① 1I called to the Lord in my distress,
and he answered me.
2Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.
3How shall he pay you back,
O deceitful and lying tongue?
4He will punish you with arrows
hardened over the glowing coals!
5Woe is me who live with barbarians,
and dwell amid plunders.
6My soul is sick of dwelling
among those who hate peace;
7I want peace,
but they only think of quarrels.
- The pilgrims who went up to the Temple were not without their troubles: some were not at peace with their neighbors; others complained that they were not living with believers but with pagans. They wanted the peace that God gives to those who draw near to him.
The Psalms 120–134 have the same title: “Song of Ascents.” The pilgrims, surely, sang them while going up to the Jerusalem Temple. That is why we find at times an antiphon that the crowd of pilgrims would repeat.
