A Song of Repentance. Psalm 120

Jul 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Distress as the Birthplace of Repentance

The psalmist’s cry begins in raw desperation: “In my distress, I called to the Lord.” Repentance often starts not in triumph, but in the ache of recognizing our helplessness. Like a child finally admitting they’re lost, the soul turns when it can no longer pretend it knows the way. This isn’t weakness—it’s the first breath of honesty. The world’s brokenness becomes a mirror, revealing our own. Only when we stop defending our chaos do we hunger for the order of grace. [36:18]

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” (Psalm 120:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: When has your own distress—a failure, loss, or disillusionment—become the doorway to genuine repentance? How might God be using your current struggles to draw you into deeper honesty?

Day 2: Surrounded by Lies, Longing for Truth

The psalmist groans under the weight of “lying lips” and “deceitful tongues”—a world where truth feels foreign. He isn’t judging outsiders, but confessing his own complicity. Like a man choking on polluted air, he craves the oxygen of God’s reality. Repentance begins when we stop excusing the lies we tell and the lies we’ve believed. It’s the moment we prefer painful truth over comfortable falsehood. [40:45]

“And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”’” (Mark 7:6, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you tolerated “little lies”—in relationships, self-talk, or cultural values—that distance you from God’s truth? What one deceit will you confront today?

Day 3: Strangers in a Hostile Land

“Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek… among the tents of Kedar!” The psalmist feels like an exile among those who “hate peace.” Repentance reshapes our identity: we’re no longer at home in the world’s systems. Like a traveler refusing to adopt foreign customs, we start measuring our choices by a different kingdom’s values. This holy dissonance is the mark of a heart awakening to grace. [44:00]

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What practices, habits, or attitudes make you feel “at home” in the world but alienated from God? How might repentance reorient your sense of belonging?

Day 4: Repentance: Changing Your Mind, Not Just Your Mood

Repentance isn’t sentimental guilt or damage control. It’s a revolution of the mind—agreeing with God about what’s truly good, evil, and worthy of pursuit. Like a prisoner suddenly seeing the prison’s decay, we abandon old loyalties. The psalmist doesn’t negotiate; he pleads for cleansing. True repentance seeks transformation, not just forgiveness. [47:28]

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you confused feeling sorry with actual repentance? What specific mindset or belief is God asking you to radically rethink today?

Day 5: The Lonely Road Less Traveled

The path of repentance often feels solitary—like taking “the road less traveled” in a world marching the opposite direction. Yet this loneliness is purposeful. Stripped of others’ approval, we discover God’s companionship. The psalmist’s isolation fuels his ascent. Every step away from the crowd is a step toward the Father who runs to meet prodigals. [54:40]

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5, ESV)

Reflection: What relationships, comforts, or cultural norms make repentance feel costly to you? How might embracing this “lonely road” deepen your dependence on Christ?

Sermon Summary

The Psalms of Ascent are songs for people going somewhere. Israel sang them on the way up to Jerusalem, on the way up to the temple, and in the deeper sense, on the way forward with God. Psalm 120 begins that climb with a song of repentance, because no one moves toward God unless repentance happens first.

Psalm 120 opens in badness. “In my distress, I called to the Lord and he answered me.” The psalmist is not living in some calm, easy, peaceful moment. Distress has grabbed him by the soul, and that distress becomes the place where the prayer finally gets honest. Repentance is not birthed when everything feels fine and manageable. Repentance comes when a person gets fed up with the ways of the world and starts acquiring an appetite for the world of grace.

The psalmist sees lying lips and a deceitful tongue all around him. But Psalm 120 does not let him stand above everybody else like he is better than they are. The deceit is around him, and the deceit is in him. The text is not self-righteous religion. It is a yearning for truth, for something real, for something solid enough to build a life on.

Meshach and Kedar name the strange, hostile feeling of living where the heart does not belong. The psalmist feels like he lives among hoodlums and wild savages, and his cry is basically, “This world is not my home and I want out.” The world cannot satisfy the desires God has planted in the soul, because the soul was made for another world.

Repentance is not mere emotion, not getting caught, not saying sorry because consequences are on the table. Repentance is a change of mind. It is agreeing with God that his way of seeing the sin is right. David in Psalm 51 shows that kind of repentance when his sin is ever before him and his only hope is God’s mercy.

The road of repentance is often lonely. The song of repentance is never a number one hit. Two roads diverge, and one traveler cannot walk repentance and unrepentance at the same time. Jesus begins his public preaching with one word: repent. Jesus answers tragedy, disaster, comparison, and curiosity with the same warning: unless repentance comes, perishing follows. Repentance changes everything because what human pressure cannot produce, the Spirit of God can accomplish in an instant.

Key Takeaways

1. Repentance starts in distress Distress is not wasted when it drives the soul toward God instead of deeper into self-protection. Psalm 120 begins with trouble because honest prayer often begins where false peace finally breaks down. The pain is not the Savior, but it can become the alarm that wakes a person up to the need for one. [38:21]
2. Truth breaks deceitful lips The lying lips in Psalm 120 are not only out there in the world. The deceitful tongue is also close enough to expose the one praying. Repentance begins when the sinner stops defending what God calls false and starts wanting truth more than excuses. [43:01]
3. God sets the terms The relationship with God does not operate on human preferences, feelings, or negotiated conditions. God alone sets the terms, and the dividing line is repentance or non-repentance. That truth is hard because it removes control, but it is mercy because it tells the soul where the real doorway is. [52:06]
4. Two roads cannot be traveled The road of repentance and the road of unrepentance do not run together forever. A person cannot be one traveler and take both paths. The narrow way is not popular, but it is the one that “has made all the difference.” [54:09]
5. Conviction is mercy’s warning Conviction feels rough because it tells the truth before judgment falls. The sorrow, guilt, and discomfort of conviction are not pleasant, but they are lighter than perishing without repentance. Repentance while conviction is the only consequence is a gift that should not be delayed. [63:23]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:36] - Introducing Summer Ascent
[34:39] - What Ascent Means
[35:52] - Psalm 120, A Song of Repentance
[37:55] - Repentance Birthed in Badness
[40:45] - Lying Lips and Deceitful Tongues
[44:00] - Living in Meshach and Kedar
[46:06] - Repentance Is Not Emotion
[48:09] - David’s Cry in Psalm 51
[52:06] - God Sets the Terms
[53:03] - The Road Less Traveled
[56:11] - Jesus Begins With Repent
[58:17] - Unless You Repent
[60:00] - Repentance Changes Everything
[63:23] - Repent While Conviction Remains

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Psalm 120 (ESV)
1 In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!

Observation questions

What specific circumstances prompted the psalmist to cry out to God in Psalm 120:1?
How does the psalmist describe the environment and people around him in verses 5-7?
In the sermon, what two key elements of repentance were contrasted with mere emotion or coercion? [46:06]
According to the sermon, what did Jesus emphasize as the first step in responding to tragedy, disaster, or curiosity? [56:11]

Interpretation questions

Why might distress (Psalm 120:1) be a catalyst for repentance rather than comfort or ease?
The psalmist mentions living among “those who hate peace” (v. 6). How does this contrast with the heart of someone truly seeking God?
Jesus warns, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Why is repentance non-negotiable in responding to suffering or moral failure?
How does Psalm 51:1-4 demonstrate the difference between genuine repentance and superficial remorse?

Application questions

When have you experienced a “distress” that drove you to cry out to God honestly, rather than relying on self-sufficiency? What changed in that moment? [38:21]
The sermon states, “Repentance begins when the sinner stops defending what God calls false.” What excuses or justifications do you most often cling to instead of agreeing with God’s view of sin?
The psalmist felt like an outsider in a hostile world (Psalm 120:5). Where do you feel most “out of place” in a culture that values deceit or conflict over truth and peace? How can you actively choose the “road less traveled” there? [54:09]
Jesus’ first public word was “repent” (Matthew 4:17). What area of your life still resists this command? What practical step could you take this week to “change your mind” about it?
The sermon warns, “Repent while conviction is your only consequence.” Is there a recurring conviction you’ve been delaying to address? What makes it hard to act now? [01:03:23]

Sermon Clips

52s

#ChangeYourMind

“``Do you know what repentance literally is? It is a changing of the mind. It is a changing of the mind about the lying tongue and the deceitful lips. A changing of the mind that says, look, I know that I've been doing it. I know everyone around me is doing it and I know that I've defended justified it and I know that they're defending it and they're justifying it, but I am changing my mind about this thing and I am agreeing with you God. Not because I got busted and I don't want the consequence. I'm changing my mind because your mind and the way you see things is right and that's the way I wanna see things.”

59s

#GodsTermsOnly

“If I'm going to do this thing, really do this thing, it is going to come on God's terms and not mine. It it it is going to be done according to the way god sets it up and not me. If the Bible is clear on anything from Old Testament to New Testament, it is this, we don't set the guidelines and the parameters for this relationship. God does. We don't go to God however we want or however we think or however we feel. God and God alone dictates the terms of this relationship. And when it comes to your relationship with the lord, it is either repentance or non repentance. That's it.”

90s

#RealRepentance

“Repentance is not emotion. Repentance is not coerced. I am a parent and I have coerced repentance out of a lot of kids over a lot of years. Say you're sorry. No. You're not. you're you're bummed you got caught. You're bummed we're having this conversation. You don't care you did it. That's not repentance. Repentance is not sorry. Repentance is not shucks god messed up, really big, cool if you could take that whole consequence thing off the table. That's not repentance. Do you know what repentance literally is? It is a changing of the mind. It is a changing of the mind about the lying tongue and the deceitful lips. A changing of the mind that says, look, I know that I've been doing it. I know everyone around me is doing it and I know that I've defended justified it and I know that they're defending it and they're justifying it, but I am changing my mind about this thing and I am agreeing with you God. Not because I got busted and I don't want the consequence. I'm changing my mind because your mind and the way you see things is right and that's the way I wanna see things.”

77s

#RepentOrPerish

“Think think about the logic here. Hey, something really bad happened to those guys. How how bad were they? They must have been horrible, right? I mean, we're sinners and all but we're better sinners than them, right? I mean, they really got it bad. And he says, do you think they were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No. I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those 18 on whom the Tower Of Siloam fell and killed them. Do you think they were worse offenders than all others who lived in Jerusalem? No. I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Political religious persecution, natural disaster. Where they were snow? Where they better? No. Here's your takeaway. Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.”

80s

#CryOutInDistress

“Repentance is a rough thing and and what I mean by that is it it comes under rough circumstances. you know why I repented? Do you know why I called out to God for salvation? I knew, even at a young age I knew something's not right with me, and it's not anything I can fix. All I know to do is ask God to fix it for me. If if there's any fixing, if there's any hope in this thing, it's not going to come from me. It's going to come from him. That's that's repentance. That's distress. God, you gotta do something. Otherwise, it ain't gonna get done.”

61s

#PrayersFromPain

“Have you not noticed in your own individual walk of life that very very often times the most faithful prayers, the most powerful prayers that you pray always begin with that same circumstance, in my distress. In the midst of heartbreak and heartache. In the midst of loss. In the midst of sorrow and suffering, in my distress, I called upon the name of the Lord. It is a sad indictment but that does not make it any less true. The fact of the matter remains that when things are going well, when things are going good, when we are happy, when we are content, when we seem to have peace, God isn't at the forefront of our thoughts. In my distress, I called upon the Lord. The only reason heaven and earth hear this song of repentance is the badness of the circumstance.”

53s

#MadeForMore

“If I'm looking around in the world I live in just if I've got these desires and I've got these journeys that just this world can't satisfy, the only logical conclusion is I was made for another world. I was made for something else. And in Psalm one twenty the writer is saying, I speak lies and I hear lies. I I I I'm around the the the hoodlums and and the hostilities and and all of this and I just don't want it. So in my distress, I am going to call upon you. Now we sang a song about it earlier, but please it would be well to remember and remind ourselves that repentance is not emotion.”

59s

#RevivalTransforms

“Repentance changes everything. This song changes everything. In 1932, a revival swept through a part of China. Just this spiritual awakening, people getting saved, all of this stuff going on and and it's known as the Shantung revival. Prisoners, listen to this, prisoners who were guilty, who wouldn't confess their sins and crimes even when tortured by their jailers begin admitting their wrongdoing immediately after their conversion. What physical torture of man could not do, the spirit of God accomplished in an instant. is repentance.”

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Southside Baptist Princeton, KY This sermon · AI assistant

How is repentance birthed in seasons of distress?

What distinguishes genuine repentance from coerced contrition?

Why must repentance be on God's terms?

A Song of Repentance. Psalm 120

Devotional

Day 1: Distress as the Birthplace of Repentance

Day 2: Surrounded by Lies, Longing for Truth

Day 3: Strangers in a Hostile Land

Day 4: Repentance: Changing Your Mind, Not Just Your Mood

Day 5: The Lonely Road Less Traveled

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

A Song of Repentance. Psalm 120

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