Psalm 129 tells what happens to those who oppose Israel. A man who fears the Lord and walks in His ways will want to see Israel prosper and do well. Those who are wicked oppose Israel and want to see Israel afflicted and oppressed. They will not be blessed. They will be judged.
Israel had some enemies that had opposed them since they were a very young nation. Yet, these enemies could not prevail against them. They brought much affliction against Israel, but they could not destroy them. “Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: 2) Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. 3) The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.” (Psalm 129:1-3)
What will happen to those who oppose Israel? Verses four and five say, “4) The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. 5) Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.” God will cut their cords asunder. He cuts the cords that are attached to their plow. In other words, He removes their source of power. They will all be confounded, or frustrated in their efforts, ashamed. God will turn them back. Israel’s enemies cannot prevail against them.
A further judgment upon those who oppose Israel will be that they will no longer be prosperous. They will just wither away like mown grass. The blessing of the Lord will be taken from them. This judgment is described in the last three verses of the Psalm, “6) Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up: 7) Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. 8) Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.” (verses 6-8)
So, let us seek the good if Israel all our days so that blessing may be upon us and we will not be judged. The promise of blessing and warning of a curse goes all the way back to the time of Abram from whom the Jewish people descended. God told Abram, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) That promise of blessing and warning of the curse still stands today. We can be blessed if we bless God’s chosen people.