Tuesday

Psalm 129 - Prayer for deliverance

This psalm is a reflection on the history of Israel by those who gathered in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. As they looked back to the beginning of their history (‘youth,’ v. 20), they saw that even then those who began their nation had been afflicted – in Egypt. Since her youth in Egypt, there had been many other powerful enemies. Yet although the enemies were so many, they had not prevailed against Israel.

As the pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem, they were aware of the weakness of God’s people because the nation of Israel was no longer a world power. She had become under the control of other empires after the Babylonians – such as the Persian and the Roman empires.

What this psalm calls for is a sense of realism among God’s people. This psalm is a reminder that believers living in this world are travelling through enemy country. In verse 3, the psalmist uses the illustration of a ploughman digging a furrow repeatedly on a person’s back to describe the troubles of God’s people. Obviously it is painful, but the illustration also suggests that the troubles are malicious.

It is important to note the communal aspect stressed by the author. When his enemies attacked him, they were adding to a deep wound that he already possessed because of the spiritual link he had to previous generations of God’s people. The psalmist identified with their troubles. It should be the same with us, we should have this sense of identity with those before us who suffered for the faith. Of course, this sense of community embraces other believers who are alive today and who are suffering for their faith.

The psalmist’s comfort is that the Lord is righteous, that he will remember his covenant commitments as he did when he came to deliver Israel from Egypt, that eventually he will come to our help in a public way (although we must also remember that he has been helping each of his people to go through his or her particular difficulty).

In verses 5-8, there is a prayer for retribution. Many find fault with this kind of prayer, even although they are common in the Psalter (about 36 psalms come into this category, known as the imprecatory psalms because in them the authors call down divine judgement on their enemies). Critics suggest that they lack the spirit of love that was exemplified by Jesus when he instructed his disciples to love their enemies (Matt. 5:44-45). Of course, such sentiments are not confined to the Old Testament. Note Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-8.

The writer prays that the influence of evil people will be brief. He likens them to seeds of grass that are blown on to a flat rooftop and somehow take root in the small amount of ground that may also have been blown there. Fortunately for the householder, such grass soon withered away.

The people the psalmist is praying against hate Zion (v. 5) and are determined to destroy her. If God does not stop them, they will destroy Zion. It is preferable that Zion be preserved, and her enemies removed. The reason why they are going to be destroyed is not because they are sinners in general but because they sin in a specific way. If they left Zion alone, then this prayer would not have been offered. The psalmist does not want anyone to wish success to such persons (v. 8).

We see similar attempts made today by the enemies of the church (Zion). As we pray about the situation, we only have two choices: one is that God would convert them; the other is that, in one way or another, God would cause their enmity against his kingdom to cease. We should pray that their influence would be as minimal as grass growing on a housetop. When we pray earnestly for this, it is evidence that we love Zion.

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