120:1 he heard me. The fifteen songs of degrees occur in a beautiful sequence. One could read them either as outlining the “hope of Israel” for future restoration and eternal blessing, or as a sort of “Pilgrim’s Progress,” applicable to each believer as he or she progresses through the Christian life. The first in the series, Psalm 120, is essentially a cry for salvation, Psalm 121 gives assurance of salvation, Psalm 122 speaks of fellowship with other believers, and so on, with Psalm 133 finally speaking of the end of the journey and the last one, Psalm 134, of eternal praise and blessing.

120:5 Mesech. Mesech (same as Meshech) was far north of Israel, now probably represented by Moscow, whereas Kedar was far south, in Arabia. Both are prophetically indicated as enemies of Israel in the last days. They may also represent the state of someone living far away from God’s will but longing for salvation.