Since my youth they have often attacked me, but they have not prevailed against me. (Psalms 129:2)
The history of Israel was one that includes a lot of suffering and oppression beginning with slavery and then we see it during that Babylonian captivity. The question I ask myself is why would God’s people sing about the attacks from their enemies? Psalm 129 says things like “since my youth they have often attacked me” and “plowmen plowed over my back.” It seems strange until you see what else God says in Psalm 129. He also says, “they have not prevailed against me” and that God “has cut the ropes of the wicked.” In other words, God wants his people to recognize the attacks from their enemies and the frequent attempts to bring them harm, so that they can recognizer that God’s remained faithful to his people and has always made sure to deliver them from evil.
Now we might not be under Pharoah’s hand in Egypt or in Babylonian captivity but all of us were slaves to sin (Rom. 6:20). This means that we were controlled by our sin. But through Jesus Christ, we are now “set free from sin and become enslaved to God” and the outcome of this is eternal life (Rom. 6:22). God has handled our greatest enemy and oppressor, sin. Since he has dealt with our sin we can be sure than any other enemy who would stand against us will not be able to separate of from God’s love and will be “driven back in disgrace” just like Psalm 129:5 says.