They shall be as the grass 552 of the housetops', which is withered
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS - VOLUME 3
"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us." (2 Thessalonians 1:6, 7,)
It is a point worthy of special notice, that the welfare of the Church is inseparably connected with the righteousness of God. The Prophet, also, wisely teaches us that the reason why the enemies of the Church did not prevail, was because God brought to nothing their enterprises, and did not suffer them to go beyond what he had determined in his own mind.
Psalm 129:5-8
5. All who hate Zion shall be confounded, and turned backward. 6. They shall be as the grass 552 of the housetops', which is withered before it comes forth: 7. With which the mower hath not filled his hand, nor the gleaner his bosom. 553 8. Neither have they who pass by said, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you: we bless you in the name of Jehovah. 554
5. All who hate Zion shall be confounded, and tutored backward. Whether we take this as a prayer or a promise, the Prophet has a respect to the time to come. Since all the verbs are in the future tense, it is certainly a very appropriate interpretation to understand him as deriving from times past instruction as to what is to be hoped for in future, even to the end. In whichever way we understand the passage, he declares that the faithful have no reason to be discouraged when they behold their enemies raised on high. The grass which grows upon the house-tops is not, on account of its higher situation, more valuable than the blade of corn which in the low ground is trampled under foot; for although it stands elevated above men's heads, it is, in the first place, unprofitable; and secondly, it quickly withers
Fry reads "corn," "",חצירsays he, "evidently includes corn as well as grass."
In the French version it is "son aisselle;" — "his arm-pit."
"Here is an allusion to the custom of blessing; the reapers at their work; as in that instance recorded in the book of Ruth 2:4, 'And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you; and they answered him, The Lord bless thee.'" — Warner. "Precisely the same customs of salutation which are here indicated still prevail in Mohammedan Asia. Nearly the same form of words, implying the blessing and peace of God, is retained, and the neglect to give the salutation is still an indignity and an insult " — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.