Psalm 128 is known as a pilgrim's psalm to be sang for travelers (pilgrims) going to Jerusalem for to celebrate the ancient feasts of the Hebrews. These ancient feasts were family affairs. It is called a song of ascent since the pilgrims literally ascend or went up to Jerusalem. The family rejoices together in God's goodness to them as they traveled toward Jerusalem for the feasts. As they encountered other families they made new friends and renewed old friendships. Children played together. Adults conversed as they walked. In the evening camps all would gather around cooking fires and share stories and sing. How it reminds us of our annual church camp where the church family would pack and gather and travel to one location to remember the Lord in the Study of His Word. This is a description of the "enlightened Christian family prospering according to God's divine blueprint for blessed marriage and family life. Does it not remind us of our annual "pilgrimage" to attend Church Camp, a foretaste of heaven, no household chores, just enjoy fellowship with God and the saints, all other things taken care of.
Luke 2:41-44 gave to us the account of Jesus attending this annual pilgrimage, to remind us that we are Hebrews, sojourners on this earth - "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance."
This is a children's commentary of this portion of Scripture called "Jesus and the Family Trip" from FEBC book room that I used to read to my children for your edification.
"Every year Jesus' parents went down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and Jesus went with them. He was 12, they went again with relatives and friends. It was time for swapping news and tying up loose ends. "Whatever happened to old Sol?" "Wow! Sarah's gotten slim!" "Your Jesus stands so straight and tall." "Oh yes, we're proud of him." The Festival of Passover was solemn, filled with awe. Young Jesus watched each ritual and pondered all they saw.
For on that night so long ago, with His almighty hand, the Lord God freed His people. And led them out of Egypt-land. At last the feast was over, time to journey home again, "Next year in Jerusalem," folks called. "We'll see you then!"
Truly one year, that pilgrimage we will be making will be to the New Jerusalem, the heavenly mansion Jesus had gone ahead to prepare for us. Who can we bring with us? Is it not our wife and children if they are in the Lord and perhaps our children's children as we shall see in this psalm. When Noah entered the ark, just before the rain came and the flood waters rose and destroyed all man kind, who was with him? His three sons and three daughters in law! His loved ones whom he as head of the family painstakingly nurtured for 120 years while building the ark. He did tell others also but the sad conclusion was that they did not believe his warning!
Psalm 128 is psalm that describes for us the family life that is Reformed according to God's Word. It begins with "yrEv.a;" like psalm 1 and psalm 32 . However the man described here, the head of the home, is this word "rb,G"" in verse 4 , it is not the word "vyai" which we saw in psalm 1 nor is it the word "~d"a'". This word "rb,G"" describes the man as distinguished from women and children and non-combatants whom he is to defend. The quintessential of the Godly man. The purest and most perfect example of a Spirit-filled Christian. This man is fully described for us in Psalm 37:23 the King James translator called him the "good man". Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Psalms 128:4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
The word "Behold" is the literally device called the Asterimos or indicating - a calling of attention to a thing by making an asterisk or star. A marking by putting a star in order to direct particular attention to the statement - Note that the word "blessed" is a different word from the word "blessed" "yrEv.a;" which is a pronouncement of blessing. This is the word "%r;B'" is an action word, a verb that has a root meaning in the Hebrew "to kneel", this is the intensive stem and passive stem (Pual stem). The intensive of kneeling is blessing. The Spirit-filled man draws his strength from God through prayer. The action of kneeing is the prayer posture, the act of seeking God and His intervention in our lives. Therefore, when we pray according to His Word we are blessed of God for God answers our prayer according to His will to bless our pathway.
This man the psalmist says is "Blessed" of the LORD, the first word in this psalm. This is the same word that the King James translator rightly translated "happy" in verse 2 .
There is no admonition here in this psalm.
King Solomon lived this earthly life to the fullest. He summed up the Godly life, the blessed life as this in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Walk in His way - keep his commandments!
What is the fear of God?
Remember the scene when God gave the Ten Commandment to Israel in Exodus 20:2-17
Exodus 20:2 "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."
Exodus 20:18 "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not."
Why is it so important not to sin against God? Because there are consequences to sin, the ultimate punishment for sin is death. When we fear God, He preserves us in this earthly sojourn.
Therefore, as born again Christians, we have been freed from the bondage of sin, we can choose not to sin. The commandment is no longer a whip but a lamp to our path. We are motivated by love of God as we learn in the Shamar - Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." These are the Ten Commandments stated positively: We love the Being of God. We love the Worship of God. We love the Name of God. We love the Day of God. We love the Representatives of God. We love the Body of man. We love the Morality of man. We love the Property of Man. We love the Personality of Man. We love Prosperity of Man.
My wife and I had the opportunity to speak to a couple before their marriage. The lady is a Christian, the man is not. We shared from God's Word that God is not pleased with an unequal yoke. God cannot bless a family that is willfully set up against God's will, especially when the man is an idol worshipper. When these words were said, it was amidst literally thunder and lightning. Nevertheless, the marriage proceeded. The warning has been sounded. The fear of God was not in the heart of the lady. Obeying God was not more important than the relationship with this man. Can God bless their family life?
The man described in this psalm is a God-fearer. This is told emphatically in verse 1a and 4 . The God fearing man was promised happiness. Picture this scene of happiness - the tired farmer has finished his long day in the vineyards. The sun is down. He sits down under one of the many fig trees surrounding his humble house. His wife, who spent the day in the field alongside her husband, sits down beside him. Looking into the valley below at the fruitful vines, they reflect that this has been a good year. The crop is thriving. They gave birth to their third child.
Psalms 128:2 "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee."
Without God's blessing, our labour no matter how well planned and with how much hard work will be in vain. It is God that giveth to us the health & the strength to get wealth. Our Lord Jesus says Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
The God fear in his employment is described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:5-6 "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart."
What kind of work brings blessing from God?
1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Before I left my job, I had the fellowship of a Christian colleague, friend and church mate in the work place. Every Monday morning, we would find a quiet corner to read a passage from Spurgeon's devotion and write down our prayer items - home, church and work to pray through them. Somehow, God saw us through every problem in the work place and prospered our work. This is my testimony. I learn from Dr Tow in one of his sermons whether it was during church camp or worship service I cannot recall exactly.
Psalms 128:3 "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table."
Ps 128:6a "Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children."
This is the image of abundance and divine blessings that is extended here to children and wife. Both wife and children are thriving spiritually. Fruit as an image of abundance - Abundant fruit is symbolic of the richness and creativity of God. The world as created by God was prolific in its fruitfulness in Genesis 1:11-12 "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good." The wife is described here as a fruitful vine. Both the vine and the olive tree were symbols of economic prosperity of Israel. The vine provided wine and the olive tree supply fruit and oil. The use of olive plants for children signifies their spiritual blessings and prosperity. Psalms 52:8 "But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever." Olive trees take a long time to mature and become profitable. It needs to be patiently cultivated, but they become very precious and profitable crop for hundreds of years, longer than any other fruit producing tree or plant. A good father, a God fearing father takes responsibility for the spiritual welfare and nurture of his family. Nor does he neglect the children's physical welfare." The images of vines and olive plants are biblical symbols of abundant life, symbolizing rich blessing as opposed to other crops like wheat or corn.
Truly, our children are most blessed, they have the opportunity to attend church camp every year since they were babies. My first church camp was only at the age 29 years old.
These are the child rearing years, the family goes through years of training, loving, disciplining, and ultimately releasing the children. Little babies grow up into challenging independent-thinking adolescents. The protective sheltered environment of the home is broken into by school, new friends, alien philosophies, financial strain, illness, hard questions, constant decisions and busy schedules. The husband asking himself - I've earned so much & I haven't had the time to enjoy it!! And the wife's awareness that there is a bigger world than preparing and bringing children to school and making lunches and dinners, the temptations of the world. Then there is dating, new drivers in the family, leaving for tertiary education, talk of marriage and moving out.
The family that prays together stays together.
Psalm 128:6 "Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children."
These are the Golden Years - the family is reduced to its original condition - a husband and wife in their twilight light years. What will life be like when the dust settles and quietness returns? What will be the rewards for beginning and cultivating a family according to God's direction - It is God's promise of His blessings! We see our grandchildren and peace upon the land.
Psalms 128:5 "The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life."