“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 plowers plowed upon my back: They made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Let them all be confounded and turned back That hate Zion. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth afore it groweth up: Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they which go by say, the blessing of the LORD be upon you: We bless you in the name of the LORD.”
Psalm 129:1-8 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.129.1-8.KJV
Grace and Truth in Jesus
For centuries, the nation of Israel awaited the coming Messiah who would bring the Kingdom of God and make things right in the world. Despite pain, persecution, and setbacks, they persevered because their hope was grounded in the promises of God.
Israel’s wait was finally over when the Messiah, Jesus, arrived. However, Jesus did not come as many expected—in a grand procession or with a large army behind Him. Instead, He arrived quietly in the stillness of the night, as a baby, in a little town called Bethlehem.
But in a surprise twist, this newborn was not only the Messiah who would free God’s people from their sins, but God Himself. John tells us that “the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word exists eternally, but for a time took on human form and lived among people.
Jesus began His earthly ministry in the most humble way—by coming as a baby. But it’s through the person of Jesus that we see the glory of God. Paul says in Colossians, “For in Christ all ...