Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord: A Song of Blesssing
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Psalm 128 continues with the theme of God’s providence and blessing from Psalm 127.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
The psalmist acknowledges that those who live for God will experience a life of blessing especially within the home.
This is akin to wisdom literature again just like Psalm 127. These are general truths of those who fear God.
This is a psalm of ascent- sung on the way to worship. This song would of had a liturgical use as well. That is as the children and adults grew up they would sing this song over and over again and its truths would become embedded in their minds.
This is a song about the truly good life, the blessed life.
What can we learn about the blessed life from Psalm 128?
I. The blessed life is only available to certain people (1, 4)
I. The blessed life is only available to certain people (1, 4)
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
What does blessed mean?
The Hebrew word, אַשְׁרֵי, is a major theme of the book of Psalms.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
The noun form is used 44x’s in the OT. 26x’s in the Psalms.
While a literal rendering would be, “Oh, the blessednesses of,” the meaning is: “how happy, blessed is …” or, “truly happy, blessed is.…” As is sometimes expressed, what the world calls “lucky” or “fortunate” the Scriptures call אַשְׁרֵי, with a decided emphasis on a life in right relationship with God.
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary I. God’s Blessing Rests on Faithful and Devout Believers (1)
The word for the blessing (אַשְׁרֵי; s.v. Ps. 1:1) can include the idea of happiness, but it has the basic meaning of the joy or bliss that comes from knowing that one is right with God, and that the blessings are from heaven.
True happiness, true joy, true bliss is only available to certain people.
Who is able to live the blessed life?
1). Everyone who fears the Lord
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary I. God’s Blessing Rests on Faithful and Devout Believers (1)
This fear is a reverential fear for the LORD; it is exhibited by worship and obedience. The term (s.v. Ps. 1:2) indicates both an attraction to and a shrinking back from the object. The attraction to the LORD is adoration for the majesty and power and glory of the LORD; the shrinking back is the acknowledgment that he is the sovereign judge of all the earth and must be obeyed
2). Everyone who walks in his ways.
This phrase is parallel to the first. Everyone who fears the Lord is parallel to who walks in his ways. What insight can we gleam from this parallel?
Connected to but not identical with the first phrase.
How are these phrases connected?
What does it mean to walk in God’s ways? Living in harmony with the standard of God.
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary I. God’s Blessing Rests on Faithful and Devout Believers (1)
So the first half of the verse gives the basis for living out the faith: fearing the LORD; and the second half of the verse gives the result of the fear: living obediently before God. The two halves can be fully explained in relation to the other: the first colon stresses the cause (a metonymy of cause) and the second the effect (a metonymy of effect). The two halves make up the whole picture of the devout and obedient worshiper.
Those who are devout in their worship and reverential in their obedience may confidently anticipate the LORD’s blessing.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
What form does this blessing take?
II. The blessed life is a fulfilling life (2-3)
II. The blessed life is a fulfilling life (2-3)
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
The psalmist not enumerates some of the expected blessings for those who fear God and as a result walk in His ways.
What is the first blessing that is generally true of those who live the blessed life?
God prospers the labors of those who fear Him.
“You shall eat of the fruit of your hands.” What does that mean?
Again the psalmist states, “you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.” How many times does the word blessed occur in this psalm?
It shall be well with you: lit. and good to you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
What is the promised blessing here?
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house?
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary B. God Causes the Family to Flourish (3–4)
The point of the comparison (a simile) is to say that the spouse will flourish and be productive, just like a fruitful vine
children will be like olive shoots around your table?
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary B. God Causes the Family to Flourish (3–4)
The picture is of young olive trees springing up from the parent stem, fresh, vibrant, and full of promise. The olive tree was an emblem of vigor and vitality in the Old Testament, and naturally a symbol of long endurance since they last for such a long time. They also were very productive, the oil being used for many important things.
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary B. God Causes the Family to Flourish (3–4)
So the wonderful blessings of produce and posterity are bestowed on those who are devout and obedient. This is in harmony with the promises of wisdom literature; there may be exceptions, but the normal expectation is blessing for faithfulness.
There are four important steps that we must take to apply proper hermeneutics to any passage of Scripture.
Interpretive Journey
There are four steps in this journey.
1). Grasping the text in their town
What did the text mean to the biblical audience? We just did that.
2). Measuring the width of the river to cross
What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?
Notice the words in the river- culture, language, time, situation, covenant!
Why could the Israelites look forward to these kinds of physical and material blessings if they feared the Lord and walked in His ways?
1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.
10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.
11 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
How are we different from the original audience?
Are we still under this covenant?
Do we still have the same guarantee of physical and material blessing today that they had? This is where the prosperity preaches go wrong all the time.
Israel- primarily physical blessing
Church- primarily spiritual blessing
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
OK, so we have crossed the hermeneutical bridge and figured out what the text meant to the Israelites in the OT under the Mosaic Covenant. We have thought about the width of the river, the differences between the Israelites and us.
3). Crossing the Principlizing Bridge
What is the theological principle in this text?
1. The principle should be reflected in the text.
2. The principle should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation
3. The principle should not be bound to one particular culture
4. The principle should correspond to the teaching of the rest of Scripture
5. The principle should be relevant to both the biblical audience and the contemporary audience
What theological principles could you come up with from Psalm 128?
Interpretive Journey
4). Grasping the Text in our Town
How should individual Christians today apply the theological principle in their lives?
What are some specific ways we can apply Psalm 128?
Spend time this week reflecting on whether or not you truly fear the Lord? Write down some ways you are following the Lord in obedience to His Word because obedience is the evidence of fearing the Lord.
Spend some time in praise to the Lord this week because those who are devout and faithful may confidently anticipate the Lord’s blessing on their lives.
III. The blessed life requires confident trust in the Lord (5-6)
III. The blessed life requires confident trust in the Lord (5-6)
5 The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
This is a confident prayer of blessing. May the Lord bless you from Zion.
What is significant about Zion? It is the mountain on which the temple stood. Why is that important?
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! Why is that important?
6 May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!
If the nation remained faithful to the covenant- if they feared the Lord and gave evidence of that fear by walking in His ways then the nation would experience an extended time of blessing. This would mean that you could experience the blessing of watching your grandchildren grow up! This is a encapsulation of the blessed life. Live a full and rich life and see future generations of your family faithfully follow the Lord.
Finally the Psalm ends with a standard prayer- peace be upon Israel!
A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary III. The Faithful Trust the Lord for Divine Blessing (5–6)
If God’s peace is granted to the nation, then the people would be able to work, their families would flourish, and they would enjoy the good things of life.
Worship is the right response to revelation about God. What is the proper response to this psalm?
