Psalm 128
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Would you like your work to bless you?
Would you like your wife to bless you?
Would you like your children to bless you?
Would you like to be blessed in your home?
We all would say yes, but that question is really answered by how we walk (i.e., how we live) rather than by what we say.
[CONTEXT] Since Psalm 120 we have been traveling with a Jewish pilgrim as he made his way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual festivals.
Psalm 120 highlighted the trials of being Jewish in Gentile lands.
Psalm 121 emphasized the hazards of traveling to the holy city.
In Psalm 122, the Jewish pilgrim finally arrived in Jerusalem and rejoiced in His God.
In Psalm 123, he lifted his eyes to the Lord for grace.
In Psalm 124, he rejoiced in deliverance from enemies
Psalm 125 rejoiced in future deliverance from every wicked ruler.
In Psalm 126, the pilgrim remembers the return of the captives and asked God to return to his people the joy of that return.
And then Psalm 127 spoke of the blessed man who, with a quiver full of children, trusted in the Lord to build his house.
[CIT/INTER] Psalm 128 continues the themes of Psalm 127.
The trust of Psalm 127 leads to blessing in Psalm 128.
But again, blessing is not just for those who say that want it.
Blessing is for everyone who fears the Lord and walks in His ways.
Do you fear the Lord?
Are you walking in His ways?
[READING - Psalm 128]
A Song of Ascents. 1 How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. 4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
[TS]…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
{Fullness of Joy}
{Fullness of Joy}
Q. Think back to a happy family dinner. Maybe it was when you were younger, and you remember looking up to the smiling face of your mother or father. Maybe it was when you were older, and you remember looking down to the face of one of your smiling children. There was good food, good drink, and a good time had by all. Maybe you’re making those memories, or maybe those times are now only distant memories. But how did you feel when you sat around that table?
Happy. Grateful. Joyful. Blessed. Full.
I hope that you’ve had that experience and said to yourself, “I couldn’t be happier. My joy couldn’t be more full.”
That’s a good definition of blessing…
Blessing is God-given fullness of joy.
Verse 1 tells us how to obtain that God-given fullness of joy.
1 How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.
First, we must fear the Lord.
First, we must fear the Lord.
There is “servile fear” which fears the threat of divine punishment.
And there is “filial fear” which reveres God as a loving Father that we do not want to disappoint.
Of course, everyone who persists in rebellion against the Lord has reason to fear divine punishment, but for those who have turned from sin and trusted in Jesus, there is now no condemnation.
There is still, however, filial fear; the reverence we have for our heavenly father as sons and daughters of God.
Secondly, we prove that we fear the Lord by walking in His ways.
Secondly, we prove that we fear the Lord by walking in His ways.
[ILLUS] Let’s say we see a little boy in Walmart. He has demanded a toy, but his father has said no.
The little boy is now faced with a choice: Will he abide by his father’s word or will he rebel against his father’s word?
We watch as the little boy decides to rebel.
He puts the toy in the cart anyway.
His father puts it back on the shelf and again tells the boy no.
The boys flings himself on the ground and begin to scream out, “But I want it! But I want it! If you loved me, you’d get me what I want! You’re an idiot!”
The father, however, sticks to his word. He doesn’t respond to his son’s temper tantrum. The boy doesn’t get the toy.
Later at home, the boy’s mother asks, “Why didn’t you respect your father in the store today?”
The boy angrily responds, “I did!”
Now, if you were called on to testify, what would you say.
Did the boy respect his father or not?
Of course, he did not. No matter what he said to his mother, his lack of respect for his father was proven in how he behaved.
[APP] It’s the same way in our relationship with our heavenly Father. Our reverence for Him is proven in our obedience; it proven by walking in His ways or walking according to His Word.
Those who walk in His ways fear the Lord.
Those who fear the Lord will be blessed by Him.
{Fullness of Joy in the Home}
{Fullness of Joy in the Home}
Verses 2-3
2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!