Psalm 120—Trusting the Lord in the Storms of Life

In his hymn, “Simply Trusting Every Day,” Edgar Page Stites wrote, “Trusting through a stormy way; even when my faith is small, trusting Jesus, that is all. …Trusting Him, whate’er befall, trusting Jesus, that is all.”

So very simple. Yet, the diligence and intentionality necessary to face life from a posture of complete trust is not as simple as saying the words.

Simply trusting is not so simple.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.” Psalm 120:1

When life’s storms come, where you turn belies your heart. The psalmist turns to the Lord in distress. The psalmist models for us what you do in times marred by brokenness. Brokenness takes many forms in the course of a life. Pain. Difficulty. Illness. Opposition. Loss. The psalmist calls out to the Lord and testifies the Lord is a God who answers. Simply trusting is not so simple. Simple trust is not for the faint of heart.

“Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” Psalm 120:2

The psalmist cries out for deliverance. He is surrounded by deceit. Liars and deceivers surround him. He recognized his help and defense had to come from the Lord.

When you face brokenness in any form—even lying lips or deceitful tongues—turn to God, cry out from your place of distress, and seek deliverance from him. The simple part of trust is knowing where to turn. Spurgeon contends “…it is of no avail to appeal to the honour of the slanderers, for they have none…” Deliverance or relief does not come from liars or slanderers.

Deliverance comes from God alone.

“What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!” Psalm 120:3-4

The psalmist is confused by the purpose behind the slanderous attack. He is confused to know what compels liars to lie. What is to be gained by these lies, this deceit? What will liars receive in return? What gain comes from this behavior, these warrantless attacks?

Ultimately, the evildoer will lose. Brokenness is doomed to lose to redemption and reconciliation. Temporary wins by evil do not last.

Simply trust.

Eternity, the end of the story, brings deliverance for the distressed. For now, call out to the Lord. He will hear you and answer you with deliverance.

“Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!” Psalm 120:5

Inhabitants of Meshech and Kedar are representative of enemies, evildoers. The specific names are not the focus. The point to be made is that for now we sojourn in broken places. We are living in a broken world. We are surrounded by broken people. Woe to us now in the present. We dwell as broken people in broken places with broken people.

“Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.” Psalm 120:6

Lament teaches us to ask, “How long, O Lord?” This psalmist answers the rhetorical question with “Too long…” We dwell in distress because broken places are not places of peace. We dwell among those who hate peace.

The answer to distress is to recognize we have a Prince of Peace. Eternity should inform our present distress with the promise of peace. Look to your Refuge and not your circumstances. Look to the Prince of Peace.

For now, we press up under the shadow of the wings of the Prince of Peace. We need protection, a place of refuge in the storm of life, because this world is for war and distress. Brokenness is real. Yet, as David states in Psalm 30:5, “…Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

“I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” Psalm 120:7