Psalm CXXVIII
A Song of degrees.
1 Blessed is every one thar fcareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: Thy children like olive-plants round about thy table.
4 Behold, that thus shall the man he blessed that feareth the Lord!
5 The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion:
And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.
The Lord s
blessing.
396 PSA. C’XXVIII. — BLESSEDNESS OF THE FEARERS OF JEHOVAH.
Luther calls this, “A wedding-song for Christians.” It may be so used; but it is more. Attention to every duty, and, among the rest, attention to the Lord’s ordinances and solemn feasts, is the means of prosperity. As in last Psalm the worshipper’s words were to this effect, “Take no thought what ye shall eat; for which of you by taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?” (Matt. vi. 27), so in this Psalm the worshipper seems to sing, “Seek Jirst the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you,” (Matt. vi. 33).
“Blessed is exery fearer of the Lord!
Every walker in his ways!”
And then, to shew more personal sympathy with the man, the Psalmist looks in his face and says, “For thou shalt eat the labour of thy hands.” Instead of the frown spoken of in Lev. xxvi. 10, Deut. xxviii. 30-36, he shall surely eat what he laboured for; his wife is like a vine by the house sides, yieldingits clusters and its shade; her children are not brambles, but like the useful olive-tree that served “God and man” (Judges ix. 9), also surround the family-table with cheerful faces.
“Behold! (note it) For thus is the man wont to he blest whofeareth the Lord. Jehovah is wont to bless thee out of Z ion.’” (Ver. 4, 5.)
Then follows the imperative HNI’ll, as if it were the very words
of the uttered benediction —
“And (shall say), See thou the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life; Yea, see thy children’s children.”
And then the benediction uttered before at the close of Psalm cxxv. closes all — “Peace upon Israel! “In such strains the well-satisfied worshipper encourages his fellows, rich or poor. In such strains the Lord Jesus used to admonish his band of pilgrim-like followers, telling them that not one of them that left father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for his sake and the gospel, but would receive a hundredfold even in this life,” (Matt. xix. 29; Luke xviii. SO). And when he added, “I71 the world to come life everlasting,” explained as it had been by his having just promised to the twelve a seat on the twelve rSA. CXXIX. — REVIEW OF PAST SUFFKIUNG, INSPIRING HOPE, ,S97
thrones, in the day of The Regeneration, was it not the equivalent of the priestly benediction, “Peace upon Israel?” That shall be the issue of service now; for thus
The Lord’s servant pronounces the present and future blessedness of the fearers of the Lord.