Proclamation:
“Blessed are all who fear The Lord, who
walk in obedience to Him. You will eat the
fruit of your labor; blessing and prosperity will be yours.” Psalm 128:1-2 (NIV)
Explanation:
The words of this psalm were written under
the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.
The human author of this psalm of ascent is probably the same as the
author of the previous psalm, Psalm 127, given the similar focus on the
family. Blessed is the family in which
all members fear The Lord God and follow His ways. The husband will prosper and provide, the
wife will be fruitful when she is supported, and the children will honor and follow
the lead of their parents. (Psalm 128:1-4)
This is similar to the blessing on the family offered in Psalm
112:1-3. The psalmist ends this psalm by
offering a prayer for the blessings of prosperity and a long life, long enough
for one to see their grand-children and to enjoy the delight they give.
Application:
Repeatedly we are told that blessed is the
man who walks uprightly and follows The Lord God. (Psalm 1:1, Psalm 15:2, Psalm
101:6, Psalm 128:1, Proverbs 10:9, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:2, Proverbs
19:1, Proverbs 28:6, and Isaiah 33:15) It
has been said, “Before the fall, paradise was man’s home. After the fall, the home is man’s paradise.”
(Author unknown) However, the home can
be either be a paradise or the exact opposite if The Lord God is not in it. (Proverbs
21:9 and 25:24) If the reverential fear
of The Lord God is not in the home and His Holy Word is not followed there,
that home will not be happy or peaceful.
The family is blessed when all members of the family revere and obey The
Word of God. They are blessed with
provisions, prosperity, productive partners, and flourishing progeny in
addition to a long life.
