Commit to the Lord (vv. 5-8). The harvest image continues, but moves from the fields to the housetops. Roofs were flat and usually composed of a mixture of mud and mortar, wood, and thatching. It would be easy for wind-blown seeds to settle on the roofs, take root in the shallow soil, grow quickly, but not last. Jesus used this image in His parable about the sower (Matt. 13:5-6, 20-21). Where there has been no plowing, you will not get much of a harvest. The psalmist prayed that those who hated Zion would perish quickly like the useless grass on the roof. But why would anybody want to hate the Jews? Is this hatred born of envy? The most logical answer is that Satan hates Israel and has always been at war with her (see Rev. 12). Satan is also at war with the church (John 15:18-25; 17:14; 1 John 3:13).

Instead of returning evil for evil, the Jews committed the conflict to the Lord and trusted Him to vindicate His own people (Rom. 12:17-21). Jewish harvesters often blessed one another as they worked in the fields (Ruth 2:4), but no blessing would be given to Israel’s enemies, for they were rebelling against the God of Israel. First, these enemies would be turned back in disgrace because they could not eradicate Israel, then they would wither away, and finally they would be mowed down and used for fuel. But the people of Israel can always say to the world, “We bless you in the name of the Lord,” because Israel has brought to the world the knowledge of the true and living God, the Scriptures, and the Savior. “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

When people treat you like dirt because you belong to Jesus, remember the ABCs of this psalm: accept it, benefit from it, commit it to the Lord.