Welcome to Day 2852 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Day 2852 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 120:1-7 – Daily Wisdom

Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script – Day 2852

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2852 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.<#0.5#>

The title of today’s Wisdom-Trek is: The Song of Ascent – Waking Up in the Empire of Lies<#0.5#>

In our previous episode on this grand expedition, we reached the absolute summit of the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm One Hundred Nineteen. We explored the final “Taw” stanza, where the psalmist placed his definitive seal upon his life’s work. We learned that true spiritual maturity does not mean pretending we are flawless; rather, it means humbly crying out to the Divine Shepherd, admitting that we sometimes wander like lost sheep, yet fiercely holding onto the cosmic blueprint of His Word. We rested at that towering peak, fully anchored in the eternal, unshakeable instructions of Yahweh.<#0.5#>

Today, we are lacing up our boots for an entirely new phase of our journey. We are stepping off the massive mountain of the Torah, and we are stepping onto the pilgrim’s trail. Today, we begin a collection of fifteen specific, incredibly powerful psalms, known as the “Songs of Ascents.” These are Psalms One Hundred Twenty, through One Hundred Thirty-Four. In the ancient world, faithful Israelites sang these specific songs as they traveled from their scattered homes, walking upward, ascending geographically and spiritually, toward the holy city of Jerusalem for the three great annual festivals.<#0.5#>

But the journey upward does not begin in a place of joy. It begins in a place of deep, suffocating distress. We are exploring Psalm One Hundred Twenty, verses one through seven, in the New Living Translation. Let us step onto the trail, and learn what it means to wake up, look around, and realize that we are living behind enemy lines.<#0.5#>

The first segment is: The Cry from the Chaos, and the Native Tongue of the Enemy<#0.5#>

Psalm One Hundred Twenty: verses one and two.<#0.5#>

I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people.<#0.5#>

The Song of Ascents begins with a backward glance at a moment of desperate crisis. The psalmist declares, “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.”<#0.5#>

Notice that the journey to the presence of God does not start when everything in your life is perfectly organized. The pilgrimage begins in the trenches of human trouble. The Hebrew word used here for “troubles” implies being squeezed into a tight, restrictive, and suffocating space. The psalmist was trapped, entirely out of earthly options, and so, he directed his voice upward. He cried out to the Sovereign of the universe, and he confidently testifies that the Creator bent down, and answered his plea.<#0.5#>

But what exactly was the nature of this suffocating trouble? He reveals the source of his agony in verse two: “Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people.”<#0.5#>

In our modern context, we often view lying as a relatively minor, common ethical failure. We expect politicians to spin the truth, we expect advertisements to exaggerate, and we tolerate small deceptions as a normal part of doing business. But in the Ancient Israelite worldview, deception was not a minor flaw; it was cosmic warfare. <#0.5#>

To fully grasp this, we must look through the lens of the Divine Council, as taught by Dr. Michael S. Heiser. When the rebel spiritual beings—the fallen sons of God—rebelled against Yahweh, they did not use physical swords; they used deception. The serpent in the Garden of Eden weaponized a lie to sever humanity from the Source of Life. Therefore, lying is the native tongue of the kingdom of darkness. <#0.5#>

When the psalmist cries out to be rescued from “deceitful people,” he is not just complaining about annoying neighbors. He is recognizing that his surrounding culture is operating under the oppressive, manipulative influence of dark, spiritual principalities. The air he breathes is toxic with the propaganda of the rebel gods. The world is trying to deceive him into abandoning his loyalty to the cosmic order of Yahweh, and the spiritual pressure of these constant lies is absolutely suffocating his soul.<#0.5#>

The second segment is: The Divine Warrior’s Arsenal Against the Lie<#0.5#>

Psalm One Hundred Twenty: verses three and four<#0.5#>

O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you? How will he increase your punishment? You will be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.<#0.5#>

Having identified the weapon of the enemy, the psalmist turns and addresses the deceitful tongue directly. He uses a rhetorical, legal format, asking, “O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you? How will he increase your punishment?”<#0.5#>

He is essentially serving notice to the agents of chaos. He is reminding the liars, and the rebel spirits empowering them, that the universe has a Supreme Judge. The cosmic courtroom of Yahweh will not tolerate the vandalism of truth forever. There is a deeply rooted, unshakeable justice built into the fabric of creation, and those who weaponize deception will ultimately reap a terrifying harvest.<#0.5#>

The psalmist details this impending, divine justice in verse four. “You will be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.”<#0.5#>

This is the majestic, terrifying imagery of Yahweh acting as the Divine Warrior. In the ancient Near East, a deceitful tongue was often compared to a sharp, deadly arrow, shot in secret to assassinate a person’s character. Or, it was compared to a destructive, spreading fire that burns down a community. <#0.5#>

God’s justice is often described as a perfectly measured, reciprocal response. Since the wicked used arrows of lies, the Divine Warrior will string His own cosmic bow. He will pierce the deception with the sharp, unyielding arrows of His truth. Because the wicked used words to start destructive fires, they will be subjected to the “glowing coals” of divine judgment.<#0.5#>

Other translations specify these as “coals of the broom tree.” The roots of the desert broom tree burned with an incredibly intense, white-hot heat, and they retained their fire for a very long time. This signifies that God’s judgment against the cosmic rebellion will not be a brief, passing flash. It will be an intense, enduring, and utterly consuming fire that permanently purifies the cosmos, burning away every last remnant of the serpent’s lies.<#0.5#>

The Third Segment is: The Spiritual Geography of Exile<#0.5#>

Psalm One Hundred Twenty: verse five.<#0.5#>

How I suffer in far-off Meshech. It pains me to live in distant Kedar.<#0.5#>

The psalmist suddenly shifts from the fiery imagery of divine judgment, to a profound, melancholic reflection on his current, earthly reality. “How I suffer in far-off Meshech. It pains me to live in distant Kedar.”<#0.5#>

To understand the emotional weight of this verse, we must look at a map of the ancient world. Meshech was a territory located in the extreme, rugged north, in the region of modern-day Turkey, or southern Russia. The people of Meshech were known as brutal, barbarous warriors. Kedar, on the other hand, was located in the extreme, scorching south. It was a region of the Arabian desert, populated by nomadic, often hostile tribes. <#0.5#>

Meshech and Kedar were thousands of miles apart. It was geographically impossible for the psalmist to be living in both places at the exact same time. Therefore, he is not giving us his literal mailing address; he is mapping his spiritual geography.<#0.5#>

By naming Meshech in the far north, and Kedar in the far south, he is drawing a massive circle around the known, pagan world. He is declaring, “I am surrounded by hostility. I am living in the dark, chaotic fringes of the earth.” In the Deuteronomy Thirty-Two worldview, these are the territories of the disinherited nations. These are the lands ruled by the lesser, fallen elohim, where the worship of false gods, brutality, and deception are the established laws of the land.<#0.5#>

The psalmist is expressing a crushing, overwhelming sense of spiritual homesickness. He is an exile. He belongs to the kingdom of light, but he is forced to pitch his tent in the empire of darkness. It causes him actual, physical pain to wake up every morning in a culture that violently rejects the beautiful, life-giving order of his Creator.<#0.5#>

The fourth segment is: The Exhaustion of Seeking Peace in a World of War<#0.5#>

Psalm One Hundred Twenty: verses six and seven.<#0.5#>

I am tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!<#0.5#>

The psalm concludes with a raw, breathless confession of spiritual fatigue. “I am tired of living among people who hate peace.”<#0.5#>

The word for peace here is our anchor word: Shalom. As we have learned on this Trek, Shalom does not just mean a quiet afternoon. It means total human flourishing, completeness, and perfect harmony with the Architect of the universe. The psalmist is utterly exhausted, because the surrounding culture does not just accidentally fail to achieve Shalom; they actively, violently hate it. The rebel forces despise God’s order, because God’s order restricts their selfish autonomy, and their chaotic appetites.<#0.5#>

The exile is entirely out of step with his environment. He says, “I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!”<#0.5#>

Literally, the Hebrew text says, “I am peace.” His very identity, his worldview, and his character have been so deeply formed by the Word of God that he has become a walking embodiment of Shalom. But when he opens his mouth to offer this beautiful, reconciling truth to his neighbors, they respond with hostility. They draw their swords. The culture of the rebel gods cannot tolerate the presence of a true peacemaker, because the light of truth exposes the ugliness of their deception.<#0.5#>

This is the ultimate, frustrating reality of the exile. You cannot negotiate a permanent ceasefire with the kingdom of darkness. You cannot find lasting rest while living in the spiritual territories of Meshech and Kedar.<#0.5#>

And that, my friends, is exactly why the psalmist must pack his bags, leave his tent, and begin the long, arduous ascent toward Jerusalem. Psalm One Hundred Twenty acts as the catalyst for the entire pilgrimage. It is the jarring, painful realization that this broken, deceitful world is not our permanent home. The discomfort of the exile is the very thing that drives us to seek the presence of the King.<#0.5#>

Psalm One Hundred Twenty, verses one through seven, gives us a profound, realistic starting point for our spiritual journey.<#0.5#>

It teaches us that it is entirely normal to feel exhausted, out of place, and deeply pained by the corruption, the lies, and the hostility of our modern culture. We are, in a very real sense, living in Meshech and Kedar. We are surrounded by a world that has been heavily influenced by the deceptive tongue of the adversary.<#0.5#>

As you walk your trek today, do not be surprised when the world chooses war over the Shalom you offer. Do not let the suffocating pressure of their deceit force you to compromise your integrity. Instead, take your troubles directly to the Sovereign Lord.<#0.5#>

Trust that the Divine Warrior has already strung His bow, and that His perfect, purifying justice will ultimately destroy the empire of lies. Let the discomfort of this present world compel you to pack your spiritual bags, turn your face upward, and begin the joyful, upward climb toward the eternal presence of your Creator.<#0.5#>

If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of, ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’<#0.5#>

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek of life together, let us always: Liv Abundantly. Love Unconditionally. Listen Intentionally. Learn Continuously. Lend to others Generously. Lead with Integrity. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day.<#0.5#>

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, reminding you to’ Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!<#0.5#>