Songs of the Great Ascent - Past Lessons for Present Faith

Psalm 129

In the movie Creed, boxer Adonis Creed takes a brutal punch and crashes to the canvas. From his corner come the cries: “Get up! Get up!” Across the ring, his opponent starts to celebrate, certain the fight is over.

But while Creed is down, memory does its work: the pain he has endured, the people who love him, and the voices still calling him forward. Then, before the count of ten, he rises and steps back into the fight.

Our battles are not scheduled, announced, or mapped out in advance. We do not know when the next blow will come, or where it will land.

Still, when we are brought low, we must remember what is true, who has loved us, and what hope calls us back to our feet. (Adapted from an article by Kim Tate for Desiring God ministries.)

Psalm 129 follows that same movement: knocked down but not abandoned; afflicted yet called forward by hope. The psalmist looks back over Israel’s long history, beginning with its “youth” in Egypt—bondage, wilderness hardship, battles for the Promised Land, oppression in the days of the Judges, Philistine wars, and later griefs caused by misconduct and misrule. The suffering was real and prolonged, yet Scripture shows us how to understand it: “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). We, too, are called to endure, and Scripture’s truths strengthen us to face the future with hope.

Psalm 129 will be our friend and teacher for the road ahead. Join us this Sunday as we continue our pilgrim journey to Zion and discover how the lessons of the past can strengthen our faith today.

Walking to Zion,

Pastor Wayne