Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Reflecting on the Psalms: Chapter 129

Psalm 129

A Song of degrees.

1Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
 
2Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.
 
3The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
 
4The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
 
5Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
 
6Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
 
7Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

8Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

Chapter 129

The whole passage pretty much relates to my darkest moment, so I'll talk about that.

 I remember being afflicted more than once, particularly when the enemy tried to tell me I wasn't good enough for God (vv. 1-2), which was represented by the time he used my trials against me and brought them up more than once. By doing that, he did (metaphorically) plow upon my back (v. 3) by trying me to get me to believe his lies. However, reliance upon God was what caused the enemy to sever his ties from me (v. 4). And once the enemy is cut off, his influence no longer has an effect on the person of God who he was trying to influence. I imagine that God was done dealing with the enemy, he did turn back in shame (v. 5) and he hasn't seemed to bother me with his lies since. I am thankful that God is protecting me and making sure my walk is not hindered by another dark moment. For clarity, here's Matthew Henry's insight on verses 6-7: "While God's people shall flourish as the loaded palm-tree, or the green and fruitful olive, their enemies shall wither as the grass upon the house-tops, which in eastern countries are flat, and what grows there never ripens; so it is with the designs of God's enemies." I don't have a lot to say about that, but after my darkest moment had passed, I do remember flourshing in my walk with Him as soon as there were no longer any hinderances between me and Him. My relationship with Him was renewed, yes, but  my walk with Him did flourish, which resulted in being at peace with Him and focusing on being obedient to Him. I'm not sure how I'd relate to verse 8 since it doesn't seem to appeal to me, but here's Henry's insight on it, "No wise man will pray the Lord to bless these mowers or reapers."

                                                   Source used:

Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 129". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=129>.
  

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