Uncle Theology.
Uncle Theology · Psalms of Ascent · Track 1

I Am For Peace

Psalms of AscentTrack 1 of 15
I Am For Peace — song artwork, Psalms of Ascent by Uncle Theology
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About this songAn ’80s kid who just wants to watch Picard and play Zelda keeps getting dragged into fights — Psalm 120 as a cul-de-sac lament. The first song of ascent starts far from Jerusalem, homesick for peace.
Big ideaThe pilgrim road begins with a holy homesickness: “I am for peace, but they are for war” — and that ache is what turns your eyes toward the hills.
Doctrine
Pilgrim identity · Peacemaking
Anchor text
Psalm 120:5–7
Form
’80s pop-punk lament
Voices
—
Verse 1

Why these fellas gotta push so hard
When I'm contented just to watch Picard
First night home with tha Nintendo Power,
Tryin to get wit Zelda for a couple hours
Aww why these fellas gotta push so hard

Pre-Chorus

Why I gotta win a fight
Like Daniel-san run off his bike
Or that skeleton fight (on halloween night?)

Chorus

I am for peace (I am for peace)
But when I speak, they are for war.
I'm just a kid in the tents of Kedar,
Hiding out behind tha bathroom door.
Woe is me, woe is me,
I’m just a Sojourning teen
I am for peace
But they are for war

Verse 2

Lying lips at the lunchroom table
Bros think they cool just cuz they got cable
Swore they'd trade me for my Voltron lion,
Took my gear and left me cry'n

Pre-Chorus

Why I gotta throw a punch
When I'd rather eat my Crunch?
Why we gotta fight? (man this isn’t right!)

Chorus

I am for peace (I am for peace)
But when I speak, they are for war.
I'm just a kid in the tents of Kedar,
Hiding out behind tha bathroom door.
Woe is me, woe is me,
I’m just a Sojourning teen
I am for peace
But they are for war

Bridge

My soul has dwelt too long
With him that hateth peace.
Oh God on this cul-de-sac
Put my enemies neath your feet

Tag

I lift my eyes up to the hills...
Where does my help come from?

Scripture References

  1. Psalm 120
  2. Psalm 121:1
  3. Psalm 110:1
  4. Romans 12:18
  5. Hebrews 11:13

Study this song

Teaching aids drawn from the song — for personal study or group discussion.

How the song moves

1
Why they gotta push so hard?
Lunchroom liars and bike-chase bullies — “lying lips” and “a deceitful tongue” in Stranger-Things clothing (Psalm 120:2).
2
The tents of Kedar
Meshech and Kedar were the far edges of the map — the psalmist feels like a foreigner in his own neighborhood (Psalm 120:5; Hebrews 11:13).
3
Too long with him that hateth peace
The prayer gets honest: put my enemies under your feet — a cry God answers in Christ, the King who rules in the midst of his enemies (Psalm 110:1).
4
Lift my eyes
The tag hands off to Psalm 121: a lament doesn’t end in the bathroom stall, it ends looking up (Psalm 121:1).

Key terms & allusions

  • Song of Ascents — The heading on Psalms 120–134 — songs pilgrims sang going “up” to Jerusalem for the feasts. Fifteen steps, one road home.
  • Kedar and Meshech — Far-off, warlike peoples (Arab nomads; a tribe near the Black Sea). Living “in their tents” means feeling like an exile.
  • Sojourner — A resident alien — someone living somewhere that isn’t finally home. Peter calls all Christians “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11).

Discussion questions

  1. Why do you think the pilgrim songbook begins with a complaint instead of a celebration?
  2. Where do you feel like you live “in the tents of Kedar” — at school, online, at work?
  3. Romans 12:18 says “so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” What does being “for peace” look like when others are “for war”?

For contemplation

  1. Name one place your soul has “dwelt too long” with strife. Hand it to God by name.
  2. Is there a fight you’re itching to win that you could simply let God carry?
  3. Picture your eyes lifting from the bathroom door to the hills. What would it mean to start this week’s road there?