“Truth for Truckers” *June 8, 2014* Psalm 128 “Blessed
is everyone that fears the LORD”
This Psalm tucked away in the midst of the
Songs of Degrees has as its theme Blessing on the House of the God-Fearers for
it begins with this statement: ‘Blessed
is every one that fears the LORD; that walks in His ways.’ (v.1) In the
following verses the specific blessings are listed: ‘For thou shall eat the labor of thine hands: happy shall thou be, and
it shall be well with thee.’ Physical sustenance is promised but it comes
with the activity of labor just as stated in the New Testament ‘Work with your own hands’
(I Thessalonians
4:11).
Happiness is the fruit of laboring with
success, and physical and spiritual wellness are the results of this
God-bestowed happiness which is the ensuing result of fearing God, walking in
His ways, and enjoying the results of working. The blessing of those in the
family follow as the ‘Wife shall be as a
fruitful vine by the sides of thine house’ bringing forth the ‘Fruit of the womb’ and being fruitful
and multiplying thereby obeying the original command to the first couple, Adam
and Eve.
Children are likened to ‘Olive plants about thy table’ showing
that there are more than one and produce the necessary supply of a staple food
as illustrated here. That they are ‘About
thy table’ shows the abundance of offspring which demonstrates the certain
manifold blessing of the LORD. ‘Behold,
that thus shall the man be blessed that fears the LORD.’ This repeated
statement of blessing with the opening ‘Behold’
lays emphasis on God’s working in the life of this man who fears the LORD
encouraging us to grasp the truth contained here that we too might be blessed
in the same way.
In (v.5) the focus turns to the LORD’s
favorite place on earth showing that His physical blessing comes forth ‘Out of Zion’ the veritable home of God
on earth. An additional reference is made to Zion as Jerusalem and Zion are
often interchanged in the Scripture, here, with the emphasis on the city of
God, not just His earthly temple location. But, the promise to the God-fearing
man remains: ‘Thou shall see the good of
Jerusalem all the days of thy life’ which is certainly not the case today,
however, in this day all was well in this renowned city, the capital of Israel and the crown jewel of the Holy Land.
Then in (v.6) the blessing is compounded
as the promise of God brings another generation into view: ‘Yea, thou shall see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.’ The
gift of seeing one’s grandchildren is a priceless blessing that carries with it
the bonus of long life, plus this verse goes on to include the benefit of
witnessing peace upon the land of Israel which again was experienced in that
day. My wife and I now have eight grandchildren, what a blessing!
And, now, as we survey the world scene in
this new millennium, Israel is in complete turmoil with bombings and killings
almost every day, but when the Prince of Peace returns to earth, He, the Lord
Jesus Christ, will bring all of this chaos to an end, and then, during the
Millennium, when He rules with ‘A rod of
iron’, the land will once again know this great promise of old.
.
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