Psa 129:2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

Psalm 129 is a song of victory over adversities. The Psalmist says: “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me” (v.s). Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth - He was not referring to himself, though he would be part of the suffering as a result, but to Israel (v.1). "From my youth" means the entire timeline of Israel since the day it was born as a nation. Enemies had tried to beat Israel, but God had always given help to her. Yet they have not prevailed against me - The Egyptians could not prevail against Israel. The more they afflicted them, the more they grew and multiplied (Exodus 1:12). In the times of the Judges, God raised up deliverers each time they were oppressed by their enemies. In the Babylonian captivity, God used the Persians to destroy the Babylon empire and deliver Israel. The enemies of Israel could not prevail against Israel. The application for us today is: Our suffering is not forever. We must not let afflictions defeat us. We might be down, but not out. We must trust God to deliver us. Psalm 129 has two parts: (1) My Afflictions (v.1-3), (2) My Victory (v.4-8). The apostle Paul was afflicted but he would not be defeated. He said: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9). Paul was a winner. We all face pain in this life, but the question is how do we face the pain when it comes? Will we overcome it, or will it overcome us? Faith is cheap when it is free from trials. Two preachers, one young and the other old, preached on the topic of FAITH. The young preacher’s sermon was informative. He could define FAITH in Hebrew, Greek, and English. The church agreed with the sermon. The old preacher preached FAITH from his hard life’s experiences. He knew what FAITH is because he lived it. The church felt the sermon. The young man got his sermon out from the books; the old man got his sermon out of a hard life. Life is an accumulation of experiences from the time we were born. We can feel with the apostle Paul when he mentioned his FAITH and victory (2 Timothy 4:7-8). We can feel with old preachers when they preach about FAITH. The Psalmist says he has been afflicted since his youth. If he was a youth when he was taken into captivity, he would be an old man when he returned to his homeland. He is qualified to tell others to stay strong in afflictions and to rely on God. We can feel with him. Life is a continuous struggle. Do you think that after you have retired from your work, you will not have any more struggles? Far from it. A new phase in life has its own struggles – old age diseases will start to appear, loneliness may come in especially if you have lost your life partner, and money may be an issue if you did not save enough for retirement. Life is a continuing battle, and it only ends when we cross over to the other side. Only true FAITH will win. The Psalmist was an old man recalling the things since his youth. He had been there, done it. God was his victory (v.4). He wants us to feel and live the FAITH we preach about. We need to trust that God will get us through the hard times: “The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked” (v.4). Faith is the victory!