Psalm 128
128:1. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD. The last psalm ended with a blessing—for the word there translated “happy” is the same as that which is here rendered “blessed”; thus the two songs are joined by a catchword. There is also in them a close community of subject. The fear of God is the cornerstone of all blessedness. We must reverence the ever-blessed God before we can be blessed ourselves. Some think that this life is an evil, an infliction, a thing upon which rests a curse; but it is not so; the God-fearing person has a present blessing. It is not true that it would be to him “something better not to be.” He is even here a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, whose heritage is not misery, but joy. This is true of every one of the God-fearing, of all conditions, in all ages: each one and every one is blessed. Their blessedness may not always be seen by carnal reason, but it is always a fact, for God himself declares that it is so. Let us cultivate that holy filial fear of Jehovah which is the essence of all true religion—the fear of reverence, of dread to offend, of eagerness to please, and of entire submission and obedience.
That walketh in his ways. The religious life, which God declares to be blessed, must be practical as well as emotional. It is idle to talk of fearing the Lord if we act like those who have no care whether there be a God or no.
128:2. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. The general doctrine of the first verse here receives a personal application: note the change to the second person: thou shalt eat … This is the portion of God’s saints—to work and to find a reward in so doing. God is the God of laborers. We are not to leave our worldly callings because the Lord has called us by grace; we are not promised a blessing upon romantic idleness or unreasonable dreaming, but upon hard work and honest industry. He will give us daily bread, but it must be made our own by labor. All kinds of labor are here included; for if one toils by the sweat of his brow, and another does so by the sweat of his brain, there is no difference in the blessing; save that it is generally more healthy to work with the body than with the mind only. Without God it would be vain to labor; but when we are laborers together with God a promise is set before us. The promise is that labor will be fruitful, and that he who performs it will himself enjoy the recompense of it. It is a grievous ill for a man to slave his life away and receive no fair remuneration for his toil. Some never enjoy their labor, for they give themselves no time for rest. Eagerness to get takes from them the ability to enjoy. Surely, if it is worthwhile to labor, it is worthwhile to eat of that labor.
Happy shalt thou be, or, Oh, thy happinesses. Heaped up happinesses in the plural belong to that man who fears the Lord.
And it shall be well with thee, or, good for thee. In walking in God’s ways we shall be under his protection, provision, and approval; danger and destruction will be far from us: all things will work our good. In God’s view it would not be a blessed thing for us to live without exertion, nor to eat the unearned bread of dependence: the happiest state on earth is one in which we have something to do, strength to do it, and a fair return for what we have done. This, with the divine blessing, is all that we ought to desire.
128:3. Thy wife. To reach the full of earthly felicity a man must not be alone. A helpmeet was needed in Paradise, and assuredly she is not less necessary out of it. He that finds a wife finds a good thing. It is not every man that feareth the Lord who has a wife; but if he has, she will share in his blessedness and increase it.
Shall be as a fruitful vine. To complete domestic bliss children are sent as the lawful fruit of marriage. Good wives are also fruitful in kindness, thrift, helpfulness, and affection: if they bear no children, they are by no means barren if they yield us the wine of consolation and the clusters of comfort.
By the sides of thine house. She is a fruitful vine, and a faithful housekeeper. It is her husband’s house, and she is her husband’s; as the text puts it, thy wife and thine house—but by her loving care her husband is made so happy that he is glad to own her as an equal proprietor with himself, for he is hers, and the house is hers too.
Thy children like olive plants round about thy table. The psalmist never intended to suggest the idea of olive plants round a table, but of young people springing up around their parents, just as olive plants surround the fine, well-rooted tree. The figure is very striking, and would be sure to present itself to the mind of every observer in the olive country. How beautiful to see the gnarled olive, still bearing abundant fruit, surrounded with a little band of sturdy successors, any one of which would be able to take its place should the central olive be blown down, or removed in any other way. The notion of a table in a bower may suit a cockney in a tea-garden, but would never occur to an oriental poet; it is not the olive plants, but the children, that are round about the table. Moreover, note that it is not olive branches, but plants—a very different thing. Our children gather around our table to be fed, and this involves expenses: how much better is this than to see them pining upon beds of sickness, unable to come for their meals! What a blessing to have sufficient to put upon the table! Let us for this benefit praise the bounty of the Lord. The wife is busy all over the house, but the youngsters are busiest at meal-times; and if the blessing of the Lord rest upon the family, no sight can be more delightful. Here we have the vine and the olive blended—joy from the fruitful wife, and solid comfort from the growing family; these are the choicest products earth can yield: our families are gardens of the Lord.
128:4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD. It is not to be inferred that all blessed men are married, and are fathers, but that this is the way in which the Lord favors godly people who are placed in domestic life. He makes their relationships happy and profitable. In this fashion does Jehovah bless God-fearing households, for he is the God of all the families of Israel. Family blessedness comes from the Lord, and is a part of his plan for the preservation of a godly race, and for the maintenance of his worship in the land. To the Lord alone we must look for it. The possession of riches will not insure it; the choice of a healthy and beautiful bride will not insure it; the birth of numerous comely children will not insure it: there must be the blessing of God, the influence of piety, the result of holy living.
128:5. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion. A spiritual blessing will be received by the gracious man, and this will crown all his temporal mercies. He is one among the many who make up God’s inheritance; his tent is part and parcel of the encampment around the tabernacle; and therefore when the benediction is pronounced at the center it will radiate to him in his place. Zion was the center of blessing, and to it the people looked when they sought for mercy: from the altar of sacrifice, from the mercy-seat, from the Shekinah-light, indeed from Jehovah himself the blessing will come to each one of his holy people.
And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. He will have a patriot’s joy as well as a patriarch’s peace. God will give him to see his country prosper, and its metropolitan city flourish. This favor is to be permanent throughout the good man’s life, and that life is to be a long one, for he is to see his sons’ sons. Many a time does true religion bring such blessings to men; and when these good things are denied them, they have a greater reward as a compensation.
128:6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children. He rejoices in the belief that other homes will be built up wherein altars to the glory of God will smoke with the morning and evening sacrifice. This promise implies long life rendered happy by its being continued in our offspring. It is one token of the immortality of man that he derives joy from extending his life in the lives of his descendants.
And peace upon Israel. We count it our own prosperity for the chosen of the Lord to find rest and quiet. Jacob knew little of peace; but yet the Lord delivered him out of all his tribulations, and brought him to a place of rest in Goshen, and afterwards to sleep with his fathers in the cave of Machpelah. His glorious Seed was grievously afflicted and at last crucified; but he has risen to eternal peace, and in his peace we dwell. Israel’s spiritual descendants share his conditions, but there remains a rest for them also, and they will have peace from the God of peace. Israel was a praying petitioner in the days of his wrestling, but he became a prevailing prince, and therein his soul found peace.
The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
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