PSALMS OF ASCENT!

PSALM 128

Overview
A SONG OF ASCENTS. BLESSED ARE ALL WHO FEAR THE LORD, WHO WALK IN HIS WAYS. YOU WILL EAT THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOUR; BLESSINGS AND PROSPERITY WILL BE YOURS. YOUR WIFE WILL BE LIKE A FRUITFUL VINE WITHIN YOUR HOUSE; YOUR SONS WILL BE LIKE OLIVE SHOOTS AROUND YOUR TABLE. THUS IS THE MAN BLESSED WHO FEARS THE LORD. MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU FROM ZION ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE; MAY YOU SEE THE PROSPERITY OF JERUSALEM, AND MAY YOU LIVE TO SEE YOUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN. PEACE BE UPON ISRAEL. (PSALMS 128:06 NIV) BLESSED
The theme of Psalm 128 is blessing. What does this mean? Happy is as good as any other word in English and the message of the Psalm is that happiness is not far away. Now that is good news! Blessings are the theme of the Psalm, but they are also the theme of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We can go from Abraham to Isaac, then to the nation of Israel, to the disciples of Jesus, followed by the church and to all who will follow Jesus to the end of time - and it is a constant trail of blessing. It is all too easy to focus on the sin, the rebellion, the punishments, the evil and the pain of life and to miss the beauty, the hope, the joy and the love that are our experience. All this comes because of Gods grace - an abundant, overowing grace granted us by His love.

ALL AREAS
The Psalmist uses the word blessed to put together two ideas. The rst is that of being under Gods blessing as a statement of relationship with God. T he second is the concept of nding personal fulllment in life - from a spiritual perspective. The Psalm promises that these experiences can be ours (all who fear the Lord v1). Specically, we are pledged them in two areas of life: (i) In our personal life right here and now (verses 2-4): i.e. in our work and in our marriage and at home. (ii) In our public lives and in the future (verses 5-6): i.e. these blessing are to be experienced all through our life, and shared amongst our community and in our family. What will it take to inherit these promises? What kind of attitude is required for such amazing joy to be ours?

FEAR
We will need to cultivate a heart of reverence (fear) for the Lord. That alone is not enough. We will also need to walk right. Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. (Ps 86:11 NIV) This is the attitude that means we will eat the fruit, a picture not only of prosperity but also of security (see Jeremiah 31:5). Psalm 126 cried out for blessing; 127 claimed that blessing will not come by toil but by trust; Psalm 128 fulls Psalm 126 and conrms Psalm 127. God has blessings in mind and blessings in store at home, at work and all through our lives. The key to all the promised blessings is the statement of verse 1 - that of fearing the LORD and walking in His ways. We will dig into this more in the next article.

Malcolm Cox, email: malcolm.cox@iccmissions.org | ICC Missions on facebook | www.nwlcc.org