Remember Those Days
Psalm 129
My daughter gave me a unique gift for my birthday this year. Each week I get a question to answer about my childhood and life. Earliest memories?
Long ago and oh so far away... or
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...
Those were lines from songs in my teenage years. Now with grown children and growing grandchildren it makes you reflect on these words.
A song of degrees.
They have often times afflicted me from my youth (may Israel now say) They have often times afflicted me from my youth: but they could not prevail against me.
Psalms 129:1-2 GNV
Was I afflicted in my youth... Now in my youth I may have thought that being corrected by my father was "affliction". But at the same time in Vietnam children didn't know if their father, their mother, or they themselves might die, or maybe be caught in the crossfire or be taken prisoner.
For Israel as a new nation, as is stated here, a youth after Joshua died, and the elders that outlived Joshua died and everyone turned to doing that which was right in their own eyes. At that time Israel, as a "youth" was afflicted often by different nations. Their afflictions brought them back to their only source of peace and true freedom. It was at those times they opened their eyes and saw...
...the righteous Lord hath cut the cords of the wicked.
Psalms 129:4 GNV
They remembered the Lord. When they were afflicted they saw themselves, saw their sin, they knew their sin was in turning from God. But they also knew the enemies who physically afflicted them. They knew those enemies had no love for or respect for God. Because of that they wouldn't even think of using their warmest greeting of encouragement when they met them. They wouldn't think of using the blessing of God so irreverently as to give it to the enemy.
Today we are directed to love our enemies, love those who despitefully use you. But you do not, cannot think of giving God's blessing to those who hate all that He is and His holiness represents. They would not use God's blessing, His name vainly to lift up those who hate Him.