfectaspectofthesecondverb,whileatthesameBmeretaining

thecharacterofthePsalm. 1

ThesecondcoupletpresentsanewinterpretaBonalproblemin

thatthesubjectoftheverbsinverse3isambiguous,asisthe

relaBonshipbetweenverses3and4.Becauseoftheparallel

LorenD.Crow,TheSongsofAscents(Psalms120-134),SBLDissertationSeries148(AtlantaGA:1

ScholarsPress,1996),p.32.


betweenthetwoverbsinverse3andtheparallelofthetradiBonal

Hebrewoathformula(יעשה…יםיף),mostscholarsagreethatYahweh

istheunderstoodsubjecthere.ThemeaningthenisthatYahweh

wouldjudgeonecalled“deceibultongue”inthesamemannerthat

Godwouldjudgeaviolaterofanoath.Inthisview,thereisan

interrogatoryformulausedsothatthewholethingbecomesa

mimicryoftheoathformula.Atbest,onemightsaythatthis

sentencemaybesaidtoimplythewordingofanoathformula.Itis

probablybesttotakennoteoftheusageofthegeneralityofthe

verbsusedhere,allofwhichhaveagreatvarietyofnuances

thatbetoseems120PsalminthenmeaningThe.(יםף,נתן,עשה)

thedeceibultongueisonlycapableofdoingimmenseharm.The

metaphorofthetongueasadestrucBveorganisthenusedasan

instrumentthatlaunchesarrows,whoseaffectsarelikeburning

coals.SuchimageryisoXenusedinIsraelitelamenttoleadone

naturallyinthisdirecBon(cf.Psalms57:4;64:3;7:13).This

interpretaBonreceivessupportfromthefactthatthepsalmthen

conBnuesbydenouncingtheenemiesofthepoetfortheir“warlike”

conduct.Ifthesetwoversesarereadasacurseonthefalse-


tongued,thentheshiXbackintothelamentintheversesthatfollow

aredifficulttofollow.Ontheotherhand,ifonereadsthisasa

denunciaBonofthefalsetongue’sprimarycharacterisBc,whichis

destrucBveness,thenthepsalmmakesgoodsense. Takingitinthis2

secondwayisthenlikelythebestinterpretaBon.

Thefinalthreeversesthenserveasthefinalindictmentonthe

enemies,thosewhoseevilwaysinspirethepoettopraytoYahweh

forassistance.Inthefirstpartofthepsalm,thedescripBondescribes

thosethatareenemiesusingthemetaphorofamalicioustongue,

alongwithitsrelatedmetaphors.Theninthesecondhalfofthe

psalm,themetaphoristhatoflivingwithhosBleforeignpeople.Itis

possiblethatthepoetlivedinregionssuchasthese,buttheplace

namesMeshekandQedar,whichliefarremovedfromoneanother,

tendtoargueagainstthisview.MeshekisinthefarNorth,froman

IsraeliteperspecBve,neartheCaspianSea,whileQedarisaregionof

theArabiandesert.Thisthenmakesthissentencenotareferenceto

anactualsojourninginthoselands,butratherusesthem

metaphoricallysymbolizingeithertheoutermostreachesofthe

LorenD.Crow,TheSongsofAscents(Psalms120-134),pp.32-33.2


knownworld,ormaybeitisareferencetotheparBcularlywarlike

peoplethatthepsalmistwasawareofdwellinginthoseplaces. 3

Thefinalimagetofindexpressioninthispsalmistheimageof

war.ThepreviousimagesinthepsalmshiXthefocushereawayfrom

thatofactualskirmishesandtheircounterpartsoflargerscaleto

somethingelse.Themetaphorhereappearstofocusonthe

psalmist’sexperienceofencounteringcontenBousenemiestowhom

thepsalmistreferstocollecBvelyas“thosewhohatepeace”(שונא

rather“war”forpreferenceahavewhoenemiestheseisIt.(שלום

thanfor“peace”incontrasttothepreferenceofthepsalmist.

ThroughavarietyofdisBnctimagesPsalm120makestherequestfor

divineassistanceagainstslanderousandhatefulenemies.Intheir,

thesehatefulenemies’slander;theyhavetonguesthatpierceand

burn,theyareforeigners,warlikeneighbors,whowillnotconsentto

livepeacefullydespitetheoverturesfromthepsalmist.Thisisavery

finelycraXedpoemanditisdifficulttoknowtheexactcircumstances

ofthepoem,butinrealitythisisinpartwhatgivesitaBmeless,

boundlessappeal,togeneraBonaXergeneraBon.Itisanindividual



songoflamentthatwasveryprobablyusedinsomeformofaritual

seSng. 4

ThoughwedonotknowdefiniBvelytheritualseSngthereare

someveryancienttradiBonsinthisregard.OneisthetradiBonofthe

Mishnah(cf.notebelow),thatwemenBonedinthepreviouslesson,

thatassociatesthe15SongsofAscentswiththe15stepsofthe

templethatledfromtheCourtofWomentotheCourtofIsrael. 5


DavidC.Mitchell,TheMessageofthePsalter,intheJournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament5

SupplementSeries252(ShefOieldUK:ShefOieldAcademicPress,1997),pp.109-110.


“5:4A.Thepiousmenandwonderworkerswoulddance

beforethemwithflamingtorchesintheirhand,

B.andtheywouldsingbeforethemsongsandpraises.

C.AndtheLevitesbeyondcounBngplayedonharps,lyres,

cymbals,trumpetsand[other]musicalinstruments,

D.[standing,astheyplayed]onthefiXeenstepswhichgo

downfromtheIsraelitescourttothewomen’scourt-

E.correspondingtothefiXeenSongsofAscentswhicharein

thebookofPsalms-

F.onthesetheLevitesstandwiththeirinstrumentsandsing

theirsong.” 6

Itistruethatthisreferencedoesnotactuallyconnectthe

songswiththestepsofthetemple,itmerelycorrespondsinnumber.

InaddiBontothisinformaBonthough,Josephus,whowasan

eyewitnessofthesecondtemple,confirmsthattherewereindeed15

JacobNeusner,TheMishnah,ANewTranslation,p.289.TheMishnahisasix-partcodeof6

descriptiverulesthatwasformulatedsometimetowardtheendofthesecondcenturyA.D.byasmallnumberofJewishpatriarchs.ItwasputforwardastheconstitutionofJudaismunderthescholarshipofJudahthePatriarch,theheadoftheJewishcommunityofPalestineattheendofthesecondcenturyA.D.TherearesixdivisionsintheMishnah,whichare:1.agriculturalrules;2.lawsgoverningappointedseasonsandfestivals,whichincludesbothsabbathsandfestivals;3.lawsonthetransferofwomenandpropertyfromoneman(herfather)toanother(herhusband);4.thesystemofcivilandcriminallaw(whatwetodaywouldtermas“thelegalsystem);5.lawsfortheconductofthecultoftheTemple;6.lawsforthepreservationofculticpurity,inbothdomestic(tableandbed)andwithregardtothetemple.JacobNeusner,TheMishnah,ANewTranslation,p.XV.


stepsleadingfromtheCourtoftheWomentothegreatgateof

Corinthianbrass,theNicanorGate. Thismeansthatthe7

correspondenceofthe15stepsandthe15songswasrealandnot

simplyimaginaBve.Thislinkbetweensongsandstepsisalsonoted

byHippolytus,whowroteaboutthesameBmeastheredacBonof

theMishnah(170-235A.D.).ThefactthataChrisBanbishop,asfar

awayasRome,wasawareoftheideaconnecBngthe15stepswith15

songsattheendofthesecondcenturysuggeststhatitwaslikelyan

establishedtradiBoninIsraelinanearlierperiod,probablyatleastin

secondtempleBmes.TheassociaBonoftheSongsofAscentsand

thetemplestepsintwosuchdiverseearlysourceswouldcertainly

seemtohintatsomekindofcorrespondence,atleast.Inthe

descripBonofEzekiel’sidealtempletherewere15steps,evenifthey

werenotarrangedinthesamemannerasthoseofthesecond

temple(Ezekiel40:22,24,31,37). Thisthenmightlinkthis8

correspondenceofthethe15SongsofAscentswiththe15temple

stepsinamuchearlierBme.Attheveryleastthereappearstobea

possibleconnecBonwiththetempleworshipinsomeway.

Josephus,TheJewishWar,V:206.7

DavidC.Mitchell,TheMessageofthePsalter,pp.109-111.8


AswehavealreadymenBoned,thereisasecondpossible

interpretaBonbesidestheassociaBonofthesesongswiththeliteral

15stepsoftheTempleatthefesBvalofSukkah.Certainlythis

secondaryinterpretaBonhasbecomethemoreprominent,especially

amongChrisBans.ThisistheinterpretaBonthatrendersthesongsas

representaBveofpilgrimagetoJerusalem.Inthisscenario,Jerusalem

servesasaspaBalmetaphorofascentthatderivesfromthebelief

thatsupernaturalbeingsdwellinsupraterrestrialdimensions(Exodus

2:23;2Kings19:28;Isaiah14:12-14;37:29;57:15;Amos9:6;Psalm

103:19).Tobesure,someofthesearenotasclearinEnglishasthey

areintheHebrewtext,whichexpressestheideathatthesethings

“comeup”(עלה)toYahwehandnotjust“come”tohim.Thisbelief

ledtolocaBonshavingnaturalelevaBonsbeingthesiteschosenfor

temples,andshrinesofallsorts.ThisinturnledtotheconfirmaBon

ofthemetaphorwhenthephysicalactofascentwasundertakenin

goingtotheseshrines.Therefore,theascenttothelandofIsrael,

Zion,thetemple,andtheofferingofsacrificeswouldallbeincluded

undertheheadingof“ascents”(מעלות).Thisindicatesonegreat

movement,apilgrimage,towardthedivinepresence.Itisthis


movementtowardthepresenceofGodthatisenactedbythepilgrim

whogoesuptoworshipatZiontoascendtothetemple,ortooffer

sacrificesuponthealtar. 9

ThequesBonthenishowdoesPsalm120actastheiniBatory

Psalminthisseriesofpilgrimagepsalms?Itappears,firstoff,that

thereistherecogniBonthatthepilgrimdwellsinastateofdistress

andcriestoYahwehfordeliverancefromthisdistressedstate.A

centralissuethatiscausingdistressisthedeceibulnessandlyingof

thosethatsurroundthepilgrim.TheindicaBonofthepsalmististhat

themoBvaBonbehindthelyingtongueisadesireforsomething,

whichseemstobeapointofconfusionofthepsalmist,whoasks

“Whatshallbegiventoyou?Andwhatmoreshallbedonetoyou,

youdeceibultongue?”Verse4thenmovesontodisclosethepower

andnatureofthisdeceibulnessandcomparesittosharparrowsand

burningcoals.SooXenweliketoactasifthereisnotpowerin

words,butinrealitythereistremendouspower,andwordscut,

damageandkilllikerealphysicalweapons,atBmesleadingtosevere

physicalconsequencesontopofalltheemoBonalandspiritual

DavidC.Mitchell,TheMessageofthePsalter,pp.111-1129


consequences.WordshavedevastaBngpowerandpotenBalfor

destrucBon.

ThePsalmistindicateshispowerlessnessduetobeinganalien;

perhapsthisisalongthesamelinesasAbrahambeinganalienliving

amongforeigners(Genesis15:13),orliketheIsraelitesasspokenofin

Acts7:6. Thepeopleamongwhomthepilgrimdwellsasanalien10

hatepeaceandseeksomethingdifferentthanthatofthepilgrimof

God.TheyseekconflictandinjusBce,whilethepilgrimofGodseeks

harmony,jusBceandfairness.EugenePetersonstatesitso

eloquentlythisway:

“Peoplesubmergedinacultureswarming

withliesandmalicefeelasiftheyare

drowninginit:theycantrustnothingthey

hear,dependonnoonetheymeet.Such

dissaBsfacBonwiththeworldasitis,is

preparaBonfortravelinginthewayof

ChrisBandiscipleship.ThedissaBsfacBon,

6AndGodspokeintheseterms,thathisdescendantswouldberesidentaliensinacountry10

belongingtoothers,whowouldenslavethemandmistreatthemduringfourhundredyears.NRSV


coupledwithalongingforpeaceandtruth,

cansetusonapilgrimpathofwholenessin

God.” 11

ThefesBvalofSukkahmayhavebeentheoriginalseSngfor

thissetof15Psalms,buteveninthisseSngimageryexiststhatis

aboutspiritualpilgrimagethatdrawsthosethatareBredand

disenchantedwiththisworldofliesanddeceittosomethingbeter,

somethingmore,somethingofGod.Sukkahservedasapowerful

pointoffocusforthepeopleoftheancienttemple,butwithits

destrucBonandthelossofitscultthechurchandtheJewishpeople

begantofocusmoreontheeschatologicalaspectsofthispowerful

andevocaBveancientHebrewpoetrywhichconBnuestoreachtothe

soulofmanandhisinnate,inbuilt,desireforsomethingbeter,

somethinggreater,somethingofGod.AssuchthesepoemssBll

touchthatpartofofusthatrecognizesthattryingtowalkinthe

sameoldBredwaysleadtothesameplaceandthecallofoursoul

leadsusupwardandonward,outsideofourselftowardGod.We

seekhishelp,hisassistance,aswebeginourascenttothetrue

EugeneH.Peterson,ALongObedienceintheSameDirection,20thAnniversaryEdition(Downers11

GroveIL:IVPBooks,2000),p.25.


desBnaBonofoursoul.ItisonlywithGod’shelpthatweastrue

pilgrimscaneverhopetotrulyhavethepeace,theShalom,thatis

theheart-cry,notonlyofthisancientpsalmist,butalsotheheartcry

ofthetruepilgrim.Whenwearefinallyabletoturnlooseofallother

hopeforabeterlife,forapilgrimlife,thenweareattheplacewhen

wecantrulybeginourpilgrimagetowardGodthatonlycanhappen

withthehelpofGod.Betergovernment,morewealth,beter

things,abiggerhouse,afarminthecountry,allofthesethingsare

illusionsthatmaskthetruththatonlyinGodcantruepeace,true

Shalombefound.

IntheNewTestamentthismomentofrealizaBon,thatouronly

hopefortruefulfillmentandpeaceisinGod,iscalledrepentance.

ThispsalmservesastherecogniBonthatthefirststepnecessaryfor

thetruepilgrimtobeginhis,orherjourney,istocometothis

realizaBon,thismomentofrepentance.Ourseekingforcomfort,

security,peace,andfulfillmentinotherplaceswillulBmatelyleadto

thismomentofrealizaBonforthetruepilgrim,thetruesearcher.

Godistheonlytruesourceofhopeforsomethingthatistrulybeter,

somethingtrulyfulfilling,somethingofeternalvalueand


consequences.SoinourdistresswhenwecryouttoYahwehfor

relieffromouranguish,inthatmomentofanguishwearenowready

tobeginourjourney,ourpilgrimage.


Synopsis

Themessageofthistext,thoughdifficult,deliversapowerful

messagethattranscendsbothBmeandculture.TheseSngofthis

poemwaslikelyoriginallyforittobeusedattheJewishreligious

fesBvalofSukkah,inthetempleofSolomon.Itmaybethecasethat

eveninthisoriginalusagetherewasalwaysintendedtobemore

thanjustonemeaning.ThisisoXenthecasewithgoodpoetry.Ifso,

thenthesecondarymeaninglikelywasthatofthepilgrimagetothe

fesBvalthatwasrequiredofallJewishpeople.Thisthenhasaliteral

meaningaswellasafiguraBvemeaning.Theliteralmeaninghasto

dowithascendingtothesanctuaryofZion,butonamorefiguraBve

basisithastodowiththepilgrimageofapersontowardGod,

ascendingbacktowardhim.Eventhismeaningmayverywellbe

presentasasecondarymeaningintheritualseSngoftheoriginal

Templeusage.

CertainlyithasbecomethecasethatPsalm120hascometo

serveastheiniBalpsalm,theiniBalstarBngpoint,inaseriesof15

psalmsthatareaboutspiritualpilgrimage.ThisiniBalpsalm,reflects


thehopelessnessofthepoetasheexpresseshisdesireforassistance

fromGod.HehascometotherealizaBonthatthehelpthatheneeds

canonlycomefromGod.Relyingupongovernment,wealth,health,

poweroranythingotherthanGodwillulBmatelyleadtothesame

place,failure.OnlyintrulyturningtoGodcanoneexpecttohave

realhopeforthefuture,realpeace,realfulfillment.Thispoemleads

ustothebeginningpointinourpilgrimagetoYahwehandhispeace.

Thispsalmleadsustothepointofrepentanceandinthisrepentance

wecannowbeginourtruejourneyinearnest.


QuesPons

1. Whatdoyouthinkisthemostimportantthinginlife?Why?

2. Whatwouldittakeforyoutotrulybecontentinyourlife?

3. Whataresomeofthethingsthatyoudotopursuequalityoflife?

4. Whataresomesourcesofhelpthatyouseekinimprovingqualityoflifeandwhythosesources?

5. Howimportantispeacetoyou?

6. Whataresomewaysthatyoupromotepeacewithothers?

7. HowimportantisGodinyourpursuitofpeace?

8. Whatroledoesyourcommunityplayinyourfeelingsofpeaceandsecurity?Why?

9. Howdoyouexpectyourchurchtohelpyouinyourpursuitoffulfillment?

10. Whataresomewaysthatyouhelpyourchurchpartnerwithothersintheirpursuitofafulfilledlife?

11. Whataresomechangesthatyoumightneedtomake,inthewayyouhavebeenliving,inordertobemoreeffecBveatpursuinglifeasGodintended?


12. Forwhatwouldyouliketobemostrememberedfor,bythosethatyoucareabout?

13. Whataresomethingsthatirritateyoumostonadailybasis?

14. WhataresomewaysthatyoucouldchangeyourfocussothatthosethingsthatcauseyouirritaBonwouldnotbesoimportant?

15. HowmightyouchangesomethingsinyourdailyrouBnetomorefullyreflectapursuitofpeace?

16. Aretherethingsthatarecurrentlyhinderingyourpursuitofreal,genuine,life?Ifso,whatcanyouchange?


Documents

Songs of Ascents - bwaychurch.orgbwaychurch.org/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Lesson-2.pdfPsalm 120 1 A song of the steps.To Yahweh, in my distress, to him I call that He