A Song of Ascents.
1 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,
Let Israel now say;
2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up:
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 hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
5 Let them be ashamed and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.
6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth afore it groweth up:
7 Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,
Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
8 Neither do they which go by say,
The blessing of the LORD be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the LORD.
This psalm speaks of liberation from the trials of troubles. Long furrows plowed on one’s back – the terror of beatings or whippings – can be eventually relieved.The ones who once held sway over our lives can be removed. We can walk at liberty.
God’s people are known for their liberty. Yet, it is no natural or inborn liberty. It is always a liberty from bondage. The Israelites were not a naturally liberated people, they were first enslaved and then set free. To be set free one must first be bound. To desire freedom, one must first acknowledge their bondage.
God frees us still, today. Paul writes about the bondage and enslavement of sin from which Christ sets us free. We can have this freedom, today, but in asking for God’s help, we’ll have to acknowledge our need. This can be scary. It is always intimidating to face one’s oppressor, be it in mankind or in sin.
Those who oppress us today, those who hope to bind our actions and choices, are set at naught by. God. Their hopes are dashed as we are freed. Their power to control falls flat before our Father. Let us trust in him for his help, today.
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