Read Psalm 128
A song of ascents.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children’s children—
peace be on Israel.
Editor's Note
Psalms 120-134 are known as the “Psalms of Ascent” or “Pilgrim Songs.” Every year as the Jews traveled uphill towards the city of Jerusalem to participate in one of the three Jewish festivals, these are the songs they would sing. They became a staple of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem back then and now they serve as a helpful template for us as we worship today.
Go Deeper
Psalm 128 gives us courage and promises what the Lord has in store for us if we walk in obedience. If you grew up in the faith, you have heard how obedience leads to blessing in this life. This psalm discusses in detail the blessing obedient, Christian servants will experience on earth before the ultimate blessing of eternity with Him.
The beginning of this psalm states those who fear the Lord and obey Him are blessed. Blessed means to be “endowed with divine favor and protection” (Oxford English Dictionary). As Christians, we know Jesus died for our sins and blessed us with the gift of eternal life. However, verse 1 explicitly says if we fear the Lord and walk obediently, we will see divine favor in our lives before we join Him in eternity. This favor can come in the form of successfully navigating daily challenges.
In these and other challenging situations, the Lord has high hopes we will respond in a way that is honoring and pleasing to the Lord. Fearing the Lord and being obedient can look like being a light to a coworker or asking for God’s wisdom when handling finances. By seeking His wisdom and obeying what He commands us to do, despite the difficulty, our efforts are rewarded in various ways. Verses 2-6 state what our main blessings would look like if we are obedient. The psalmist here knows that a growing, lively family is an example of a blessing the Lord provides a faithful servant. Throughout the rest of the psalm, we see emphasis on the Lord’s blessings as a promise to those who are obedient.
As Christians, we are not perfect. In fact, we never will be (at least on this side of eternity). Only God is perfect. That is why we need Him, seek His wisdom and obey Him throughout our lives. We will mess up. But, by heeding the Lord and being obedient to Him, we will see our reward. As we head into today, ask the Lord how you can obey and fear Him best. Seek His wisdom in prayer and push yourself to obey Him always, even when it’s difficult. The path to all of the blessings God promises His children is obedience.
Questions
- Why do you think the Lord calls us to be obedient?
- What do you think is one area where you struggle in obedience with the Lord?
- What is one step you can take to achieving obedience alongside the Lord?
Pray This
Dear God,
Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross for us. Your love is so powerful and vast, and I thank you for that. As I head into today, I ask for wisdom in my actions to obey you best. I pray for a convicting spirit when I disobey, so I may change next time and obey you better than before. I pray daily you will continuously use me and teach me how to obey you and fear you. I love you, Lord.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
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8 thoughts on “Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 128”
“Blessed are all who fear the Lord,…” – Psalm 128:1
Grateful for JP’s strong encouragement to read John Bevere’s “The Awe of God”. So much of what Mr. Bevere writes resonates with me; at the same time however, I believe some of my actions yet today unfortunately reveal that I need yet more knowledge of the ominous God who created us which will bring all of this fear business into its proper perspective.
I will typically read a proverb for the day, and yesterday was Proverb 21. Verse 24 says: “Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.”
Unfortunately, that was me up to age 50. The wake of that operating style did quite a bit of damage to my marriage and my family. Grateful for a gracious forgiving God who allowed the consequences of my arrogance break me; draw me to repentance; and forgive me of my egregious self-righteousness and pride.
The proper understanding of God, and the appropriate fear of Him would have prevented me from the prideful path I walked for so many years. But alas, as I have heard it said (Todd Wagner) “Your life will either be a warning sign to others of what a life looks like apart from God; or a beacon of light & hope to a world that needs Jesus.” (paraphrased)
Well, my life is now both…a warning sign and a beacon of hope.
Thank you Lord God for your grace and mercy to a wretch like me…
You have a beautiful redemption story, thanks for continuing to point the way to Jesus.
Fear and obedience, two cringe worthy words to our flesh, yet according to this Psalm, provide the way to prosperity and a long life. In Hebrew culture children were seen as a great blessing, not a burden. Sadly, in our world it is so much different. By the grace of God & his alone, we were given 7 “olive shoots” around our table, and by early summer we anticipate 16 of our “children’s children” to join us. What a joy and responsibility to employ the fear of and obedience to the Lord.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
The work blessed is the Hebrew word is bârak It means to cause one to kneel in adoration. It is not the same as “finding the right path” for our lives. That Hebrew word is ‘ashar’. We are to bless God with our lives with humble adoration. Bowing to our Lord IS bârak to Him. The word fear is the Hebrew word translated into ‘awe’ in the Bible is yirah (יראה, pronounced yir-ah). Over the years the word awe has become more romanticized into reverence verse what it meaning originally was is terror, dread, uproar, discipline, and restraint. The Awe of God book by John Bevere has a definition of the person who fears God has nothing to hide and he or she is TERRIFIED of being away from God. (pg12) We just need to enhance our intimacy with God so that we can walk in obedience to Him.
God thank You that I bârak, bless You in all that I say and do. That my life is an act of worship from the moment I wake up until I go to bed, I desire and am terrified of being away or apart from You. God help me to see all that I come in contact with through Your love goggles. God give me Your words to speak, give me ears to hear so that I can always direct back to You. God thank You for me blessing You in all the minutes of this day with my life and obedience in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!
Right there with you, Bill. “The Awe of God” by John Bevere has had a big impact on how I view God and how the fear of God can benefit my life. Most of my christian life I have “kept” God in a box. God literally has thousands of promises and benefits for us as believers throughout His Word. We are only victorious in the promises we know and live. Opening the “box” to acknowledge the majestic, awesome, fear of God and the minimal mist of my life has led me to an intimacy with God that is continuing to grow. Fear the Lord and be blessed.
Amen!
Obedience. That word is popping up a lot after last week’s sermon. Psalm 128 is a perfect connection and reminder of what God has in store for us in Heaven. It reminds me that my view or expectation of God was small while He was showing me just how big a God he is. I see His hand on every aspect of my life if I take the time tonLOOK!
6 “. . . peace be on Israel.”
Amen!