Grass on the Housetop: The Fate of Persecutors

The psalmist compares enemies to grass growing on housetops—a contemptuous image the Holy Ghost employs deliberately. This grass withers without the sickle ever touching it. No one considers it worthy of cutting; no one bothers to harvest what amounts to nothing. Yet for a season, it brazenly displays itself from the rooftops as though it possessed substance and power.

Wicked persecutors mirror this exactly. Though they appear mighty and terrible by outward display, they are among the most contemptible of all creatures. Christians do not lift a hand against them, neither plucking them up nor cutting them down. The faithful refuse retaliation, suffering their enemies to increase in boasting and glory as much as they desire. Yet persecutors cannot withstand a vehement wind—sudden destruction visits them.

Even in calm seasons, housetop grass slowly withers beneath the sun's heat. Similarly, tyrannies perish on small occasions and vanish away imperceptibly. The faithful prevail through suffering; the wicked are overthrown while doing evil, perishing miserably. History across all ages witnesses this truth plainly.

The persecutor's apparent strength deceives only the shortsighted. Adonai [the Lord] permits their bragging momentarily, but their foundation is dust. Patient endurance outlasts violent opposition. The faithful who suffer inherit the victory.