PSALM 129

1 A Song of Ascents. “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” Let Israel now say– 2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” 4 The LORD [is] righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. 5 Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back. 6 Let them be as the grass [on] the housetops, Which withers before it grows up, 7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms. 8 Neither let those who pass by them say, “The blessing of the LORD [be] upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

PSALM 129:1-8

LOOK TO THE LORD FOR JUSTICE

I can’t imagine the world of pain that some people have endured. At some points in Israel’s history they were slaves to other people. They were struck, hit, whipped, and abused by cruel masters. They were forced into compliance to do things like bake bricks and plow fields (v 3). They didn’t experience freedom to do many things, including to worship the Lord.

The Psalmist cries out about the injustice served upon him and his people by oppressors. His prayer for them is that the injustice should cease and that those who have been persecuted by their hand will receive justice! This reminds me of the martyrs we see in the book of Revelation calling out to God for Justice

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Revelation 6:9-10

This reminds me that we serve a God of justice. We should seek justice where it can be found. We should seek to right the wrongs done to other, but not the same way the world often does. We should seek for God to bring true and right judgment to each unjust situation (v.4).

We also look to Jesus for ultimate justice. When we suffer injustice we must know that he had his own back plowed by the whip and shred into red rows for the sake of God’s justice on our behalf.

[Isaiah 53:5] But He [was] wounded for our transgressions, [He was] bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
[1Pe 2:24] who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.

PRAYER

Father, Thank you that you are a God of justice! I am grateful for your mercy poured out in my life. I am grateful that Jesus went to the cross for my sins. I am grateful for opportunities to seek justice and show mercy to others. I have been given so much grace, let me live in it and show others of your mercy and kindness today. Bring the world to justice and right every wrong. (Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven). In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.