In Psalm 129 a personified Israel, speaking as an individual, reflects on the many trials it has suffered throughout its history, starting presumably from the time of its enslavement in Egypt. The trials are likened to furrows cut into its back with a plow. But despite those trials, Israel survived because of the righteous God's deliverance (v 4).
The attitude of "afflicted but not defeated" in verses 1-4 reminds us of these words of Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor 4:8-9). Joseph seems to have had the same attitude after he was sold into slavery in Egypt.
The second half of Psalm 129 consists of an imprecation against those who "hate Zion" (v 5). Since Zion is shorthand for God's plan to work through Israel to bring blessing to all nations, those who "hate Zion" stand in opposition to what God is doing in the world, including sending the Messiah.
The imprecation expresses the hope that Zion's opponents will be like plants that sprout up in the small amount of soil on a flat roof. Such plants quickly wither and produce nothing (vv 6-7), much like the seeds that fall on rocky ground in Jesus' parable of the sower (Matt 13:5-6).
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