Psalm 129 · a question people ask
"Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion" (129:5). How can a psalm pray that?
First, what the verses say. The psalm's wishes are worded let them: "Let them be disappointed and turned backward" (129:5), and "Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up" (129:6). The verse before names the LORD: "The LORD is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked" (129:4). The psalm doesn't say that the one speaking will act against anyone. The wish is for "all those who hate Zion" (129:5): that they be like grass no reaper gathers (129:7), over which those who go by don't say the blessing (129:8). Psalm 129 is not the only psalm that prays against enemies, and Christians read these prayers in more than one way. The chapter on Psalm 109 sets out the main readings, each resting on its verses, and chooses none. These notes don't choose either, and don't apply those who hate Zion to any people today.
The verses
“The LORD is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked. Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion. Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom. Neither do those who go by say, “The blessing of the LORD be on you. We bless you in the LORD’s name.””
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. God of my praise, don’t remain silent, for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”