The Vision of the World


	PSALM 120: The Vision of the World - A Place of Lies, Deceit, and Vanity In the World There is Only Distress Psalm 120 shows us a clear picture of the world. It is short, but very precise. The psalm begins, "In my distress I called out to Jehovah, and He answered me. O Jehovah, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a tongue of deceit" (v. 1-2). What is the most striking thing about the world? In the world, your life is a life of distress. You confront one difficulty after another all of the time. In the world there is no strength or comfort. The ascent up Mount Zion begins with the realization that in the world there is only distress. When the Israelites were singing these Psalms of Ascent as they were going up Mount Zion they must have realized this. In the world there was only distress, without strength or comfort. The World is Full of Lies and Deceit What else is in the world? Lying lips and a deceitful tongue. Lying lips are for defending yourself, while a deceitful tongue is for gaining something for yourself. In other words, when you want to take advantage of others you become deceitful. When you want to defend yourself, you become a liar. In the world there is nothing but lies and deceit. People lie to you to take advantage of you, and they lie to protect and defend themselves. The world is filled with deceitfulness. The world is a world of lies. For example, when you graduate from college, a certain company will come to you to cheat you. The company is deceitful. They will portray a beautiful picture to you. "If you just serve in our company, then after forty years we will give you this amount of money to retire." They never tell you that this company may not last forty years. They make many promises, but there is no guarantee that their company will last long enough to fulfill their word. This means that they cheat you. They do their best to deceive you so that they can gain your soul and your person. But those who apply for such a job also do their best to lie. They put on their resume, "I am good at this, I am able to do that." Even when it is not true, they embellish their record. So the two parties mutually lie to one another. From the beginning the psalmist portrays the world in such an accurate way. He exposes the world's true nature. He doesn't merely say that the world is so evil and sinful. Instead he says that in the world there are all sorts of lies. These lies are the source of all the evil. Once a person abides in lies and falsehood, all kinds of evil things can come in. This is why in the beginning of this psalm, the psalmist cries out to God, "O Jehovah, deliver my soul." What does he need to be delivered from? Not only the world, but himself. He realizes that if he is in the world he can only end up with lying lips. We do not know how much we lie. Even when we are speaking the truth, we may lie. Sometimes we lie by the way we use our voice. Our words are right, but our voice is a lie. Our whole person can be in lies. So here the psalmist cries out, "O Jehovah, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a tongue of deceit." Not only does he desire to be delivered from his own lies, but he desires to be delivered from the deceitful tongues of those around him so that he would not be cheated anymore. The World's Lies Kill and Burn Continually Then the psalmist continues, "What should be given to you, and what further shall be done to you, O tongue of deceit?" (v. 3). In this world, every tongue is a false and deceitful tongue. In this world, not one person can face reality. We know that the politicians lie, but even the preachers lie. The non-Christians lie, but the Christians also may lie. Eventually what do we get from all of these lies? The psalmist goes on to tell us that we get two things: "The sharp arrows of a mighty man, with the burning coals of the broom tree!" (v. 4). This means that all those who love the world, and all those who abide in the lies of the world, will be killed by the world's deceit. This is all that the world can give us. As an example, you may work for a company. Suppose you do something that makes the company wealthy. Surely you will be rewarded. The company may promote you and give you an award to honor you. But eventually, it is all lies. The award is real, but everything behind it is a lie. In one or two years they may no longer want you. They will lay you off without considering how much money you made for them. In the world, everyone uses each other. This is what the psalmist means by "the sharp arrows of a mighty man." Whosoever loves the world will be killed by the world. What will the world give to you? The sharp arrows of a mighty man. The next item is even worse: "The burning coals of the broom tree." The broom tree is very rich in its content. Once it burns, it is hard to extinguish. In this world, people live in lies. These lies are like burning coals. It is very hard for them to be extinguished. All kinds of lies are going on in the world all the time. Not only do these lies kill us, but they continue for a long time. They burn like coals which cannot be extinguished. Lies can continue for many generations. For example, one of the greatest philosophers is Confucius. He is responsible for the unity of China's culture and civilization. Confucius stressed the virtue of living in simplicity. There is a famous story of Confucius praising one of his disciples. This disciple had learned to be joyful even with simple food and some water from a bucket. This disciple's joyfulness never changed. But eventually Confucius himself lived a very luxurious life. He made a declaration that if his meat was not sliced evenly, he would not eat it. He also he said that if his dining table was not set properly, then in the name of etiquette he wouldn't even sit down. The table had to be set a certain way, and his meat had to be sliced a certain way, but he praised his disciple who had almost nothing to eat. Then isn't he a liar? His disciple was like an assistant, yet Confucius would not pay him more. Couldn't he at least have given his disciple some meat that was not sliced right? What kind of great philosopher is this? On the one hand, we should appreciate Confucius. If it were not for him China would be divided into more countries even than Europe. But on the other hand, such an ethical person still lived in lies. He even lied without consciousness. His lies are like burning coals of the broom tree. After two thousand years, they are still burning. They are even prevailing. We must see that the whole world is filled with lies. These lies kill, but at the same time they continue. They burn and they smolder for generations. As those who are following the Lord we need to have a vision concerning the world. We especially need to see through the world. Suppose a brother among us obtains his doctorate and is ready for a profession. If a university offers this brother a professorship then he will probably become excited. However, he should not get too excited. Instead, he should tell himself, "What can the world give me? Only sharp arrows of a mighty man to kill me, and burning coals of the broom tree which burn continuously." A professor's lies will continue for a very long time. When we talk about the world, we should be realistic. We should see through it. What is in the world? Nothing but deceit. Nothing but killing. Nothing but the continual burning of lies. The World of Prosperity is Outside of God's Purpose The psalmist continues, "Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, I dwell among the tents of Kedar" (v. 5). When we are in the world we realize, "Woe is me." Meshech was a descendant of Japheth. In the Bible there are three lines, from the three sons of Noah: the line of Japheth, the line of Ham, and the line of Shem. In the book of Genesis, Noah blessed his son Japheth by saying that God would enlarge him (Gen. 9:27). This means that Japheth's line would have the ability to conquer and become prevailing. But the line of Japheth has nothing to do with God Himself. God's will is not accomplished through the line of Japheth. Instead, His will is accomplished through the line of Shem. For us to sojourn in the land of Meshech means we are in a land that may be prosperous and powerful, but we are outside of the good land where God accomplishes His purpose. In the world there is prosperity. In the world there is a kind of conquering. Furthermore, in the world there are many things which are enjoyable. Yet these things are related to Meshech. They are not in the line of Shem. In other words, these things are outside of God's purpose. Because Meshech was a descendant of Japheth he was outside, and even against, God's economy. In these verses the psalmist is saying, "Woe is me. I travel and sojourn in this world. This world is prevailing and powerful. But in this world I am outside of the good land, the land of God's economy." We must see that the things of this world have nothing to do with God's eternal purpose. They are all vanity. Meshech represents the world which is conquering and prevailing. The business world is like this. People form partnerships, like Sears and Roebuck, so that their business can become more prevailing and successful. Human history is a history of conquering. It is a history of prosperity. But such a history is not a history of God's economy. The young people among us should realize that in the world they may have a great future, but that great future has nothing to do with God. They can become a modern-day "Sears" or "Roebuck." They can become the president of a company. But all of that has nothing to do with God's desire. It is all vanity. This is why the psalmist says, "Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech." The World of Religion is Far Away from God The second aspect of the world is signified by "the tents of Kedar" (v. 5). Kedar was a descendant of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. Because Kedar was a descendant of Abraham, he was somewhat related to God, but he was still on the wrong line. There is a part of the world which is related to God, and even came out from God to a certain degree, yet it is not what God really wants. This part of the world which is related to God is eventually against God the most. Who today, in the physical world, is against God the most? The descendants of Ishmael, which are today's Arabs. Physically speaking, these are the ones who live in the tents of Kedar. "The tents of Kedar" also indicates a wandering tribe. Those who are in this tribe are never settled. They never have a purpose or a goal. They have God as their Creator, and they even call Him their God. Yet at the same time they never know how to be one with God, how to satisfy God, how to stand with God, how to fulfill God's purpose, or how to produce God's habitation. They are related to God in a certain way, yet they are far away from God and from what He is after. Eventually they may even frustrate and oppose God's purpose. Spiritually speaking, this is the world of religion. When we look at the world, we see many positive and attractive things. We see a world of promise and prosperity. Anyone who wants to give himself to the world can become extremely successful. This is symbolized by the land of Meshech. On the other hand, there is another world, the world of religion. This world has God, and is even somewhat related to God, but it is not according to God's purpose. Those who are in this world do not satisfy God's need. This is why the psalmist portrays the world in such a way. "I sojourn in Meshech": I am in the world of prosperity. "I dwell among the tents of Kedar": I am in the world of religion. Both of these aspects of the world are not what God wants. The psalmist laments that because he is in the world he is far from God's desire. When We are for God, the World will Rise Up for War "Long has my soul had its dwelling with him who hates peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war" (v. 6-7). When we desire to go after God, then the world is for war. If we are not for God, if we are just in the world speaking lies and deceiving each other, then no one will care. This will not seem so bad to the world, because we can still gain some prosperity, and we can still be in religion. But when we say, "I am for peace," when we say that we are for the Lord and for what is real on this earth, then the whole world will rise up: "We are for war! If you are not part of us, we will fight against you!" If a college student declares on his campus, "I am a Christian. I love the Lord!" then all of his friends and classmates will be for war. They will fight against him. This is the world. The world will never tolerate anyone who lives a life solely for God. That is why the psalmist says, "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war." First the world is a world of lies, but eventually it wars against those who want God. As those who are following the Lord, we all must have such a clear vision. This concludes the psalmist's description of the world. To purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs