I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.
Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.
(Psalm 120:1-4)
As long as we think the next election might eliminate crime and establish justice or another scientific breakthrough might save the environment, or another pay rise might push us over the edge of anxiety into a life of tranquillity, we are not likely to risk the arduous uncertainties of the life of faith.
Eugene Peterson, The Journey.
The Christian life is a pilgrimage. Psalms 120-134 are pilgrim psalms and Psalm 120 establishes one vital foundation for that pilgrimage: a healthy dissatisfaction with this world. The Psalmist is distressed, at the discord of his world (Psalm 120:5-7) and particularly at its lies and deceit (Psalm 120:1-2).
This world is full of lies. Wealth pretends it is the answer to our problems (Matthew 13:22). Trials make us doubt God (James 1:13-18). Sin wields its power over us because it claims to satisfy when in fact it kills (Hebrews 3:13). We do not delight in God’s grace and mercy because we delude ourselves that we are without sin (1 John 1:8). Behind the scenes Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), is devoted to deceiving us. He is quite capable of deceiving whole cultures with dazzling falsehoods (Revelation 13:14). If we do not unmask the lies of this world we will never seek God.
What lies of this world do you believe?
Remember lies will not win. God defeats the lies of this world with expertly aimed arrows, and destructive fire (Psalm 120:3-4). The lie of communism only lasted a lifetime. The lies of the 1960s that “free love” would produce a happier world are unravelling before us. The lie that virtually unregulated banks would create ever increasing wealth for us all, has collapsed. The lie in our minds that we will be happier not following God will be exposed in due time.
So, Christian, fall out of love with this world! It’s beauty is, at best a pale reflection of a far country, and at worst a seductive cloak concealing destruction. No-one voluntarily emigrates unless they have fallen out of love with their own land, and begun to hope that there is a better place over the horizon. To be a Christian is to be longing for a better country (Hebrews 11:16).
Have you set your heart on true satisfaction, or are you content with the lies and violence of this world? Your answer to that question will determine the whole course of your life.
