The man who fears the Lord
[Psalms 128]
As we meditated on the words of Psalms 127 during the Wednesday prayer meeting last week, we learned that unless God builds our family, our church, and our country, the labor of those who builds it is in vain (Ps. 127:1). In other words, we have learned the truth that all the hard work done without believing in God is in vain (v. 2). But in Psalms 128:1-2, the Bible says, “How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.” In other words, in Psalms 128, the psalmist tells us that the labors of those who fear God will surely reap the blessings. Here we can see that Psalms 127 and 128 are interrelated. Psalms 127 encourages us to labor while trusting in God, and Psalms 128 teaches us to labor in fear of God. In doing so, our labors are not in vain and we can receive blessings from God.
In Psalms 128, it is said that the labor of those who fear God reaps blessings. What blessings does the Bible teach us that God gives to those who fear Him? Three things are taught in Psalms 128.
First, God blesses the industry of those who fear Him.
Look at Psalms 128:2 – “When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.” Last Thursday, I meditated on Deuteronomy 8:18 at the morning prayer meeting: “"But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” This is a part of Moses' message of warning to the Israelites, remembering that the land of Canaan that the Israelites would enter in the future is “a good land” (v. 7) and they would not lack anything (v. 9). The message of warning was when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, where there was no shortage, and when the Israelites had eaten and were satisfied, and had built good house, and lived in them, and when their herds and flocks multiplied, and their silver and gold multiplied and that they had multiplied (vv. 12-13), then their heart should not become proud (v. 14). When they become proud, the Israelites will forget the saving grace of God, who delivered them from Egypt, and will no longer listen to God's word, along with all the grace that He has fed, protected, and guided in the wilderness for 40 years. So Moses urged them not to become proud and forget the Lord their God (v. 14). This was Moses' concern. He was worried that somehow, when the Israelites went into Canaan, a land filled with salt and honey, and lived with full and abundant grace, they would forget the God of salvation and the God who led them in the wilderness, and think that they were now living in such abundance. In other words, Moses was afraid that the he Israelites might say in their hearts, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth” (v. 17). So Moses told the Israetlies, “you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth” (v. 18). We must believe that God gives us the power to make wealth. We must keep in mind that we don’t have power to make ourselves wealth. Only when God gives us the power to obtain riches, we can get riches and have abundant life. And when we enjoy the abundance through God's grace, we must look forward to and yearn for heaven, a more and more truly abundant country. When we enjoy abundance, we must never mistake this world for our home. We must wisely enjoy the blessings of God in this world (v. 16) while looking to a better home, that is heaven.
In Psalms 128:1-2, the psalmist says that in order to receive the blessing of material or industry, we must fear God. Looking at the words of Psalms 112:1, the psalmist says: “Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.” In other words, those who fear God greatly delight in God's commandments. Those who fear God keep God's commandments. And the psalmist says that those who greatly delight and keep His commandments are blessed. One of the blessings they receive is wealth and riches. Look at Psalms 112:3 – “Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.” Those who fear God and keep His commandments receive material blessings. In other words, those who keep God's commandments are truly rich. And the true rich people may not have a lot of wealth, but they always feel satisfied and give relief because they own God as an inheritance. If we aren’t satisfied with a lot of wealth, such people are slaves of greed, vainness, and stinginess, but never rich (Park). Because the saints who fear God walk in the Lord’s ways (128:1) and work diligently and hard (v. 2), God blesses their industries.
Second, God blesses the families of those who fear Him.
Look at Psalms 128:3 – “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.” The blessings God gives to the families of those who fear Him are wives and children. Here, a wife, a blessing from God, refers to the wife who works in the house without knowingly while relying on her husband by being gentle and quiet, which can be said to be the duty of a woman (Park). The word that this wife is “like a fruitful vine” refers to producing many children and nurturing them well (Park). Such a wife is truly a wife with noble character (Prov. 31:10-31) (Park). God grants such wife as a blessing to those who fear Him. That’s why the Bible says in Proverbs 18:22 – “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.” Of course, the “wife” referred to here refers to “an excellent wife” (12:4), “a prudent wife” (19:14) and “a wife of noble character” (31:10). It is God's blessing that God has made such a woman a wife. What are we to do with this blessing? This is what Ecclesiastes 9:9 says: “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.” Also, God blesses His children to those who fear Him. Psalms 128:3 says, “… Your children like olive plants Around your table.” Olive plants are big, beautiful and grow powerfully. The children like young olive plants, which are the blessing given to those who fear God, make us to think that young children in our families enjoy the joy of being around the table and have a good family life (Park). It is a truly beautiful family. As we dream such beautiful, God-blessed family, we must fear God. Then truly we will be able to praise the hymn “All Year in Our Home the Spring Breezes Blow” with our heart and thanksgiving: “One household, working till all work is done, Morning and ev'ning in love and good cheer; One table, with food and drink shar'd as one, This is our Garden of Eden right here!”
Third and last, God blesses the church, a group of those who fear Him.
Look at Psalms 128:5 – “The LORD bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.” The psalmist prayed for God to bless those who fear God in Zion. Here, “Zion” refers to the church (Park). It means that the blessings that came to the group (church) called Zion bring blessings to the individual believers within that church. This means that believers are also blessed because the church to which they belong is blessed by God first. Therefore, as believers, we must pray for the church to be blessed by God (Park). In other words, we must ask for the blessings of the church, the body of the Lord. The reason is because when the church is blessed, we are also blessed. In this way, God blesses those who fear Him. Not only He blesses their industries and families, but also their businesses and families by blessing their gathering, the church. Because the church is blessed by God, we want to see the children of our children (v. 6). We pray that we can see our children and descendants grow up in the church that is the body of the Lord while the church and family are blessed with the industry by fearing God.
How should we live in a world where there are so many difficult and suffering people amidst the economic recession? We must labor while trusting in God (Ps. 127). And we must work hard while fearing God (Ps. 128). When we do so, God promises to give us the blessing of the industry, the family, and the church. I hope and pray that you may receive these precious blessings from the Lord.
Wanting not to labor in vain while I am living in this world,
James Kim
(With a heart that wishes to trust in God and fear Him)