Psalm
129 reminds me of the character Eeyore, from the Winnie
the Pooh books. He is the
ever-pessimistic donkey that can find the negative in any situation.
Some of us know him in real life. They are quick to remind us
of our mistakes or the voice of self doubt in our head. It says
you can’t, you are not smart enough, you are not pretty enough, you
are not good enough. It keeps us mired in the past. The
psalm begins, “They
have greatly oppressed me from my youth… but they have not gained
the victory over me“.
What a refreshing perspective! He does not live in the past, he
learned from it. He gives only one sentence to describe his
plight, in order to give us a clear understanding, “Plowmen
have plowed my back
and
made their furrows long“.
Apparently he was whipped or beaten so often his back has deep
scars. Many of our scars are not so visible. Please
listen to his experience, “the
Lord is righteous;
He
has cut me free from the cords of the wicked“.
I am perplexed when people continuously relive the ugliness of their
past. Jesus died and was resurrected from the dead and
according to Romans 6:11, “In
the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus“. Do you
believe that you too can be set free from that oppression? “If
the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”
(John 8:36). When we look to the cross, the old doubt, “withers
before it can grow“.
The new voice now says to the redeemed, “The
blessing of the Lord be upon you“.
Psalm 130 is written
to the one still in bondage. He begins, “Out
of the depths I cry to You, O Lord… Let Your ears be attentive to
my cry for mercy“.
People say, “But you don’t know what I have done. How could
God forgive me?” The psalmist explains, “If
You… kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”
The answer is no one. Romans 3:10 tells us, “There
are no righteous, not even one“.
The psalm adds, “But
with You there is forgiveness“.
It is this belief that fills him with joyful anticipation, “I
wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope“.
Hope is the ladder out, and note that he finds hope in the Word of
God. He says to all who are still in the pit, “put
your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with
Him is full redemption“.
Salvation is a one step process. “He
Himself will redeem Israel from all
their sins“.
Hebrews 10:10 “We
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all“.
Psalm 131 speaks of a
different kind of hindrance. Pride allows us to think that we
are somehow deserving of God’s favor, and perhaps allows us to look
down at those still in bondage. David writes, “My
heart is not proud… my eyes are not haughty“.
There are few things less attractive than a “holier than thou”
attitude. David explains that even he does not completely
understand all of the things of God. He says, “I
do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for
me… I have stilled and quieted my soul… like a weaned child is my
soul within me“.
I think this is what Jesus meant when he rebuked the disciples,
“Whoever
then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven… And whoever receives one such child in My name receives
Me”
(Matthew 18:4). Don’t let the voice of a donkey keep you from
victory, “Put
your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore“.