January 29
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PSALM 129- GOD’S UNFAILING PROTECTION TO HIS PEOPLE
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say—2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” 4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! 6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,8 nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”– Psalm 129:1-8
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This psalm is a song of ascents. It was recited by the pilgrims as they go up the hill of Jerusalem to worship the Lord. The psalmist declares how the enemies have brought so much suffering to them all those years, but they were never crushed. When we are chosen by God, he will never allow us to be defeated by the enemy. Boice comments on this psalm: “One might say that the chief accomplishment of the Jewish people has been survival. “The Jews are the longest-enduring distinct ethnic people on the planet. They have been slandered, hated, persecuted, expelled, pursued, and murdered throughout their long existence, but they have survived intact.”
In verse 3, the writer describes the cruelty of the enemy and how they made it impossible for the Israelites to have an easy life, but verse 4 says how the Lord cuts off the wickedness done to his people. Sometimes, we may not visibly see how God protects us, but this verse reminds us that he is our deliverer.
The next verse is a prayer for God’s protection. It may sound like a curse, but let us hear Spurgeon’s comment “This is a proper wish, and contains within it no trace of personal ill-will. We desire their welfare as men, their downfall as traitors. Let their conspiracies be confounded, their policies be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts?” Wouldn’t one who loves righteousness pray anything to revert evil? When God’s people wish for evil not to happen to all believers, we are lining up with God’s will. He hates sin and evil, and so should we.
This psalm resonates my life. I have been marinated in abuse and neglect for as long as I can remember and yet I am still here, standing and declaring my Lord’s victory over all the enemy’s schemes. He is my shield and protection.
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REFLECTION
• Why should we not forget that our survival is God’s protection and not our own?