Scott Schutte: This is Psalm 129. From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this: From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. But they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts as if a farmer had plowed long furrows, but the Lord is good.
He has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat. May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop turning yellow then only half grown, when only half grown, ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder. And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing. The Lord bless you.
We bless you in the Lord's name. This Psalm, really is a reflection on the resilience of the followers of of God and God's faithfulness to continue to be with and provide for and protect, people, God's people as they're going through difficulty and trial and tribulation in life. And, this is just a comforting passage to me because we all go through difficult times in life. I don't know where you're at, today, but chances are if you haven't recently gone through something difficult, you will soon go through something difficult. And God promises that he will be with be with us in the midst of that.
We see that the Lord is good and he cuts us free from the ropes of the ungodly. You know, sometimes we are persecuted for being followers of Jesus and people will say nasty things about us, about our family. They will maybe even do bad things to us or our family or our friends. And God sees all and He loves us and we know that He is righteous and he is just and he will make all things right. And we can have the faith in him that he will protect us, he will guide us, and he will do all the right things.
And so let's pray together. God, thank you for seeing everything. Thank you for seeing us in our difficulty, for being with us as we go through tribulation, as we go through persecution. And thank you for loving us and protecting us in the midst of that. I pray that as we go through these difficult times, that we would keep our eyes on you, that you would remind us of your love for us and that we're not alone, that this isn't the end, and that you are going to make all things new, and everything that is wrong will be made right.
And so God, I ask that you would have your hand of blessing and favor on everyone who is going through something hard right now and that they would see you in this moment and feel your comfort and your peace. And all this we lift up in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.