"Many peoples have afflicted me from my youth" (Psalm 129:1). The Assembly of Israel — the collective voice of the nation — says this as a Song of Ascents, sung while ascending to the Temple. The affliction began in Egypt. It continued through every subsequent empire. And the rabbis added a layer: the inclination within Israel itself was part of the affliction, the yetzer hara that made Israel its own enemy as often as the nations were.
Song of Songs provides the counter-image: the beloved resting between two things (Song of Songs 1:13). The rabbis read those two things as Moses and Aaron — the two sons of Amram who flanked Israel through the wilderness. When the nations pressed from outside and the evil inclination pressed from within, Moses and Aaron were the twin pillars of protection. Prophecy and priesthood, word and rite, the voice that descended from Sinai and the incense that rose toward heaven.
And at the sea — when Israel was most pressed, Egypt behind them and the water in front — they were still protected. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). The nations could afflict. The evil inclination could rebel. But neither could touch Israel while the everlasting arms were beneath them. The song of affliction is also the song of survival. Both are true. The Psalm holds both in the same breath.