Psalm 129:1-8

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Psalm 129:1-8[1]

A Song of Ascent.

“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth,” may Israel now say.  ^“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth.  Yet they have not prevailed against me.  The plowers plowed on My back.  They made long their furrows.”

The Lord [is] righteous.  He has cut asunder the cords[2] of the wicked.  Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.  Let them be as the grass [on] the housetops, which withers before it grows up: with which the mower fills not his hand, nor he who binds sheaves his bosom.  Neither, they who pass by say, “The blessing of the Lord [be] on you.  We bless you in the name of the Lord.”[3]

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[1] This is a Psalm of Imprecation.  As such it calls down horrible curses on the wicked.  Generally, it is either inappropriate or wrong for us to curse any other human: “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).”  What this Psalm sees is different: it sees things at the level of the angelic and demonic realm; where enemies are not our enemies, but God’s enemies.  Vengeance belongs to God (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30).  This Psalm rejoices in God’s victory over evil, especially in that the Israelites are now set free of oppression.  “The plowers plowed on My back.  They made long their furrows;” speaks of a slavery, which is now ended.  It looks ahead to the Crucifixion of Christ.

Since the wicked reject the gentle, good, and kind hand of God, they find themselves unable to sustain their own lives.  The source of all life is Yahweh, and the wicked have, by their own determination, cut themselves off from Him.  No one will ever bless them.  They will spend eternity in the torment of their own decision.  The Psalmist responds, Let it be.

[2] Psalm 2:3

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