Psalms 120 – 135 are a series of 15 Psalms sung by pilgrims either on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the festivals or at the festivals themselves.
Together they are called the "Psalms of Ascent".
Over the next several days, I want to explore some of the ways these ancient Psalms sung by pilgrims many years ago relate to us today.
These Psalms speak of hope, passion, future dreams, desire and trust while on a journey that reminds them, and us, of past memories, present sufferings and future promises.
The Psalms of Ascent point us to the hope that is present in the midst of whatever journey you are on.
Psalm 129 NLT
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[Zion]
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.”
Christianity is not a fragile faith that only flourishes when life is smooth sailing. Psalm 129 talks about enemies, hardships, persecution, rejection. The person of faith outlasts all the oppressors. Faith lasts.
Sometimes there are physical enemies, but much of the time the most dangerous enemies are the emotional enemies of our soul. The "persecution" of an enemy that comes against us and seeks out our flaws, attempting to consume us.
The psalmist knew the power of a battle anthem chanted with voices raised,
"They have never defeated me."
or a better translation"Yet not consumed."
We need to remind ourselves of God's strength and the courage that he gives that rises from deep within and the resilience that screams back at the most ferocious of enemies that those enemies WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME.
As the pilgrims entered the city of Jerusalem, with enemies still parading along those streets, this Psalm would be saying that God is still at work. The proof that they have never been defeated is that they are returning.
The central phrase of this Psalm is
the Lord is good;
or a better translation
the Lord is righteous
Righteous, not just in the same of being always right (though, of course, he is) but righteous in the sense of always being in right relationship with us.
The Lord is righteous is why we can look at a life of full of cruelties and setbacks and disappointments, and tragedies and depression and see it as a road of blessing.
God sticks to his relationship.
The central reality for us as Christians is the personal, unalterable, stick-to-it-iveness of God. Perseverance is not the result of our determination, it is a result of God's faithfulness.
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