Carrying the Credentials of Christ – Psalm 129

“A Song of Ascents.” [1]

“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth, let Israel now say—many a time they have afflicted me from my youth. Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long. The Lord is righteous. He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.” Psalm 129:1-4

The people of God throughout history is pictured here as one person who has grown old. Looking back over the years, we, the people of God, remember that if it were not for His grace, we would have ceased to exist. [2] As 1 Peter 1:5 says, “We are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The abovementioned person who has grown old may refer to Christ in this world. Christ has been working in and through every son and daughter of Adam and Eve who walks with God.

The New Testament refers to the people of God as the body of Christ. 1 John 4:17 declares, “As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world.” As the Spirit of Christ lives and moves in us, Christ is manifest in our mortal bodies. Thus, we receive some of the same kind of treatment Christ received when He walked the earth, that is, persecution and mocking.

In 1 Peter 4:13, it is written, “Rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” Rather than be discouraged due to unjust persecution, Peter urges us to rejoice because Christ is being revealed through us. In Acts 5:41, after the apostles had been beaten for witnessing for Christ, “they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name.”

Israel has been greatly oppressed. In Jeremiah 12:9, God compared them to “a speckled bird” attacked by “all the birds round about.” On the one hand, Israel’s sins brought God’s righteous discipline on them. On the other hand, the hatred of their Gentile neighbors exceeded what God mandated for them to do. [3]

Babylon crossed the line from an instrument of God’s discipline to excessive cruelty. In Isaiah 47:6, the Lord said to Babylon, “I was angry with My people. I profaned My heritage and gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy. On the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.” In Jeremiah 50:11-12, the Lord said to Babylon, “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage... your mother shall be deeply ashamed....” Babylon’s mothers were ashamed of their sons due to their excessive cruelty against Israel. [4]

Israel’s “youth” refers to its early years, whether in Egypt or during the time of the Judges. From then on, they experienced repeated oppression. New Testament Christians also suffered greatly during ten major persecutions waged against them by the Romans. [5] Some Christians are treated horribly nowadays by certain Hindu, Buddhists, Muslim and atheistic groups of people.

Psalms 129:3 speaks of ploughers ploughing on the backs of God’s people. Psalms 125:3 speaks of “the rod of the wicked upon the lot of the righteous.” A plow cuts deep. A rod bruises. [6]

It is not clear whether the Early Church had ordination services with preaching licenses given to those who were ordained, but it is clear that Early Church ministers had verifiable “proofs” of their approval by God. What were they?

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul provided his list of “credentials” to his detractors. “Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” In Galatians 6:17, Paul wrote, “From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Are there any churches today that would hire a minister such as Paul based on his résumé?

“They made long their furrows.” Some understand these “furrows” to describe the painful stripes left by whips. God’s people have endured cruel scourgings and mockings according to Hebrews 11:36. Even Christ “gave His back to the smiters” according to Isaiah 50:6. [7]

Although we, God’s people, have suffered for believing in Him, God has kept our witness alive. Antichristian leaders like Stalin, Mao and some politicians today attempt to turn people away from faith in God. We do not fight against such foes with worldly weapons. We pray to God.

In Acts 13:8, a sorcerer named Elymas withstood the witness of Paul and Barnabus. He tried to turn a Roman proconsul away from the faith. In Acts 13:11-12, the Lord struck Elymas with blindness. Then, the proconsul believed in Jesus.

The Christian Church is built upon the solid rock of a resurrected leader. Christ died on the cross for our sins and resurrected from the dead for our resurrection. He sits at the right hand of God reigning with power and authority. Not even the gates of hell shall prevail against Him.

God “has cut asunder the cords of the wicked.” This means He has destroyed the power by which they carried out their evil plans. Like cutting the harness from a plow, God stopped their work. Like cutting the cords of a whip, He ended their cruelty. He also broke the alliances that united wicked people and removed the chains that held His people captive. [8]

“The Lord is righteous.” In Nehemiah 9:33, Governor Nehemiah confessed that God was right to allow Israel’s enemies to take them captive. They deserved to be chastised for all the evil they had done. The Lord was also righteous to bring them back to the Promised Land because forgiveness and mercy are two of God’s attributes. He gives grace because He is gracious. God was also righteous to judge those who mistreated His faithful servants. [9]

“Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back. Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his arms. 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 129:5-8

There have always been people who hate Zion, the God of Zion, His worship, and His people. They oppose true religion and do everything they can to destroy God’s Church and prevent His work from continuing in the world. He prays that no one will bless them or pity them in the Name of the Lord after they have done so much evil to the cause. [10]

The psalmist prays that those who oppose God’s people will be put to shame and turned back. He wants God to dry up their efforts, bind them up and take them away.

“Let them be as the grass on the housetops!”

Rooftop grass dies quickly because it has no deep roots. Rooftop grass is useless. It provides no worthwhile harvest, just as those who fight against God’s church accomplish nothing of lasting value. No matter what they expect to gain, their efforts will end in failure. As Isaiah 17:11 says, “Their harvest will be a heap in the day of grief.” [11]

“Neither let those who pass by them say, ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you.’”

Greeting workers with a blessing was an ancient custom, especially during harvest time. In Ruth 2:4, Boaz greeted his reapers by saying, “The Lord be with you.” Such words should never be used carelessly or as part of a joke. Harvesting grass from a rooftop would have been foolish and pointless, so no one who truly respected God would bless such a labor. [12]

We should not bless those who are sabotaging God’s witness on earth. To wish them success in doing evil would make us accomplices in their deeds. As 2 John 1:11 warns, “If we wish them God speed, we are partakers of their evil deeds." [13]

Though we condemn evil deeds, we desire evil doers to be saved. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus taught us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us. In 2 Timothy 2:25-26, Paul advised Timothy, “In humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”


[1] “The Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120–134) are songs to sing as one journeys toward God.
[2-13] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary