Psalms 129:5

ZION'S ENEMIES SHALL PERISH

"Let them be put to shame and turned backward,

All they that hate Zion.

Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,

Which withereth before it groweth up;

Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,

Nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom.

Neither do they that go by say,

The blessing of Jehovah be upon you;

We bless you in the name of Jehovah."

This part of the psalm is an imprecation upon Israel's enemies. It is a prayer that they will be frustrated and turned back from their evil purpose, and that they may be like the grass growing on a rooftop.

The latter figure is taken from the custom in the Mid-East of covering the roof of buildings with a thin layer of earth. This is done because of the insulation provided from the severe heat of that area. Of course, when a shower came, the grass at once sprang up; but, due to the shallow soil and the hot sun, it quickly withered without producing anything of value.

"All they that hate Zion" (Psalms 129:5). As Kidner noted, If Zion were merely the capital of fleshly Israel, such an imprecation as this would appear as, "Mere petulance and bluster."[11]

However, the Zion of the Psalter is something of exceedingly great importance. "It is the city of our God" (Psalms 48:1); "The mount for God's abode" (Psalms 68:16); and the destined mother-city of the world (Psalms 87). It is a type of the New Jerusalem that cometh down from God out of heaven; and even all the Gentiles must confess that, "All our springs are in Zion" (Psalms 87:7).

"In this light, it is appropriate therefore that, laying all metaphors aside, they that hate Zion are not only choosing the way of hate, which is soul-destroying; but they are setting themselves against God, which is suicide."[12]

"As grass upon the housetops" (Psalms 129:6-7). This is a prayer for the enemies to be as certain of withering death as the dried up grass that sprouts on the roof after a shower of rain. The reaper will not cut it, and the `binder of sheaves' will not carry an armful of the hay to his gamer. This stands for total worthlessness.

"Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; or we bless you in the name of Jehovah" (Psalms 129:8). Such expressions as these were the customary greetings of the Jews who might pass by where an abundant harvest was being gathered. This "crop" of rooftop grass was so utterly worthless that, as Yates said, "It was not even worth the customary greeting of those passing by."[13]