Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. Psalm 128:1
Blessed are those who fear God
Psalm 128, a wisdom psalm is also a psalm of Zion. Like Ps. 127, this poem addresses God’s blessings in the home and family. A right relationship with God brings blessings. The feasts of ancient Israel were family affairs. As families made their way to the holy city for the annual festivals, they would encounter other families and mutually celebrate the goodness of God in their lives. Psalm 128 is the 9th song of ascent.
128:1 The word blessed describes the happiness of those who trust in the Lord and do His will. Who fears the Lord: The fear of God is an attitude of respect, a response of reverence and wonder. It is the only appropriate response to our Creator and Redeemer.
1 A Song of Ascents. Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.
128:2, 3 labor of your hands: There is a reward in work and a satisfaction in labor that is a blessing of God (Eccl. 3:9-13). Your wife: This psalm focuses on the godly man in ancient Israel. Bearing children was a mark of God’s blessing on his wife. His children were regarded as precious provisions, like olive plants, in his home.
2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.
128:5, 6 The Lord bless you: This is the psalmist’s prayer for the man who desires for his own family the blesssings described in the psalm. Children’s children: This priestly prayer of blessing includes a desire for longevity and for happy posterity in the land. Only when God grants His peace on His people will the ideal conditions of family life be realized. Therefore, whoever prays for the blessing of God on a family also prays for the blessing of God’s peace on the community as a whole.
5 The Lord bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. 6 Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
** God is fearful and lovable at the same time. We come to realize this truth only when we get to know Him. We get to know Him by reading the His words. God reveals Himself in the Scripture. Knowing God is being happy when I know Him and He knows me.
’twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed. Excerpts from the lyrics of Amazing Grace, 2nd verse
128 1 A Song of Ascents. Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. 6 Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
Happy, ‘esher in Hebrew, mean “blessed” or “fortunate.” As in 1:1, it is often used in congratulatory exclamation. The characteristic biblical beatitude concerns a person who trusts in the Lord and lives by His revelation. The word is often associated with those who have found wisdom or express benevolence, thus over half of its occurrence are in Psalms, with several more in Proverbs. Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a list of beatitudes that conforms to the OT pattern (see Matt. 5:3-12).
