Psalms 129:1

The Bible says in Psalm 129:1-2, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:[2] Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.” Everyone has some afflictions to suffer in life. This life is not perfect. Things go wrong. People make mistakes. There is disaster and violence and disease that can come into anyone’s life. David is here talking about the sufferings of Christians. If you follow Jesus, you will have sufferings. We are not greater than our Lord, and he is called in Isaiah chapter fifty-three “a man of sorrows and well-acquainted with grief.” Notice that David said twice, “Many a time have they afflicted me...” Some people have a few sufferings and some people have many. But no matter how many sufferings you have, if you trust in the Lord about them, you will see the same result as described in verse two: “they have not prevailed against me.” Literally, that means that they have not finished you off. The goal of the dark spiritual forces is to get you to give up and to stop confessing your sins, and to stop seeking the Lord Jesus in your life. They win if you stop. You win, if you keep on keeping on no matter what happens to you.

Notice also that in verses one and two the Psalmist says that all of the afflictions started “from my youth.” You need to know the Lord and start serving the Lord as early as possible in life. Many people have had terrible things happen to them in their youth, and because they did not know the Lord or His Word, they reacted the wrong way to their afflictions and never recovered from it for the rest of their lives on this earth. Remember that the Lord can comfort from any sorrow. Learn to trust in Him and become the person that He wants you to be instead of being twisted or limited by the sorrows of the past.

The Bible says in Psalms 129:3-4, “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.[4] The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.” Do not underestimate how much the afflictions can hurt that can come against you. All of your dreams might be dashed. The worse sufferings of life might be yours at a time that is totally unexpected. The Psalmist described the sufferings as a plow plowing into the back. Such a thing could kill you. Of course, it is symbolic. The point is that there is no limit to the pain. Remember Job. But also remember the Lord. People my not be righteous. They might be proud and arrogant. They might abuse their power. They might hurt you and not care one bit. But the Lord cares and He has more power. God can, “cut asunder the cords of the wicked.”

The Bible says in Psalms 129:5-8, “ Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.[6] Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:[7] Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.[8] Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.” These verses tell more of the bad consequences that will happen to those who do not know Jesus as Savior. They will be “confounded.” That means “ashamed.” They will be ashamed at the judgment for sure and throughout eternity if they do not repent and turn to Jesus. To be “turned back” means that they will have insurmountable obstacles to what they are trying to accomplish. In other words, all their plans will amount to nothing. Their money and their power will be wasted. They will torture themselves in eternity, knowing how much they wasted and how much they threw away.

One of the problems of unbelievers is that they “hate Zion.” They hate Jerusalem. They hate Israel. They hate Christians and Jews. That is one of the main characteristics of those who are truly opposed to God. But God promised to bless those that bless Abraham and his descendants, and curse those that curse Abraham and his descendants.

Those who hate Jerusalem are going to be ashamed, they are going to be turned back, and they are going to “whither” according to verse six. That means they will not accomplish anything. Their efforts will be fruitless. One of the goals of life is to accomplish something that will last for eternity. Those who hate Jerusalem will accomplish nothing.

There is one more terrible thing that will happen to those who hate Zion. It says in verse eight that no one will say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you…” The unbelievers will miss out on the blessings of God forever. By the way, one of the best things to say to someone is: “May the Lord bless you,” or “The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.”

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