Psalm 129: an unfinished journey to solidarity

Mud Roof With Grass Growing On It

1 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,”
Let Israel now say—

2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth;
Yet they have not prevailed against me.

3 The plowers plowed on my back;
They made their furrows long.”

4 The Lord is righteous;
He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.

5 Let all those who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned back.

6 Let them be as the grass on the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up,

7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.

8 Neither let those who pass by them say,
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

We have a trace in here of how these psalms may have been used - the opening two verses are a call and response - the pilgrims would be ready with the response when the priest called out verse 1.  There would have been no giant powerpoint projections or neatly printed service sheets, they would know this stuff off by heart.

We don't know, but maybe responsively it looked something like this:

Leader: “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,”
All: Let Israel now say—

All: “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth;
Yet they have not prevailed against me.

Leader: The plowers plowed on my back;
All: They made their furrows long.”

Leader: The Lord is righteous;
All: He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.

Leader: Let all those who hate Zion
All: Be put to shame and turned back.

Leader: Let them be as the grass on the housetops,
All: Which withers before it grows up,

Leader: With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
All: Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.

Leader: Neither let those who pass by them say,

All: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

The grass on the housetops: In ancient Israel, most houses had flat roofs made from beams overlaid with branches, reeds, and packed clay or mud.  Wind would blow dust and soil onto the roof, and sometimes seeds would lodge there. In the rainy season, a little grass or wild plants might sprout on this thin layer of windblown soil.  But there was no real depth — the soil dried out quickly in the hot sun, and the plants withered before they could grow strong or be harvested.

SO When the psalmist prays that oppressors be “like grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up” they are picturing:

• Something short-lived — it springs up but dies quickly
• Something rootless — it cannot establish itself.
• Something useless for harvest — it offers no nourishment or lasting value.

This matches the next verse (v. 7), which says the reaper doesn’t fill his hand from it — there’s nothing to gather because the plants never last long enough.

Isaiah 37:27 and 2 Kings 19:26 use the same image: grass on rooftops, scorched before it can grow.  

It’s a picture of enemies or troubles that may look threatening for a moment but will soon disappear because they have no deep roots.

5 Let all those who hate Zion

Be put to shame and turned back.

Used without some context, the word "Zion" can be troublesome.  The word has a long and complex biblical past.  It began as a specific physical location, but it quickly became a multi-layered symbol that carries political, religious, and poetic weight.

The Geographic Beginning:  Original meaning: Zion was the name of a hill in ancient Jerusalem.  

First mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:7 when David captured the “stronghold of Zion” from the Jebusites and made it his royal city.  Initially referred to the City of David (the fortified lower hill) before later expanding to mean the entire Temple Mount.

The Religious Symbol:  Once Solomon built the Temple, Zion became a symbol of God’s dwelling place among the people.  In psalms and prophets, “Zion” often stands for the presence of God, the centre of worship, and the place where God’s promises are anchored.  Example: Psalm 132:13–14 — “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place.”

The National / Political Symbol:  Zion came to mean Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the seat of David’s kingship.  It symbolised security, identity, and belonging for the people — the heart of the nation.  To “hate Zion” (Psalm 129:5) was to oppose the whole community, its worship, and its covenant with God.

The Poetic & Prophetic Symbol:  In prophetic writings, “Zion” is often idealised — not just a place but the vision of a renewed, just, and peaceful community under God’s reign.  Example: Isaiah 2:3 — “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”  This “ideal Zion” is sometimes contrasted with the corrupt reality of the actual city when prophets rebuke injustice.

Later Jewish and Christian Layers:  Post-exile Judaism: Zion became shorthand for the homeland and the hope of return.  Christianity: “Zion” often symbolises the people of God as a spiritual community, or the ultimate reality of God’s reign (“heavenly Zion” in Hebrews 12:22).  Modern politics: “Zion” is linked to Zionism — the 19th/20th century Jewish movement for a homeland in the historic land of Israel — but that’s a modern political layer, not the original biblical one.

If "Zion" is the a symbol for the dwelling of God among God's people or "Zion" is "ideal Zion - a renewed, just and peaceful commuity under God's reign", then it works for me.  But I don't think this is how the word is commonly "heard" in the 21st Century - so "all who hate Zion" might be taken as "people who oppose the brutal actions of the modern state of Israel" - and I don't think this is what the psalm is about at all!

Historical contexts and power-balances have changed since this was first written.  For most of the centuries of its use, the people of Israel have been the persecuted and scattered victims of surrounding superpowers.  This is still, in many respects true, but what is also true is that the modern state of Israel is ITSELF a military superpower in the region where it is set and is engaged in overwhelmingly aggressive, genocidal repression against its neighbours.  

This reflection tries to take that into account.

“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth…”

For ancient Israel, these words told the truth —

slavery in Egypt, exile in Babylon,

centuries of living under the shadow of empires.

The scars were real,

and the God who “cut the cords of the wicked”

was the God of the oppressed.

But in 2025, the political reality is different.

The modern State of Israel is not the ploughed field in this story —

it is the one holding the plough.

It is a regional military power,

its security forces controlling another people’s movement,

its policies uprooting olive groves and demolishing homes.

The cords of domination are not only remembered from the past;

they are actively tied in the present.

That does not erase Jewish suffering —

historic and contemporary antisemitism are real and deadly —

but it does challenge the assumption

that the biblical role of “oppressed” automatically applies.

When the psalm prays that the enemies of Zion

be like grass on the rooftops,

it invites us to ask:

if justice is the root,

who is truly shallow-rooted now?

The psalms of ascent were sung by pilgrims walking toward God’s presence.

For a people or a nation with power,

this psalm calls for a dangerous kind of pilgrimage —

a journey from dominance to solidarity,

from rehearsing our own wounds

to hearing the cries of those whose backs are being furrowed today.

A prayer

God who creates and builds;

who fashions and shapes;

who plants and nourishes —

guard us from repeating the harms we remember.

When our hands grip the plough of power,

loosen our hold before we wound another’s back.

Teach us to see Your image in those under our control,

to choose mercy over domination,

and to seek the blessing that comes

only when all who dwell in the land

can walk in freedom and peace.

Amen.