A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.
1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me-- let Israel now say--
2 from my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never been able to finish me off.
3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4 But the LORD is good; he has cut the cords used by the ungodly to bind me.
5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
:6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
7 ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: "The LORD's blessings be upon you; we bless you in the LORD's name."
Israel was persecuted and put to hard labor in Egypt. They have been persecuted throughout history, but not abandoned.
The church has been persecuted too. The apostle Paul puts it this way in II Corinthians 4:9,10,14;
"We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."
"All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory."
When you suffer for Christ, to God be the glory!
