#881 Cut The Cords

“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—

let Israel now say—

2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me.

3 The plowers plowed upon my back;

they made long their furrows.”

4 The Lord is righteous;

he has cut the cords of the wicked.

5 May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward!

6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,

which withers before it grows up,

7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8 nor do those who pass by say,

“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the Lord!” Psalm 129 ESV

A Psalm of Ascents.

Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth - From her beginning, the infancy of the nation of Israel, was conceived in the womb of adversity. Jacob fled from his brother, Esau, and when they met again Jacob was a broken but wiser man. He was chosen, not of merit, for he was a deceiver, but then deceived and cheated by his uncle. He wrestled with God, Who left him with a permanent limp, but changed his name to Israel. She came to be loathed in Egypt, made a slave, hated by the Moabites, oppressed by the Philistines, taken by the Assyrians. Judah was a captive of Babylon and Persia, then Rome. The Jews themselves have been scattered and hated by antisemitic groups like the Nazis, Islam, Communist and supremacist even in the United States. Hers has been a long rode with more affliction than peace, more captivity than freedom, yet once again there is a state called Israel.

Let Israel now say - Can I get a witness, an Amen.

Yet they have not prevailed against me - They are still singing, and the song writer is still praying all the many steps of this pilgrimage. God has held up a remnant no matter who the oppressor, no one has been able to remove them completely, not Hitler, Stalin or any other wicked leader to this day. David was hunted by Saul in his youth, yet God raised him up to be king.

…11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,… Colossians 1: 11-13

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.… Revelation 12: 13-15

…9 and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”… John 19: 9-11

The plowers plowed upon my back - What a picture, not only walked upon but with the intent of breaking. What may be intended in wickedness upon the backs of a nation, to take away the hope that they are yet still a nation, a people set apart, is not the breaking of the earth necessary to the harvest? I think of the back of my Lord, God in flesh, Jesus Christ, by Whose stripes we are healed, was He not wounded and marred beyond recognition? The seed and birth of the Church, what a marvelous day.

- They smite so as to plough into the man; they plough the quivering flesh as if it were clods of clay; they plough deep and long with countless furrows; until they leave no portion of the church unfurrowed or unassailed. Ah me! Well did Latimer say that there was no busier ploughman in all the world than the devil: whoever makes short furrows, he does not. Whoever balks and shirks, he is thorough in all that he does. Whoever stops work at sundown, he never does. He and his children plough like practised ploughmen; but they prefer to carry on their pernicious work upon the saints behind their backs, for they are as cowardly as they are cruel. C. H. Spurgeon

“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13: 3-9

The Lord is righteous; He has cut the cords of the wicked - Even though the wicked plow, the Lord is just in allowing it. Was Israel not in covenant with God, "do this and you shall live?" She was an unfaithful spouse, and given over to the world, as she wanted nothing to do with God, but what He could do for her, yet for her sake He was pleased to crush Himself. He does not forget the nature of His own covenant and so He has chosen, prepared a Way, and calls them to the Way. It is in Christ that the cord between the plow and the slave is cut, whom the Son sets free shall be free in deed. The kingdom of God suffers much violence against it, but those who hate His people also hate Him, and He will rebuke them in their day. 

2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 

3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” ? 

4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 

5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 

6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. 

7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, Romans 11: 2-7

May all who hate Zion - Be sure, God is faithful to His Word.

…2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.… Genesis 12: 2-4

Let them be like the grass on the house tops - They are of shallow root, and cannot bear the summer sun. Theirs is a short time, and no one cares to harvest them, and so they wither to no use, and none call them blessed.