Weakness and Power
Opening Prayer
Lord, how long will You permit the affliction of Your people?
Read PSALM 129
1 “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
let Israel say;
2 “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the Lord is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”
5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the Lord be on you;
we bless you in the name of the Lord.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Think Further
Today’s psalm stands in contrast to the previous song, which heralded God’s blessing. This psalm heralds the sorrows and pains of oppression. The two often belong together in the life of the believer. In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the paradox by which God’s grace and power are to be found in the midst of weakness and suffering. He knows something of what Psalm 129 describes: they have oppressed me, “but they have not gained the victory over me” (2).
The psalmist uses a graphic image for the suffering the believer endures: “Ploughmen have ploughed my back” (3). This immediately brings to mind how the Servant of the Lord experienced the oppression of the wicked. Isaiah records, “I offered my back to those who beat me,” and he reminds us that “he was pierced for our transgressions… and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 50:6; 53:5). It was Christ who willingly endured such suffering and by doing so secured the victory over our enemies (Col. 2:15). This psalm, along with Isaiah’s Servant Songs and 2 Corinthians, point us to the calling of God’s
people to walk the same path. In fact, the victory of the psalmist, expressed in this psalm as well as in 2 Corinthians, is accompanied by the desire that the oppressor himself be turned back in shame (5). The psalmist uses an illustration to make his point: grass growing on flat roofs was common
enough, but with little soil and the heat of the day, it would soon wither and die (6,7).
Today, some 200 million evangelicals in 35 countries suffer life-threatening persecution. However, we can be sure that the victory belongs not to the oppressor but to our victorious Lord (4).
Apply
Pray for those known to you, locally or globally, who suffer because of their faith in Christ. Pray for the grace and power of God to be theirs.
Closing prayer
Lord, grant to me the willingness to endure all things for Your sake and the sake of Your kingdom.
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