Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 120:1

"In my distress I cried unto Jehovah, And he answered me." — Psalms 120:1 (ASV)

In my distress - In my suffering, as arising from slander (Psalms 120:2–3). There are few forms of suffering more keen than those caused by slander:

“Whose edge is sharper than the sword; whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile; whose breath
Rides on the posting winds, and does belie
All corners of the world: kings, queens, and states,
Maids, matrons, or even the secrets of the grave
This viperous slander enters.”
Cymbeline, iii. 4.

It is one of those things against which a person cannot guard, which they cannot repel by force, and whose origin they cannot always trace. It is something that will go where a vindication will not follow.

Its effects will live long after the slander is refuted. It will adhere to a person, or leave a trace of suspicion, even after the most successful vindication.

Indeed, the effect will be to make a second slander more easily credited than the first was.

I cried to the Lord, and he heard me - I had no other resource. I could not meet the slander. I could not refute it. I could not prevent its effects on my reputation, and all that I could do was to commit the case to the Lord. See the notes at (Psalms 37:5–6).