City Life Starter

I. The Word: Psalm 128:1-6 (NKJV)

A Song of Ascents

1 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!

Study Questions

1. When you think of home, the place you seek refuge and peace after a hard day’s of work, what thoughts, emotions, images, and feelings come to mind?

2. What does “fear the Lord” mean to you?

3. What brings a sense of joy in your life?  What or to whom do you ascribe the most worth in your life that you place great effort to attain or to appease, which you believe will bring a sense of fulfillment or satisfaction in life?

Let us begin with a quick background on Psalm 128. This Psalm is a collection of special psalms called “A Song of Ascents”, which is also called the Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134), where Jews traveling to Jerusalem for one of the three main annual Jewish festivals traditionally sang these songs as they “ascent” or the uphill road to the city. Jerusalem was literally situated on a high hill, so there was a literal ascent the Jews had to make, and on the way, they sang this particular song, Psalm 128, about the joy for those who follow God’s ways.

This Psalm is a psalm for prosperous families, not in the sense we think of prosperity in America, but the prosperity that depends upon the blessing of God by living in fear of Him and in obedience to Him.

We can draw that this Psalm shows 4 things when we fear the Lord:1. We’ll be prosperous and successful in

1. We’ll be prosperous and successful in employment (vs 2)

2. Our relationships shall be enjoyable (vs 3)

3. We shall live to see our families brought up (vs 6)

4. We’ll have fulfillment of seeing the church of God prosper (vs 5, 6)

First, let us begin with “fear of the Lord.” This does not mean fear as being scared. How can one be scared of something and simultaneously receive joy from it? So, it’s clearly not talking about being scared of the Lord. Fear in the Bible means to be overwhelmed, to be controlled by something. To fear the Lord is to be overwhelmed with wonder, amazement, excitement, and awe, before the grandeur of God, His mercy, and His love that He ultimately expressed through His son Jesus. As you experience God’s grace and forgiveness, this would naturally lead you to tremble in awe and wonder in what He’s done for you and who He is. This fear means to bow before him out of amazement at His glory and beauty. Is God beautiful to you, or just beneficial? Your answer to that question will give clue to what you probably ascribe the most worth to? If He’s merely beneficial to you, then you’ve ascribed more worth to the things you’re using God to attain, and those things hold the title and position of “lordship of your life”. If He’s beautiful to you, then the things of this life can be appreciated, but have no rule over you.

When we live in this “fear of the Lord”, this godly way of living, we have promises of the life that is now and of that which is to come, and God deems us “blessed”.

We’re blessed when we fear the Lord, which means that we’re accepted of Him. We have promises here outlined in the Psalm that is made to people who have centered their lives around Godly living. Our life is to be God-centered, which also means that it has to be Christ-centered. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6 (NKJV). The “Way” to God is through Christ. The “Truth” about God and His Word is revealed in Christ. The “Way” to obtain “True” eternal life is through Christ.

With Christ central to our lives, having ascribed our life’s worth to Him as we live in this life, we can bear the following applications in mind from this Psalm:

Verse 1 – the fear of God is the cornerstone of all blessedness or happiness. Our heritage, as joint heirs with Christ is not misery, but joy. Walking in His ways is done in a practical sense, in that if our heart is joined to Him, our feet will follow hard after Him as His ways are blessed.

Verse 2 – When we “eat the labor of our hands”, we’re working and find a reward in doing so. We’re promised a blessing upon hard work and honest industry, our labor will be fruitful, and we shall enjoy the recompense of it.

Verse 3 – Thy wife. God sent Adam a helpmeet in Paradise as He saw fit for Adam to have a wife, Eve. It is still so to this day that the woman is no less necessary. A wife is a good thing. Not every man who fears God will have a wife, and that’s okay. But if he does have one, the wife is to share in His joy and happiness, the blessedness, and increase it, not decrease it. In addition, this wife is like a fruitful vine, and just as the vine was provided for grapes, the wife was provided for the children. This design on union has a purpose, and when done rightfully so, God calls this blessed. As a man lives in fear of God and loves his wife in a Godly way, this will enable his wife, even more so, to be fruitful in kindness, helpfulness, and affection. Even if a wife can bear no children, she can still bear encouragement, comfort, support, compassion, and these attributes make for a happy home for all. The children spring up around their parents and gather around the table. I think of my children, and that they are the most anxious at meal time, and I think it is a blessing to have plenty from the Lord to satisfy their hunger. There is a comfort here in this family structure, as our families are like gardens of the Lord. We should value the blessing of our home as the Israelites here are doing in this Psalm.

Verse 4 – A man is called blessed if he fears the Lord. Notice, it doesn’t say he’s blessed if he is married or has children, even though there are blessings that God has for those men who enter that domestic life and fashion their lives after Godly living. What is here is that a man, as an individual being, should have a fervor within him that seeks after holy living.

Verses 5 and 6- Zion was the center of blessing, and the people looked to Zion to seek mercy from God. From here, God blessed His holy people. As the text says that “thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem,…”, it can be implied here that we will see the welfare of God’s church and our home. In verse 6, it talks about seeing our children’s children. I think on this and realize that I no doubt want to see the welfare of God’s church and my home. Even more, what good is it to see my children’s children if my family becomes lost, without purpose, and I’ve not disciplined my own children to help them know about God and intimately know who God is. This is what I want to be passed to my children’s children. To see that I have passed down the pureness and knowledge of Christ to my grandchildren and all who come after me in my family. Living in the fear of the Lord is what enables this to happen. This brings comfort to see and know that this has been transmitted through generations.

Prayer

Father, help me to live in fear of you. I want my life centered around your good and perfect ways so that I can live a life of purpose and mission, to pass down your truth, your goodness and mercy, which was ultimately revealed and fulfilled through your Son Jesus Christ, as I live out this truth through work and through relationships. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!