Psalm 128⤒🔗

This psalm follows naturally from the previous one, in which the Lord is spoken of as the builder of the home. The psalm is an overview of a godly man’s life. It sweeps through the stages of life from marriage, to children and grandchildren — all in the space of six verses. How time flies! It’s a psalm that reflects on life. He is able to say with David as he looks back; ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his children begging bread’ (Ps. 37: 25). It’s not as though everything was sweetness and light. There were, no doubt, hard and difficult times. But in retrospect he is able to say, ‘we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good’ (Rom. 8: 28). I hope that’s your experience too.

The key to the psalm is the word ‘blessing’. It occurs 4 times. It is therefore, a song of blessing. (Though two different words for blessing are used — ‘ashrey’ in verses 1-2, and ‘barak’ in verses 4-5).

1. Blessing Announced (1)←⤒🔗

‘Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!’ Blessing has nothing to do with feelings or emotions or cir­cumstances. No. It’s a fact. The godly man described in Psalm 1 is blessed. The people described in Matthew 5:1-11 are blessed. So is everyone who fears the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is not something nowadays that features much in our thoughts or speech. Yet it’s a theme that runs through the Bible — it occurs about 170 times. Paul speaks of knowing ‘what it is to fear the Lord’ — as he thought about his own appearing before the judgement seat of Christ — and how that fear motivated him to evangelism (2 Cor. 5:11). Peter calls us to ‘live in reverent fear’ because of the cost that the Father was prepared to pay for our redemption — namely the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:17-18). Isaiah felt the fear of the Lord when he cried out, ‘Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips ... and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty’. His fear was caused by his sense of sin and unworthiness in the presence of a holy God.

What then is the fear of the Lord? Sinclair Ferguson helpfully explains. ‘It’s that indefinable mixture of reverence and pleasure, joy and awe, which fills our hearts when we realise what God is and what He has done for us. It is a love for God which is so great that we would be ashamed to do anything that would displease or grieve Him, and makes us happiest when we are doing what pleases Him.’ (Grow in Grace, p.29). Hence those who fear the Lord ‘walk in His ways’ (1b). The psalmist states, ‘Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord’ (Ps. 119:1). Moses declares, ‘You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.’ (Deut. 8:6).

John Piper writes, ‘The clearest illustration of this kind of fear was the time when one of my sons looked at a German shepherd in the eye. We were visit­ing a family from our church. My son Karsten was about seven years old. They had a huge dog that stood eye to eye with a seven year old. He was friendly and Karsten had no problem making friends. But when we sent Karsten back to the car to get something we had forgotten, he started to run, and the dog galloped up behind him with a growl. Of course this frightened Karsten. But the owner said, ‘Karsten, why don’t you just walk. The dog doesn’t like it when people run away from him’. If Karsten hugged the dog, he was friendly and would lick his face. But if he ran from the dog, the dog would growl and fill Karsten with fear. Now this is a picture of what it means to fear the Lord. God means for His power and holiness to kindle fear in us; not to drive us from Him, but to drive us to Him. His anger is against those who forsake Him and love other things. The saf­est place in the universes is with our arms around the neck of God. And the most dangerous place is any path where we flee His presence.’ Future Grace p. 243

To fear the Lord then is to be in a good place, a safe place; it’s to be in the best of all places. Of course the Lord Jesus has created that safe place for everyone who believes. In Him we are truly blessed.

Listen to some of the blessings that belong to those who fear the Lord:

‘The Lord fulfils the desires of those who fear Him’ (Ps. 145:19). ‘For as high as the heav­ens are above the earth, so great is His love toward those who fear Him’ (Ps. 103:11). ‘Just as a father has compas­sion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him’ (Ps. 103:13). ‘The eye of the Lord is on those who fear the Lord’ (Ps. 33:18). ‘How great is your goodness which you have stored for those who fear you’ (Ps. 31:19). ‘The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them’ (Ps. 34:7). ‘Fear the Lord you his saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing’ (Ps. 34:9). ‘His salvation is near those who fear Him’ (Ps. 85:9). ‘He will bless those who fear Him’ (Ps. 115:13). ‘The Lord favours those who fear Him’ (Ps. 147:11). ‘His mercy is upon generation after gen­eration toward those who fear Him’ (Luke 1:50).

Mercy, favour, blessing, compassion, salvation, loving-kindness, angelic protection, goodness, and fulfilled desires — are some of the blessings prom­ised to those who fear God. When you think about the blessings of God, remember one child’s description of a lift: ‘I got into this little room and the upstairs came down’.

2. Blessings Acknowledged (2-4)←⤒🔗

The psalmist recounts the blessings of work and family life. He acknowledges that even work is a blessing, a gift from God, given to Adam even before he sinned. Though sin has stolen much of the pleasure of work, it is still nonetheless a good thing. He acknowledges the blessing of family life — it was God’s design. ‘The Lord God said, it is not good for man to be alone’ (Gen. 2:18). So the Lord made Adam a helper — a companion for him, and told them to be fruitful and increase in number. Children are a blessing from God. The family norm is a father and mother and children. ‘God sets the lonely in families’ (Ps. 68:6).

There are, of course, many exceptions. Sin has also disrupted the joys and pleasures of family life. There are those who are unable to work. There are those who are single. There are divorces. There are couples who are unable to have children. There are couples who have children, but wish they were very different. There are people who have suffered terrible abuse within their families.

Does this mean that they don’t fear the Lord or walk in His ways? Or that they don’t have enough faith? Or that the Lord hasn’t blessed them? Hardly. Yet, this is what the prosperity gospel would have us believe. We are told to, ‘Believe it and receive it’. ‘Name it and claim it!’ There may be a grain of truth in such a message, but ultimately it’s a false gospel, and must be rejected. The psalmist is simply recognising that work and family are gifts from the hand of God. He’s acknowledging the goodness and generosity of God. He’s affirming with David; ‘The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance’ (Ps. 16:6).

3. Blessings Anticipated (5-6)←↰⤒🔗

The difficulty with these verses is deciding whether they are an affirmation (a benediction) or a wish (a prayer). They could be either. If we take them as a prayer, we might imagine the priest praying these words over the pilgrim worshipper who had come up to Jerusalem.

Notice the influence of godly lives in the future of the church and nation. The psalm quite deliberately progresses from the individual (1), to the family (3), to the church (5) and to the nation (6). There is the ripple effect; throw a stone into the mid­dle of a pond and see the rip­ples spread to the edge. That’s the possible influence a life that fears the Lord. A godly life counts. Kidner writes, ‘The family’s future is bound up in Zion’s welfare and that of Israel’.

Let Alec Motyer conclude with this striking statement: ‘Everything stems from the God-fearing indi­vidual who lives according to God’s revealed word. Not only does individual life matter, not only does the fear of the Lord bring fulfilment to the individual, but the God-fearing individual is the means of blessing in his marriage and family, and in the wider family of the city of God, the church ... We have now uncovered the heart of the psalm: the absolute crucial importance of individual godli­ness ... It matters whether I keep my daily tryst with the Lord; it matters whether I soak myself in His Word and base my lifestyle on what He has revealed; it matters for my immediate loved ones, for the wider circle of my “Jerusalem,” and for Israel, the worldwide company of those who believe in Jesus. It matters’.

Prayer:←⤒🔗

Gracious Lord, you are the fountain of peace. Grant that we may always fear you and walk in your ways. Bless us and all ours, that it may be well with us, and that we may see many generations and children of faith; and that we may seek the peace and well being of your church, and so glorify you all the days of our lives, through Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.