Psalms 129:1

PSALM 129

THE ENEMIES HAVE NOT PREVAILED AGAINST US

Ballard catches the background of this psalm in the following.

"This psalm is among the pilgrim songs, because many a Jew was depressed when he contemplated the long struggle of his people for survival in the midst of an unfriendly world; but in this psalm he turns the minds of his people toward the more cheering aspect of their history, that is, that in spite of their foes, Israel had prevailed by God's grace and continued to live."[1]

"The psalm is a lament of the community with overtones of confidence and trust."[2] Looking back over Israel's long past, the psalmist here, "Condenses hundreds of years of their history into four verses."[3]

As regards the organization of the psalm, Leupold divided it into two paragraphs: (1) "A confident affirmation that the enemy has not prevailed (Psalms 129:1-4); and (2) a conclusion drawn from past deliverances, namely, that Zion's enemies shall perish (Psalms 129:5-8)."[4]

Psalms 129:1-4

THE ENEMY HAS NOT PREVAILED

"Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,

Let Israel now say,

Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up;

Yet they have not prevailed against me.

The plowers plowed upon my back;

They made long their furrows.

Jehovah is righteous:

He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked."

"From my youth up" (Psalms 129:1). "Israel's youth was theft sojourn in Egypt (Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 2:15)."[5]

"Let Israel now say" (Psalms 129:1). "Israel is speaking in this psalm, not the individual."[6] It must therefore be considered the cry of the whole nation and not that of a mere individual.

"Many a time have they afflicted me" (Psalms 129:2). "Many of the ordeals of Israel, unlike the Egyptian bondage, were punishments; but God's character was righteous; and, therefore, through them all, he shines as The Rescuer of Israel."[7] As the pilgrim singers dwelt upon this thought, they were encouraged and lifted up in confidence that, after so many deliverances in the past, God will surely not forsake them.

"The plowers plowed upon my back ... long their furrows" (Psalms 129:3). "The usual interpretation is to be preferred here, that underlying this metaphor is the notion of scourging."[8] The long furrows are to be understood as the lash marks of the whips upon their backs. The Old Israel, in some ways, was the Old Testament Type of the True Israel, who is Christ; and Allen pointed out that these lines suggest the scourging that was laid upon the back of Jesus Our Lord, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:5.

"Jehovah is righteous; he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked" (Psalms 129:4). This is a very subtle figure of speech. The "plowing" of that generation was done with oxen drawing the plow. The necessary equipment in such activity included the cords that bound the yoke to the necks of the oxen; and we deeply appreciate the discernment of Allen who observed that, "Jehovah prevented the wicked from continuing their oppression by, as it were, breaking the harness."[9]

Spurgeon also understood this passage in the same way.

"If any man would have his harness cut, let him begin to plow one of the Lord's fields with the plow of persecution. The shortest way to ruin is to meddle with a saint. The Divine warning is, `He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His eye.'"[10]