Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 120: A Prayer for Relief from Bitter Foes—Psalm 120 is a brief cry to the Lord for deliverance from those who oppose the faith of Christians with lies and deceit. “Lying lips” and “a deceitful tongue” is a reference to all false teachers who not only oppose the faith, but by their false doctrine lead people astray. The psalmist asks the question, “What shall be done to those who preach false doctrine?” In the end, the Lord will bring His judgment upon them. Meschech is outside the Promised Land in the southeast of Asia minor. It signifies a foreign land which does not know the Lord. Christians are on a pilgrimage through a world of unbelief and rejection of the truth. The tents of Kedar were black and inhabited by Arabians who did not worship the Lord. Like Meschech, dwelling among the tents of Kedar signifies how the Christian is in the world of unbelief and false doctrine, but not of the world. Under similar circumstances today, we call upon the Lord. Our lament parallels that of the psalmist, “My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace (the Gospel). I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” This timely psalm is a prayer for the Church today in the midst of a world which is increasingly hostile to the Gospel. It is called a “Song of Ascent” because it was prayed after the burnt offering as the congregation entered into the presence of the Lord for the very help and deliverance for which the psalm prays.