Psalm 129
Psalm 129, Afflicted Yet Confident in God’s Deliverance
Psalm 129 is another Song of Ascents, belonging to the group of 15 psalms sung by pilgrims as they traveled up to Jerusalem. As Israel came to worship, the nation remembered the Lord’s many deliverances, especially during seasons such as Passover and Tabernacles. This psalm looks honestly at Israel’s long history of affliction, yet it does not collapse into despair. It remembers suffering, but it remembers suffering in light of God’s covenant faithfulness. The uploaded notes rightly emphasize that Israel’s history is not merely a record of what the nation achieved, but of what the nation survived by the preserving hand of God.
Scripture Text, Psalm 129, KJV
Psalm 129:1, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:”
Psalm 129:2, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.”
Psalm 129:3, “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.”
Psalm 129:4, “The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.”
Psalm 129:5, “Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.”
Psalm 129:6, “Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:”
Psalm 129:7, “Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.”
Psalm 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.”
Introduction, Israel’s Affliction and God’s Preserving Faithfulness
Psalm 129 is a national testimony. Israel speaks as a people who have suffered deeply, repeatedly, and historically. The psalm does not pretend that covenant people avoid hardship. It does not present a shallow view of blessing where faithfulness means ease. Instead, it shows that the people of God may be severely afflicted and yet never finally destroyed.
The psalm moves in two directions. First, it looks backward and remembers the many times Israel was afflicted from her youth. Second, it looks upward and confesses that the Lord is righteous and has cut the cords of the wicked. Third, it looks outward and prays that those who hate Zion would be put to shame and turned back. This is not petty personal revenge. It is a prayer that the purposes of God would stand and that the enemies of His covenant people would not prosper.
Israel’s survival is one of the great testimonies of history. From Egypt onward, Israel faced oppression, enslavement, exile, invasion, persecution, and attempted destruction. Yet Israel remained because God remained faithful. Human enemies came and went, but the covenant Lord preserved His people.
This psalm also has an important application for the church. Israel and the church are not the same entity in a proper dispensational framework. God’s promises to national Israel remain real and must not be spiritualized away. Yet the church may still learn from the same principle of divine preservation. God preserves His people. The enemies of God may afflict, oppose, slander, persecute, and wound, but they cannot overturn the purposes of the Lord.
A. God’s Goodness to Afflicted Israel
1. Psalm 129:1 through 3, Israel Afflicted but Not Destroyed
Psalm 129:1, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:”
Psalm 129:2, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.”
Psalm 129:3, “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.”
The psalm begins with repetition, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth.” This is not exaggeration. It is the testimony of Israel. The nation had been afflicted many times, so many times that the enemies could hardly be numbered. The psalmist does not name every enemy because the list would be long and painful. Instead, he says “they.” The word gathers together all the oppressors who rose against Israel throughout her history.
Israel is told to say this herself, “may Israel now say.” This makes the testimony corporate. It is not merely one man speaking about private sorrow. It is the covenant nation remembering its history before God. Israel is called to speak truthfully about both her affliction and her preservation.
The phrase “from my youth” points back to the early days of Israel’s national life. Israel’s affliction did not begin late in history. It began early, especially in Egypt, where the people were enslaved and oppressed.
Exodus 1:11 through 14, “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens., And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses., But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew., And they were grieved because of the children of Israel., And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:, And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field:, all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.”
Egypt afflicted Israel from the nation’s youth, yet Egypt did not prevail. The more Pharaoh oppressed them, the more God multiplied them. Egypt could enslave, but Egypt could not cancel the covenant.
The prophets also speak of Israel’s youth.
Jeremiah 2:2, “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.”
Ezekiel 23:3, “And they committed whoredoms in Egypt, they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.”
These passages show that Israel’s youth was historically connected with Egypt and the wilderness period. Israel’s early national history included both God’s mercy and Israel’s sin, both divine deliverance and human weakness. Yet through it all, God preserved the nation.
The psalm repeats the affliction for emphasis, “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth.” The repetition turns pain into testimony. Israel does not deny the wounds. She names them. But she does not stop with the wounds. She continues, “yet they have not prevailed against me.”
This is the central triumph of the opening section. Israel was afflicted, but not defeated. Oppressed, but not erased. Wounded, but not annihilated. Hated, but not overcome. The enemies of Israel could cause pain, but they could not prevail because the Lord had bound Himself to Israel by covenant promise.
Genesis 12:1 through 3, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house,, unto a land that I will shew thee:, And I will make of thee a great nation,, and I will bless thee,, and make thy name great;, and thou shalt be a blessing:, And I will bless them that bless thee,, and curse him that curseth thee:, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
God promised to make Abraham into a great nation and to bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him. Israel’s continued existence is tied to that covenant faithfulness. The enemies of Israel could not finally prevail because God’s promise cannot fail.
Jeremiah 31:35 through 37, “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day,, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar;, The LORD of hosts is his name:, If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD,, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever., Thus saith the LORD;, If heaven above can be measured,, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”
This passage is essential. God ties Israel’s national preservation to the fixed order of creation. As long as the sun, moon, and stars remain under God’s ordinance, Israel’s national identity before Him remains. This is why Psalm 129 can say, “yet they have not prevailed against me.”
Psalm 129:3 then uses a vivid and painful image, “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.” Israel is pictured as a body stretched out under the plow of enemies. The image suggests cruelty, humiliation, subjugation, and deep wounds. The oppressors did not merely strike lightly. They plowed long furrows into Israel’s back.
The picture is harsh because the suffering was harsh. Israel’s history included slavery, forced labor, invasion, exile, massacre, dispersion, and humiliation under foreign powers. The psalm does not soften this reality. God’s people are not helped by pretending that suffering is small when it is not. The Bible tells the truth about evil.
Yet even here, there is no despair. The furrows are long, but the enemies have not prevailed. The wounds are deep, but Israel remains. The plow has cut, but it has not destroyed the covenant people.
This principle also gives strength to believers. God may permit His people to suffer, but He does not abandon them. There are afflictions that feel like furrows cut into the soul, yet the Lord remains faithful.
2 Corinthians 4:8 through 10, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;, we are perplexed, but not in despair;, Persecuted, but not forsaken;, cast down, but not destroyed;, Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
Paul’s words fit the spirit of Psalm 129. Troubled, but not destroyed. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not consumed.
In a New Covenant context, the church also stands under Christ’s promise of preservation.
Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,, and upon this rock I will build my church;, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
The church is not Israel, but the church is also preserved by the Lord. Hell cannot finally prevail against Christ’s church because Christ Himself builds it.
2. Psalm 129:4, The God Who Delivers
Psalm 129:4, “The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.”
Psalm 129:4 turns from Israel’s suffering to the Lord’s character. The first declaration is simple and strong, “The LORD is righteous.” This is the foundation of Israel’s hope. God does not preserve Israel because Israel is sinless. God preserves Israel because He is righteous, faithful, covenant keeping, and true to His promises.
The righteousness of God means He will do what is right. He will judge wickedness. He will keep His Word. He will not abandon His covenant purposes. His righteousness is not an abstract doctrine. It is demonstrated in history when He delivers His people and cuts the cords of the wicked.
The verse says, “he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.” The image likely refers to cords used to bind, restrain, enslave, or yoke. The wicked had bound Israel. They had harnessed the people like beasts under a yoke. But the Lord cut the cords. He broke the restraints. He delivered His people from the bondage of their enemies.
This recalls the Exodus, where God broke the power of Egypt and brought Israel out by His mighty hand.
Exodus 6:6 through 8, “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel,, I am the LORD,, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,, and I will rid you out of their bondage,, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm,, and with great judgments:, And I will take you to me for a people,, and I will be to you a God:, and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God,, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians., And I will bring you in unto the land,, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham,, to Isaac,, and to Jacob;, and I will give it you for an heritage:, I am the LORD.”
The Lord promised to bring Israel out from under Egypt’s burdens. He promised to redeem them with a stretched out arm. Psalm 129:4 celebrates that same God who cuts the cords of the wicked.
The same imagery appears in the prophets.
Jeremiah 30:8, “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts,, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck,, and will burst thy bonds,, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:”
God breaks yokes and bursts bonds. Israel’s enemies may bind, but the Lord can cut. The wicked may fasten cords, but the righteous God can sever them.
This verse also strengthens believers spiritually. Sin, Satan, false religion, fear, and wicked men may seek to bind the people of God. Yet the Lord is able to cut the cords. Deliverance belongs to Him.
John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Christ gives true freedom. Where He cuts the cords, no enemy has the right to bind again.
B. Asking God to Turn Back Those Who Hate Jerusalem
Psalm 129 now moves from remembrance to prayer. The psalmist does not merely celebrate past deliverance. He prays that the Lord would continue to defeat those who hate Zion. The prayer is firm, but it is not reckless personal revenge. It is a covenant prayer that the enemies of God’s purposes would be put to shame and made fruitless.
1. Psalm 129:5 through 7, Shame for Those Who Hate Zion
Psalm 129:5, “Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.”
Psalm 129:6, “Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:”
Psalm 129:7, “Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.”
The prayer begins, “Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.” The issue is not merely personal irritation. These are those who hate Zion. To hate Zion is to hate the city associated with God’s covenant presence, worship, promises, and purposes for Israel. In biblical terms, hatred of Zion is hatred of what God has chosen and established.
The psalmist prays that such enemies would be “confounded and turned back.” He does not ask for personal vengeance. He asks that their designs fail. He asks that their plans not prosper. He asks that those who oppose God’s covenant purposes be stopped.
This kind of prayer must be understood in light of God’s righteousness. Scripture teaches that believers are not to pursue personal vengeance.
Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,, but rather give place unto wrath:, for it is written,, Vengeance is mine;, I will repay, saith the Lord.”
The psalmist is doing exactly that. He is placing the matter before the Lord. He is not taking vengeance into his own hands. He is asking God to judge rightly and stop wicked opposition.
There is also a proper moral hatred of evil. Love for God requires opposition to what opposes God.
Psalm 97:10, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:, he preserveth the souls of his saints;, he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”
To love the Lord is to hate evil. A man cannot love Zion rightly while being indifferent toward those who seek her destruction. Compassion toward enemies as men does not require approval of their rebellion or success in their wicked plans.
Psalm 129:6 gives the image, “Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up.” In the ancient Near East, flat rooftops could collect enough dust or soil for grass to spring up briefly after rain. But such grass had no deep root. It had no lasting strength. It withered quickly under heat.
This is the psalmist’s prayer for Zion’s enemies. Let their success be shallow, temporary, rootless, and soon gone. Let their plans spring up briefly and then wither. Let their power look green for a moment but have no lasting fruit.
This is a powerful contrast. Zion is rooted in God’s covenant purpose. Her enemies are like rooftop grass. Zion endures because the Lord has chosen her. The wicked wither because they have no true foundation.
Psalm 1:4 through 6, “The ungodly are not so:, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away., Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous., For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
The ungodly may appear strong for a season, but they are ultimately weightless before God. They are chaff before the wind. They cannot stand in the judgment.
Psalm 37:1 through 2, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers,, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity., For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,, and wither as the green herb.”
This is the same idea. The wicked may flourish briefly, but they will wither. The people of God must not envy temporary wicked success.
Psalm 129:7 continues, “Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.” Rooftop grass is useless for harvest. It does not fill the mower’s hand. It does not fill the arms of the one binding sheaves. It produces no meaningful crop. It has no lasting value.
This is what the psalmist asks for the enemies of Zion. Let them be fruitless. Let their schemes come to nothing. Let them produce no harvest. Let their apparent success be exposed as empty.
The image is important because Psalm 126 spoke of faithful sowing and joyful reaping. The righteous may sow in tears and later bring sheaves with rejoicing. But the wicked who hate Zion are like rooftop grass, with no harvest, no sheaves, no blessing, and no enduring fruit.
Galatians 6:7 through 8, “Be not deceived;, God is not mocked:, for whatsoever a man soweth,, that shall he also reap., For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
The wicked sow rebellion and reap corruption. The righteous sow to the Spirit and reap life. Psalm 129 prays that this moral order would be seen clearly.
2. Psalm 129:8, Denial of Blessing for Those Who Hate Zion
Psalm 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 psalm ends by denying the harvest blessing to the enemies of Zion. In an ordinary harvest scene, passersby might bless the workers in the name of the Lord. This is seen beautifully in Ruth.
Ruth 2:4, “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem,, and said unto the reapers,, The LORD be with you., And they answered him,, The LORD bless thee.”
That was the language of a blessed harvest under God. Boaz greeted the reapers with the Lord’s blessing, and they returned blessing to him. It was a picture of covenant kindness, fruitful labor, and the goodness of God in the field.
Psalm 129 says that such a blessing should not be pronounced over those who hate Zion. Since their work is wicked, their harvest should not be blessed. Since their plans oppose God’s purposes, no one should say over them, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you.”
This is not a denial that believers should pray for enemies in the sense of desiring their repentance. Scripture commands love for enemies and prayer for persecutors.
Matthew 5:44 through 45, “But I say unto you,, Love your enemies,, bless them that curse you,, do good to them that hate you,, and pray for them which despitefully use you,, and persecute you;, That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:, for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
But praying for an enemy’s repentance is not the same as blessing his wicked plans. A Christian may pray for a wicked man to be saved while also praying that his wickedness fails. Psalm 129 is concerned with the defeat of those who hate Zion and oppose God’s covenant purposes.
The blessing of the Lord is the greatest good any person or people can receive. To be without that blessing is to be spiritually barren. The wicked may have temporary success, but without the blessing of the Lord, they have no true prosperity.
Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich,, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”
True blessing comes only from the Lord. Psalm 129 refuses to pronounce that blessing over the enemies of Zion while they remain in rebellion.
Doctrinal and Practical Summary
Psalm 129 teaches that the people of God may be afflicted many times, yet not finally overcome. Israel’s history proves the faithfulness of God. From Egypt onward, the covenant nation endured oppression, invasion, exile, persecution, and hatred, but the enemies of Israel never succeeded in erasing God’s covenant purposes. Israel survived because the Lord is righteous and faithful.
The psalm also teaches that remembering past deliverance strengthens present faith. Israel looks back at affliction honestly, but not hopelessly. The right use of memory is not bitterness, despair, or nostalgia. The right use of memory is gratitude and confidence. If the Lord has preserved His people through past affliction, He can be trusted for future deliverance.
Psalm 129 also gives a righteous way to pray against wicked opposition. The psalmist does not indulge private vengeance. He asks God to stop those who hate Zion. He prays that their plans would wither like rooftop grass and produce no harvest. This is a prayer for the defeat of evil, not a prayer rooted in petty malice.
For Israel, the psalm must be taken seriously in its national and covenant setting. God’s promises to Israel remain real. Hatred of Zion is not a small thing in Scripture. God has bound His purposes to Israel, Jerusalem, and the coming kingdom of Messiah. The enemies of Zion may rage, but they will not prevail.
For the church, the psalm gives encouragement without replacing Israel. The church also faces opposition, yet Christ promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Believers may be plowed with affliction, but they are not abandoned. The Lord who cuts the cords of the wicked is still righteous, still faithful, and still able to deliver.
Ultimately, Psalm 129 points forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured affliction from wicked men and yet was not defeated. His back was literally given to those who struck Him. His suffering was real, but His enemies did not prevail.
Isaiah 50:6 through 7, “I gave my back to the smiters,, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:, I hid not my face from shame and spitting., For the Lord GOD will help me;, therefore shall I not be confounded:, therefore have I set my face like a flint,, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
Matthew 27:26, “Then released he Barabbas unto them:, and when he had scourged Jesus,, he delivered him to be crucified.”
Acts 2:23 through 24, “Him,, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,, ye have taken,, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:, Whom God hath raised up,, having loosed the pains of death:, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”
The enemies of Christ afflicted Him, but they did not prevail. They scourged Him, crucified Him, and buried Him, but God raised Him from the dead. In Him, the ultimate pattern of Psalm 129 is fulfilled. Afflicted, yet not defeated. Wounded, yet victorious. Hated by enemies, yet preserved by the righteous purpose of God.
