Psalms 129:6

Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up: LET THEM BE AS THE GRASS UPON THE HOUSE-TOPS, WHICH WITHERETH AFORE IT GROWETH UP - (Psalms 37:2; Isaiah 37:27.) Grass, on the flat roofs in Eastern houses, readily takes root but, having no depth of soil, speedily withers-literally, 'afore it is drawn forth.' It is better to take the Hebrew of "groweth up" [ shaalap (H8025)], 'before (one) draweth forth the reaping hook' (Buxtorf); or 'before (one) pulleth it up' (Hengstenberg). Compare Hebrew, Ruth 4:7. So...

5-8 While God's people shall flourish as the loaded palm-tree, or the green and fruitful olive, their enemies shall wither as the grass upon the house-tops, which in eastern countries are flat, and what grows there never ripens; so it is with the designs of God's enemies. No wise man will pray the Lord to bless these mowers or reapers. And when we remember how Jesus arose and reigns; how his people have been supported, like the burning but unconsumed bush, we shall not fear...

Verse Psalms 129:6. _AS THE GRASS_ UPON _THE HOUSETOPS_] As in the east the roofs of the houses were _flat_, seeds of various kinds falling upon them would naturally vegetate, though in an imperfect way; and, because of the want of proper nourishment, would necessarily _dry_ and _wither_ away. If _grass_, the _mower_ cannot make _hay_ of it; if _corn_, the _reaper_ cannot make a _sheaf_ of it. Let the Babylonians be like such herbage-good for nothing, and come to nothing. _WITHERETH AFORE IT GROWETH UP_] Before שלק _shalak_, it is _unsheathed_; i.e., before it _ears_, or comes to _seed_....

LET THEM BE AS THE GRASS UPON THE HOUSETOPS - The housetops, or roofs of houses, covered with sand or earth, in which seeds of grass may germinate and begin to grow, but where, as there is no depth of earth, and as the heat of the sun there would be intense, it would soon wither away. See the notes at Isaiah 37:27. WHICH WITHERETH AFORE IT GROWETH UP - This, even if it has any meaning, is not the meaning of the original. The idea in the Hebrew is - and it is so rendered in the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and by Luther - “which before (one) pulls it, withers.” Grass would wither or dry up, of course, if it were pulled up or cut down, but the grass here spoken of withers even before this is done. It has no depth of earth to sustain it; having sprouted, and begun to grow, it soon dies - a perfect image of feebleness an

EXPOSITION THIS psalm consists of a retrospect (Psalms 129:1) and an anticipation (Psalms 129:5). The retrospect shows Israel oppressed by enemies for a long term of years, but finally vindicated and delivered (Psalms 129:4). The anticipation shows her enemies afflicted in their turn, and suffering the just reward for their misdeeds. PSALMS 129:1 MANY A TIME HAVE THEY AFFLICTED ME FROM MY YOUTH. Israel's recollection is one of frequent, almost constant, "affliction." She has been downtrodden beneath the feet of Egyptians, Moabites, Mesopotamians, Canaanit

LET THEM BE AS THE GRASS [UPON] THE HOUSETOPS,.... The tops of the houses in Judea were flat, and so grass grew upon them, being covered with plaster of terrace; though it was but small and weak, and being on high was exposed to the scorching sun, and soon withered b; and Menochius says c he saw such roofs in the island of Corsica, flat, and having earth upon them, smoothed and pressed, on which grass grew of its own accord; but being burnt up in summertime by the sun, soon withered, as here said. But what Olaus Magnus d relates is somewhat extraordinary; that, in the northern Gothic countries, they feed their cattle on the tops of houses, especially in a time of siege; he describes their houses as built of stone, high and large, and covered with rafters of fir and bark of birch; upon which is laid grass earth, cut out of the fields foursquare, and sowed with barley or oats, so that thei...

Three Songs of degrees. Psalms 129:1. _Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me._ The trials of some of God's people begin very early. When first we put on the armor of God, the adversary is usually very bitter against us. Some of our old friends and acquaintances cannot bear to see the change in us, and they bitterly oppose us, so that God's children may have to say, «From our youth they have afflicted us.» But you must not think that the beginning of sorrows will be the end of them. Oh, no! «Many a time have they afflicted me.» God's children are often called to pass under the rod, and the rod is frequently held in the hands of the children of men. Your Saviour carried the cross, and he expects you to carry it, too. He does not tell you to take it

PSALM 120-134 The Psalms of Degrees Fifteen brief Psalms follow, called songs of degrees, or, ascents. They were in all probability used by Israel going up to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the feasts of the Lord--”Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” They are indeed Psalms of “the goings-up” for we rise higher and higher as we read through them. Prophetically they give us again the steps from trial and suffering to the glorious consummation. As they are so simple in language and construction no lengthy annotations are needed. Psalms 120:1 begins with distress, picturing again the suffering of the righteous godly remnant. In Psalms 121:1 the Keeper of Israel, the Covenant Keeping God, is revealed

CXXIX. PERSECUTED BUT NOT CAST DOWN. Psalms 129:1. Israel's tyrants compared to ploughmen who have extended their ploughing far, but Yahweh in His righteousness cut the cord which fastened the ox to the plough and then, of course, the ploughing ceased. PSALMS 129:5. The enemies of Zion are to be like grass which springs up casually on the flat roof, but before it reaches its full height (?) is withered. Nobody would think of formal benediction on a crop which was not worth the carrying....

AS THE GRASS. as grass. The reference in verses: Psalms 129:6; Psalms 129:7 is not to "Egyptian monuments", but to the reply of Jehovah concerning Sennacherib, which Hezekiah quotes here. Compare 2 Kings 19:25; 2 Kings 19:26; Isaiah 37:27. GROWETH UP. Either unsheatheth itself into flower, or is plucked up (as Septuagint and Vulgate)...