Sunday Sermons
Down But Not Out - Psalm 129
“Whereas most nations tend to look back on what they have achieved, Israel reflects here on what she has survived. It could be a disheartening exercise, for Zion still has its ill-wishers. But the singers take courage from the past, facing God with gratitude and their enemies with defiance” (Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, p. 444). Even though this Psalm speaks of God’s faithfulness in the Old Testament, Christians can certainly draw applications from it (Romans 15:4), for:
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We are God’s people (1 Peter 2:9-10))
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God’s people still have enemies (John 15:18)
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We remain persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)
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Tremendous pressure surrounds us as well, 2 Corinthians 6:9 “as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death”); 2 Corinthians 4:9,11 “Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake”
The Scarred Survivor
“Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up” (129:1)
The mention of Israel’s youth leads our minds back to the Exodus, “When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). “This was the best starting-point for reflections on suffering, as the cross the resurrection are for the Christian. Many of the later ordeals of Israel, unlike the Egyptian bondage, were punishments; but God’s character was righteous (4a) and as rescuer (4b) shines through them all” (Kidner p. 444). In addition, Israel was not merely persecuted during her youth, but from her youth as well. “Israel was oppressed by the many hostile nations that surrounded the small but thriving waste: the Philistines, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and others” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 107-150, p. 1132).
“Yet they have not prevailed against me”
This is a powerful verse. Israel had faced opposition from the birth of the nation (Exodus 1) and still faced tremendous opposition when the Psalm was written and yet the nation survived despite being surrounded by hostile and unbelieving nations, many which were larger than she was. So how does one account for the survival of that nation? The answer will be given in verse 4.
“The plowers plowed upon my back; they lengthened their furrows” (129:3)
“The two-stage metaphor showing Israel as a scourged man, and the welts on his back as furrows of a ploughed field, could hardly be stronger or more horribly apt. The survival of this people, so hated but so resilient, bore silent witness to their Preserver”(Kidner pp. 444-445). “Israel has been lashed by her enemies. Moreover, the wounds were long. It is a severe testing” (Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament, Psalms 73-150, p. 436). Obviously, the wounds under consideration are not punishments from God (even though the nation was often punished for its transgressions), but the suffering endured for being different from the world. In like manner, Christians are called to follow in the steps of the Master, and to even suffer as well, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). The apostles experienced such and felt privileged to bear some of the anger that the world seeks to direct toward God, “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). “Because Jesus lives we also live, and because He has been victorious we shall be victorious too. Victory is not gained by avoiding our share of this world’s oppression. Jesus said, ‘In this world you will have trouble’, but added, ‘Take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). We must triumph as He did, enduring oppression and ultimately passing through the portal of death to resurrection. Often in the long course of history, Christians have been forced to cry, as Israel did, ‘They have greatly oppressed me from my youth!’ It is the echoing cry of God’s people down the long corridors of human history. However, underneath that cry and sometimes even over it we also hear the confession, ‘But they have not gained the victory over me’” (Boice pp. 1135-1136).
The Curse
“Psalm 129 recounts the suffering of Israel (vv. 1-4). The psalmist follows with curses against her enemies. Those who hate Zion will be shamed (v. 5). They will be fruitless and wither (vv. 6-7), and they will not be blessed with blessings of the Lord (vv. 8). As much as this may bother us, it is a fundamental reality. We are either blessed by God, or we are cursed by God. We are either under His grace or under His wrath. There is no third alternative, much as the modern mind looks for one” (Williams pp. 434-435).
“Let them be like grass upon the housetops, which withers before it grows up” (129:6)
“The flat roofs in ancient Israel were constructed of beams covered with branches. They were topped off with a layer of clay. When it rained, grass easily grew from the clay, only to wither in the beating sun. In this curse, the enemies of Israel are to be like that grass, quickly scorched” (Williams p. 437).
“With which the reaper does not fill his hand” (129:7)
“The psalmist does not want the wicked to have even the small measure of success. He wants their plans to shrivel so completely that the reaper will not find enough of their effort even to fill his hands or gather in his arms to carry home” (Boice p. 1134).
“Nor do those who pass by say, ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord’” (129:8)
This is much like 2 John 9-11, “they are held under the curse; no one is to bless them in God’s name” (Williams p. 437).
Some religious people are offended by such sections of Scripture and feel they are contrary to the “Spirit of Jesus” and yet the same people are often offended by something Jesus said as well (see Mark 9:43ff). “Those who confound right and wrong ought to be confounded, and those who turn back from God ought to be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts? What should we pray for in regard to those who persist in evil? That they should repent and be converted, of course. But if they do not? Surely we are not to pray that they might prosper!” (Boice p. 1133). We need to remember that such enemies are not merely opposing some opinion; rather they are opposing the God of heaven, His will, His message, His salvation and His people! “It is only appropriate, speaking in those terms, that those who reject her should wither; leaving metaphors aside, they are not only choosing the way of hate, which is soul-destroying, but setting themselves against God, which is suicide” (Kidner p. 445).
Conclusion
The grass which “withers” is not only used in reference to the enemies of God’s people, it really applies to men in general as well (Isaiah 40:6-8). This is contrasted with God’s word, whose eternity we can share (1 Peter 1:23). Christians may be persecuted and surrounded by detractors throughout the centuries, but we continue to stand, and every day that you and I remain faithful we shout, “yet they have not prevailed against me” (129:2).
