Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 129:4
The LORD [is] righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
4. The Lord is righteous: he &c.] Better, Jehovah the righteous hath cut asunder. The same attribute of righteousness which compels Him to punish (Neh 9:33) binds Him to deliver, for it involves faithfulness to His covenant. Cp. Psa 51:14 note; Isa 45:21.
cords ] The word usually denotes the straps or bands by which the yoke was fastened on to the neck of the ox (Job 39:10). If the metaphor of the preceding verse is continued, the meaning is that the plower’s harness is broken so that they can no longer continue their work. But the figure may be changed; Israel may be the ox, and the cords those which fasten the yoke of servitude upon its neck. Or ‘cords’ may be used generally as a figure for subjection. Cp. Psa 2:3. The reference is to the deliverance of Israel from successive oppressions, but especially to the great deliverance from the captivity in Babylon, and to the escape which is the theme of Psalms 124.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Lord is righteous – Righteous in permitting this; righteous in what he has done, and will do, in the treatment of those who inflict such wrongs. We may now safely commit our cause to him in view of what he has done in the past. He was not indifferent then to our sufferings, or deaf to the eries of his people; he interposed and punished the oppressors of his people, and we may trust him still.
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked – By which they bound us. He did this in our youth; when we were oppressed and beaten in Egypt. Then he interposed, and set us free.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 129:4
The cords of the wicked.
Cumulative power of cords of sin
The other day, says the Rev. F. B. Meyer, I had to address some two thousand children, and, fearing that I might fail to secure their attention, I called a lad of twelve into my pulpit, and proceeded to wind around him a long knotted entanglement, first cotton, then string, next twine, next small cord, afterwards rope, ending with a chain and padlock. Of course he could break the cotton, but this led swiftly to the string, and this to a stronger, and so on, till at last the clasp of the padlock made him fast, my prisoner, bound by the cords of his habits. And I think those boys and girls will never forget the lesson of the inevitable connection between thoughts–acts–habits–character–destiny.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. The Lord-hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.] The words have been applied to the sufferings of Christ; but I know not on what authority. No such scourging could take place in his case, as would justify the expression, –
“The ploughers made long furrows there,
Till all his body was one wound.”
It is not likely that he received more than thirty-nine stripes. The last line is an unwarranted assertion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Righteous; faithful or merciful, as that word is frequently used.
Cut asunder the cords wherewith the plough was drawn; by which means they were stopped in their course. So he persists in the same metaphor of a plough. By these
cords he understands all their plots and endeavours.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. the cordsthat is, whichfasten the plough to the ox; and cutting denotes God’sarresting the persecution;
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord [is] righteous,…. Or gracious and merciful; hence acts of mercy are called righteousness in the Hebrew language; the Lord has compassion on his people under their afflictions, and delivers them; or is faithful to his promises of salvation to them, and just and righteous to render tribulation to them that trouble them, and take vengeance upon them;
he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked: alluding to the cords with which the plough is fastened to the oxen, which being cut, they cannot go on ploughing; or to the cords of whips, which when, cut cannot be used to any purpose: it designs the breaking of the confederacies of wicked men against the people of God; the confounding their counsels and schemes, and disappointing their devices; so that they cannot perform their enterprises, or carry their designs into execution, or go on with and finish their intentions. The Targum renders it,
“the chains of the wicked;”
see Isa 5:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) The Lord is righteous.This expression of faith, introduced without any conjunction, is itself a revelation of the deeply-rooted religion of Israel.
Cords.Literally, cord. As in Psa. 124:7, the net was broken and the bird escaped, so here the cord binding the slave (comp. Psa. 2:3) is severed and he goes free.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. The Lord is righteous In fulfilling his promises to his people, and rendering deserved retribution upon their persecutors. See Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2.
Cut asunder the cords Resuming the figure of ploughing, as an image for inflicting misery, (Psa 129:3,) the cutting the cords would mean the severing the cords which connect the yoke to the plough; or it may refer to the cords by which captives were bound. In either case, it denotes that God had rendered futile for evil all the devices and boasted power of his enemies.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 129:4 The LORD [is] righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
Ver. 4. The Lord is righteous ] That is a ruled case, and must be held for a certain truth, whatever we are, or our persecutors.
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah.
righteous = just: i.e. in His judgments.
cords: i.e. of bondage. Compare Psa 2:3.
the wicked = lawless ones. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
The Lord: Ezr 9:15, Neh 9:33, Lam 1:18, Lam 3:22, Dan 9:7
cut asunder: Psa 124:6, Psa 124:7, Psa 140:5-11
Reciprocal: Exo 9:27 – the Lord 2Ch 12:6 – the Lord Rev 16:5 – Thou art
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
129:4 The LORD [is] {b} righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
(b) Because God is righteous, he cannot but plague his adversary, and deliver his as oxen out of the plough.