Rev. Levi Willms, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Yankton, SD joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study and pray Psalm 129.
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth” says all of Israel. God’s people had gone through afflictions throughout the entirety of their lives and in hope, they seek the righteousness of God. The Psalmist asks the Lord to keep enemies from prevailing, keep them from bearing fruit, that we may bless the LORD and bless others through affliction as the Lord is righteous. “Lord God, when we suffer afflictions, give us Your righteousness to know that evil will not prevail. Take away evil and give us words of blessing to one another in Your name. Lord have mercy. Amen”
Thy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.
Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
Psalm 129
They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
A Song of Ascents.
129 “Greatly[a] 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!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org
