Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Psalm 120 opens the "songs of degrees," and a godly man starts it in grief, surrounded by hostile people. Meshech and Kedar lie at opposite ends of the map, so is he naming an address or describing a condition?
Kedar was a real tribe with a real ancestor. It also names the people whose hatred of peace the psalmist felt.
Kedar was a son of Ishmael and the founder of an important tribe living in the north-west of Arabia. The name is probably also used for Arabs in general (Genesis 25:13; 1 Chronicles 1:29). The Psalmist longed for peace, for he had been living in the tents of Kedar, with those who "hated peace" (Psalm 120:5-6).
Their way of life also explains the picture in the verse just before this one.
This leads on to the psalmist's lament over his stay in Meshech and in the tents of Kedar. They were nomads, very likely named to bring to mind the "sharp arrows" he has spoken of. As Ishmaelites, their trade was robbery and war.
Meshech (also spelled Mesech) and Kedar lie far apart. That has led many to read the pair as a picture of character, not geography.
Readers have felt a difficulty about naming Mesech and Kedar together as the place of sojourn (v. 5), since the two seem to have been far apart. Meshech is mentioned along with Gog (Ezekiel 39), while Kedar was a descendant of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13). They are probably moral expressions, showing the hostility of the enemies of God's people.
Commentators differ here. Another writer reads the grammar a different way. On his reading, the gap between the two peoples is the point of the complaint: they press in on Israel from north and south at once.
We may fairly ask whether the construction of "sojourn" points to "with" Meshech rather than "in." The preposition really means "with," not "in," the tents of Kedar. So the psalmist does not mean that he lives among these enemies. He means that they are close by, and hostile to the sons of Israel in their land. One people belongs to the far north, the other to the north-west of Arabia in the south. That supposed difficulty is exactly what gives the complaint its point. The Psalm refers to the last part of the latter-day crisis. Gog (as in Ezekiel 38, 39) then comes up to crush the restored people, who are living in their unwalled villages.
The song belongs to a set that covers one period. This first one catches the moment before the last enemy falls.
We now come, Psalms 120-134, to the songs of degrees. They show, I have no doubt, the outward circumstances of the same period, when Israel is in the land but the power of Gog is not yet destroyed. The first of this series begins with the cry the godly man sends up in his distress to Jehovah, who heard. … His woe is to dwell in Mesech, and among the tents of Kedar. Wrong is in their hearts, and when the godly man spoke of peace, they prepared for battle.
Both names carry a meaning of their own, and one leads to the other.
The psalmist is in deep distress because he lives in Mesech, which means "a drawing," and among the tents of Kedar, which means "darkness" (v. 5). This seems to point to circumstances that tend to draw the heart away, and so end in the darkness of uncertainty.
The same writer brings this sorrow into the present. A Christian meets the same two enemies, and also a comfort.
The Christian can in some measure enter into this sorrow, for the world hates him, and Satan is his enemy too. But he has the comfort of knowing that Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). And since Satan is a defeated enemy, he will always flee when a believer resists him in the power of the Holy Spirit (James 4:7).
- Cry. God heard the godly man's cry in his distress. The psalm starts there, then names the trouble.
- Place. Kedar descended from Ishmael and lived in north-west Arabia. Meshech belongs with Gog in the far north. One man could not live in both.
- Reading. Some take the pair as moral pictures of hostility. Another reads the word as "with," so the grief is enemies pressing in from both sides.
- Names. "A drawing" and "darkness" — surroundings that pull the heart away and leave it in the dark.
- Comfort. The world's hatred is real, but Christ has overcome the world, and a defeated enemy flees when resisted.
My soul hath long dwelt with them that hate peace.
The speaker has lived a long time among people who hate peace. His pain is not one quarrel but the wear of years. Two questions follow: who is this hater of peace, and what can a peaceable person do while still stuck in his company?
The complaint is about duration as much as danger. One writer names the evil in question, and ends with the one resource left:
The character of evil is spoken of: deceit and hostile power. It was grief of heart to have constantly to deal with this. But such was his condition. He was dwelling in the middle of evil. It was his sorrow, and distress to him. He sought peace: they were for war. It is the spirit and character of the Christian in the middle of the power of evil, which, when the presence of good draws it out, shows itself like this... The resource is calling on the Lord, who hears.
Verse 6 explains verse 5, which names Mesech and Kedar as the place of the long stay:
Some have found a difficulty in the mention of Mesech and Kedar as the place of stay (v. 5), since the two seem to have been far apart... They are probably moral expressions, showing the hostility of the enemies of God's people. The Christian can in some measure enter into this sorrow, for the world hates him, and Satan hates him too. But he has the comfort of knowing that Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). And since Satan is a defeated enemy, he will always flee when the Christian resists him in the power of the Holy Spirit. (James 4:7.)
Commentators differ on who the hater of peace is. One reads the two names for their meaning, and points to a deceiver who talks peace:
The psalmist is deeply distressed that he dwells in Mesech, meaning "a drawing," and among the tents of Kedar, meaning "darkness" (v. 5). This seems to show him in circumstances that tend to draw the heart away, and so end in the darkness of uncertainty. When this is so among the tested remnant of Israel, they will certainly feel they have dwelt too long close to the Antichrist, who actually hates peace, though he may deceitfully claim to want it (v. 6).
Hating peace is not a mood that better manners could fix. It is what the enemy is:
What a description of the adversary of God and of His people — hating peace! It could not be otherwise, because the mind of the flesh — and here we see it in its full expression — is enmity against God. So the presence of God's people, when they walk before Him, must provoke the enemy's violent opposition... So it is completely useless to try to win the enemy over. As for Israel in the future, so now: we must enter the kingdom through much tribulation.
The psalm reaches past its writer. A man of peace whose speech starts a war — that is how the world met Christ:
"My soul has long dwelt with him that hates peace"; that is the moral of it. "I am peace" — a man marked by that. But to speak it only rouses the opposition: "when I speak, they are for war." This is what the world is. This is what it showed itself to be when the Prince of peace came into it. The angels proclaimed peace over Him when He was born into the world. He knew clearly what would follow at once, and He proclaimed "not peace, but a sword."
This writer uses an older translation; the ESV reads "I am for peace" in verse 7.
Having named the trouble, the psalm offers no self-defence:
Long has he dwelt with those who hate peace. To him, a man of peace, that must have been a trial; but he adds what made it worse, "when I speak, they are for war."... Such is his condition, in which he is helpless to deliver or defend himself. Silence before men, and waiting upon God, is the position he must take. He hands his cause over to Him, and as always, when the righteous does that, good comes of it.
He can speak with hope before rescue comes, because he belongs somewhere else:
The citizen of Jerusalem may well use the words of verses 6 and 7 while he is still in Babylon. The one is God's city, "the city of peace"; the other is man's city, "the city of confusion."
- Long peace — The pain is the length of the stay. Living among evil is itself a grief of heart.
- Named peace — Mesech and Kedar describe a hostile character, not a travel route. One writer points to the Antichrist, who hates peace while claiming to want it.
- Refused peace — The enemy hates peace because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God. Trying to win him over is useless.
- Incarnate peace — Christ could say "I am peace," and the world answered with a sword.
- Awaited peace — He cannot defend himself. His place is silence before men and waiting on God, because he belongs to the city of peace.