A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this:
2 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.
3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4 But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
7 ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: “The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord’s name.”
Psalm 129
Every day I wonder what idea, verse or theme in this Psalm will stand out to me as pointing to Jesus. I hope you are not reading my comments here without having taken the time to read Psalm 129 a few times. Since my first reading early this morning until now, I can’t get out of my head verse 3:
3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
And when we think of the “cat of nine tails” ripping the flesh of Jesus’ back to shreds, who can miss the references to it in Isaiah 53:
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Isaiah 53:5 NLT
The phrase in the KJV is quite graphic and far more famous than the NLT, and so possibly it is for those my age or older with a history in the church more compelling.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 KJV
Matthew and Mark both record for us the fact that Jesus was scourged (Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15).
Strong's Number: G5417, Greek Base Word: φραγελλόω, Usage: Scourge, Definition: To whip, i.e., lash as a public punishment. Detailed definition: To scourge. Derived terms: From a presumed equivalent of the Latin flagellum.
Being mocked, persecuted and harassed was part of Jesus' experience. I don’t think I could ever forget the mocking that the Pharisees do when they very rudely claim that Jesus was illegitimate.
No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”
And Peter links it with the prophecy of Isaiah in 1 Peter 2:24.
And Jesus Himself says He would be mocked and whipped Matthew 20:19, Mark 10:34 and Luke 18:32.
So the question is, if Jesus is the one who is whipped in verse 3 and if He is the persecuted person in verses 1 and 2 in Psalm 129, what does that mean?
Maybe one thing it means is that, had the disciples remembered the Psalm the day after the crucifixion, they might have wondered about the meaning of verse 4.
But the LORD is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
I started this adventure saying that, based partially on what Jesus says to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection, we can look at everything in the Bible and ask ourselves, how does this point me to Jesus? And although we might see the persecuted Jesus in verses 1-3, is it possible we see the risen Jesus in Psalm 129:4? The cords of death show up in the Psalms (Psalm 18:4-5, 116:3, 2 Samuel 22:6, Jonah 2:2-7) and in a similar idea in Jona.
And Jesus was set free from death by the resurrection from the dead.
Paul understood this link between being persecuted and being resurrected and set free from death.
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
And being set free from the bondage of the fear of death is just what Jesus was able to do for those who trust in Him according to the author of Hebrews.
You may be wondering about the curse pronounced on the persecutor and Jerusalem hater. Although we leave such vengeance up to the Lord, it is a fact that anyone who rejects, mocks or curses Jesus and does not repent will themselves be cursed. There is only one way to be saved and that is to call on the name of Jesus, to trust God’s Saviour to save you, to believe in the only begotten Son of God, to have faith in Jesus. No matter how you describe it, it comes down to the same thing. Bless Jesus and be blessed, curse Jesus and be cursed.
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| Handwritten Psalm 129 |
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