Psalms of Ascent Part 10

Psa 129:1 A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
Psa 129:2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.
Psa 129:3 The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
Psa 129:4 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
Psa 129:5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
Psa 129:6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
Psa 129:7 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
Psa 129:8 Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

The Christian life is not without afflictions, as Psalm 34:19 says, “many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” In spite of the afflictions, the righteous triumph. Those who afflict them do not prevail against them. Christ has made us more than conquerors, and there can be no conquest without a battle. The greater our affliction, the greater the victory as we respond as the Lord would have us respond.

In the end, God does move on our behalf if we do what is right. A certain puritan minister once said that God would plead the cause of the most unrighteous man against even the most godly, and that is true. God as a just judge must act even on the behalf of the wicked when they are wronged. Often in circumstances we have done right, but not perfectly right. Perhaps we are 5% wrong and the other is 95% wrong, God will require of us that 5% before He will move on our behalf. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” God will not aid us in a situation, until our obedience is fulfilled.

Ultimately the plans of those who persecute the godly or fight against God will be defeated. They may flourish for a short time, just like the grass that would bloom on top of the packed earth roofs used in the Levant. However there was no depth in their roots and they would be scorched before they could come to fruition. The counsel of the Lord will stand in spite of all opposition. One of the later Roman emperors known as Julian the Apostate raged against the church and against Christ, yet when he was dying on the field of battle, he acknowledged, “You have conquered, O Galilean!” Christ will conquer but we must make sure we are on His side.