Psalm Devotional
Confidence Under Persecution
Psalm 129 is the tenth of the 15 Songs of Ascents (120-134). The theme of this psalm is similar to those in the series and to many other psalms: Those who seek the Lord shall be delivered from their enemies on every side (see 2 Sam. 7:1).
When the people of God came up to Jerusalem year after year, persevering under persecution, they were surely tempted to grow weary and lose heart. This psalm assured them that the Lord would not fail to deliver them. As we worship, week after week and year after year, under our sorrows and defeats in a decaying culture, we also need this assurance.
This psalm uses an argument very familiar in the Scriptures: with God, past performance is a guarantee of future events. The boilerplate warning with stockbrokers is “past performance is no guarantee of future returns,” because so much is beyond their wisdom and power. But with God, whose wisdom and power are perfect, there is no such qualification (see Mic. 3:6; Heb. 13:8).
