Psalm 129:1-8
A Song of degrees
“Many a time have they afflicted me from my
youth, may Israel now say: Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth:
yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back: they made
long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the
cords of the wicked.” (Psalm 129:1-4)
Israel could look back through history and see time after
time when their enemies had attacked and taken them captive, imposed tribute or
even attempted to wipe them out. Some of
them had inflicted a lot of suffering, but none of them had been able to
destroy them or absorb them. Each time,
God had set Israel free cutting the bonds which held them in slavery. Each time Israel went into captivity, it was
because they forgot what had happened in the past and how God had blessed them
by setting them free.
“Let them all be
confounded and turned back that hate Zion. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
which withereth afore it groweth up: Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor
he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they which go by say, The blessing
of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 129:5-8)
The psalmist asks that those who hate Israel and the worship
of God be confused and frustrated. In
that day, most homes had a dirt roof. When
it rained grass seeds would sprout and grow, but because there wasn’t enough
soil, it would dry out and die before it reached maturity. As a result, it didn’t produce enough to
gather a handful to feed the livestock or to make hay for the winter. The Psalmists asks that Israel’s enemies be
the same way, only temporarily appearing successful, but ultimately failing, so
that people don’t even think God is really blessing them.
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