Psalm 129 | Struck Down But Not Destroyed

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The Christian life is like going on a journey

Psalms of Ascent: A Playlist for the Journey Ahead

Psalms of Ascent (120-139) describes the experience of what is like to be a follower of Jesus:

JOYFUL EXPERIENCE

Assurance & Celebration of God’s protection (121, 124, 125)

Excitement to be with the people of God, in the City of God and the temple of God (122)

Restoration and laughter as God fulfills his promises (126)

Blessings for those who fear the Lord (127-128)

UNPLEASANT PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

Suffering & distress (120)

Persecution: Contempt and scorn (123)

From the Psalms of Ascent we learn that the path of the Christian life is one marked by joy and peace but also marked by suffering and opposition.

Consider this important question:

Do you think of Christian faith as a fragile style of life that can flourish only when the weather conditions are just right, or do you see it as a tough perennial that can stick it out through storm and drought, survive the trampling of careless feet and the attacks of vandals? — Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Why is this question so important? Because at some point in your life you will find yourself in the furnace of affliction. Discouragement Trap | Temptation to give up. Enter Psalm 129

“This Psalm comes from the lips of people who have been tested almost to the breaking point yet have held on to their faith. It is a psalm which breathes confidence, not the shallow confidence of the starry eyed, but the robust confidence of those who have often had to face the worst that life could throw at them and have responded with a realism rooted in faith in the LORD.” — Robert Davidson, The Vitality of Worship: A Commentary on the Book of Psalms

4 things to keep in mind in our journey with Jesus

1. Those who desire to live for Jesus will be persecuted

The Christian life is one marked by opposition (scorn, contempt, persecution, even death.)

vv. 1&2, “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth. (Youth, days of slavery in Egypt)

v.3 “The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”” This is persecution & pain beyond human capacity (trauma)

What I’m about to tell you might be hard to believe but right now our brothers and sisters around the world are being persecuted and killed for following Jesus and sharing the message of the gospel with others.

Modern, Global Church Persecution Statistics

[graphic] According to Open Doors

322 Christians are killed for their faith every month

214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed every month

772 forms of violence (beatings, kidnappings, rape, arrest, etc.) are committed against Christians every month

WHY? v.4 speaks of those who hate Zion. “Zion” is referred as the, God’s holy mountain (Ps 48:1). Zion encompass at that is on the mountain: the city of God, the temple of God & the people of God.

Satan hates the people of God

The world hates the people of God

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

There is no way around it.

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

1 Peter 4:12 “ Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Have you considered the cost following Jesus? Do you expect the world to applaud you for following Jesus?

2. Remember the times God has provided deliverance

It’s so tempting to feel forsaken when going through the furnace of affliction.

v.4 The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.”

v.2, “Yet they have not prevailed.”

Psalm 129 is a reminder of how God has delivered his people in the past to offer them bright hope for their current dark days.

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” (Jn 16:33)

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

Crucifixion Friday comes before Resurrection Sunday!

Think about a time when life knocked you down but the Lord manifested his presence in your life & provided deliverance.

3. We can be completely honest with God about our pain

vv. 5-8 is a prayer for the defeat and destruction of the enemy.

Psalm 129:5-8 “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!””

[graphic] This is an example of an imprecatory prayer: “A prayer where you ask God to bring judgment upon one’s enemies”

You’ll be surprised at the number of imprecatory prayer found in the book of Psalms. Imprecatory prayers are a healthy way of processing and expressing extreme pain and anger: “Be angry and do not sin.” (Eph 4:26)

“They guide or channel our anger to and through God verbally rather than to or at anyone else. The imprecatory psalms do not contradict Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies. We tend wrongly to equate “love” with “having a warm feeling toward.” Jesus’ teaching, however, defines love actively. It is not so much how you feel about a certain person but what you do for that person that shows love (Luke 10:25–37). The biblical command is to do love, not to feel love. In a related way, the imprecatory psalms help us, when we feel anger, not to do anger. We should honestly express our anger to God, no matter how bitterly and hatefully we feel it, and let God take care of justice against those who misuse us.” (Gordon D. Fee and Douglas K. Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth)

To be clear, imprecatory prayers call for divine vengeance rather than human vengeance.

Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.””

A healthy way to process pain and trauma.

In Revelation 6 John sees a vision of those who were murdered because of the gospel.

Revelation 6:10 “They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?””

They were told to wait a little longer.

Imprecatory prayers are for “extreme instances, used when God’s people face sustained injustice, hardened enmity, and gross oppression.” (John Day)

Don’t use them when someone cuts you in traffic or the barista messes up your coffee order.

How would you explain the imprecatory psalms to a child? Here is F. G. Hibbard’s account:

I happened to be reading one of the one imprecatory psalms [in family worship], and as I paused to remark, my little boy, a lad of ten years, asked with some earnestness: “Father, do you think it right for a good man to pray for the destruction of his enemies like that?” and at the same time referred me to Christ as praying for his enemies. I paused a moment to know how to shape the reply so as to fully meet and satisfy his enquiry, and then said, “My son, if an assassin should enter the house by night, and murder your mother, and then escape, and the sheriff and citizens were all out in pursuit, trying to catch him, would you not pray to God that they might succeed and arrest him, and that he might be brought to justice?” “Oh yes!” said he, “but I never saw it so before. I did not know that that was the meaning of these Psalms.” “Yes,” said I, “my son, the men against whom David prayers were bloody men, men of falsehood and crime, enemies to the peace of society, seeking his own life, and unless they were arrested and their wicked devices defeated, many innocent persons must suffer.” The explanation perfectly satisfied his mind. F. G. Hibbard, The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, with Historical Introductions; and a General Introduction to the Whole Book, 5th ed. (New York: Carlton & Porter, 1856), 120. Cited in John N. Day, Crying for Justice: What the Psalms Teach Us About Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism.

Psalm 129 is an invitation to be completely honest with God about our pain.

What injustice or abuse can you bring before God in order for him to avenge and repay?

Conclusion: Gospel connection

Psalm 129:3 “3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.””

The nation of Israel Israel here is pictured as a flogged man with deep welts on his back from many inflicted lashes, like furrows in a plowed field.

This is a picture of Christ’s suffering.

Isaiah 53:5 “5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Jesus suffered the greatest act of injustice. On Good Friday, he experienced physical, mental, emotional & spiritual trauma (MG, MG, WHYFM)

But on Sunday rises from the dead and defeats the very thing that separates from God: sin.

What the enemy meant for evil, God meant it for good.

No matter how powerful abusive people or even Satan himself may seem, we can know that God is sovereign. This doesn’t mean that he’s the creator, instigator, or cause of evil, but it does mean that he’s far more powerful than any evildoer. He is in control. Not a single hair can fall from our heads without his knowledge. We may not know exactly why—or all the reasons why—God lets bad things happen. We may never understand this side of heaven. Nevertheless, we can be confident, knowing that he is good and he is faithful, and that we can put our experiences to good and healing use. What an abuser intended for evil, God can use for good. In my life, he has already begun! Like gathering fragments of broken glass, he collects my shattered peace and wounded heart to design a mosaic of his redemptive love. (Jennifer Greenberg, Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse: How Faith Brought One Woman From Victim to Survivor )