Blessings on the Home of the God-Fearing (Psalm 128)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

 The ninth step in the progress of the spiritual life is to have a God-fearing home:  “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.”

Psalm 128 is tied in with Psalm 127.  They are joined by the word “blessed.”

“Psalm 128 follows Psalm 127 for the same reason as Psalm 2 follows Psalm 1. In both instances they are Psalms placed together, of which one begins with ashre (happy, very happy), and the other ends with ashre. In other respects Psalm 128 and 127 supplement one another. They are related to one another much as the New Testament parables of the treasure in the field and the one pearl are related. That which makes man happy is represented in Psalm 127 as a gift coming as a blessing, and in Psalm 128 as a reward coming as a blessing, that which is briefly indicated in the word rks, saka, reward, in Ps 127:3 being here expanded and unfolded. There it appears as a gift of grace in contrast to the God estranged self activity of man; here as a fruit of the ora et labora.—Franz Delitzsch.

Psalm 127

 ¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
   its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
   the watchmen stand guard in vain.
² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to^[a] those he loves.

 ³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
   children a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
   are sons born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128

 ¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
   who walk in his ways.
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 sons will be like olive shoots
   around your table.
⁴ Thus is the man blessed
   who fears the LORD.

 ⁵ May the LORD bless you from Zion
   all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
 ⁶ and may you live to see your children’s children.

   Peace be upon Israel.

Theme:  Blessings on the Home of the God-Fearing

Key thought:  All (male and female, every age, status, situation in life) who fear the Lord are blessed.

Key verse:  (:1) “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.”

How is God revealed?  He blesses those who fear Him by enabling them to eat the fruit of their work; spouse will be prosperous, as will the children; he will be blessed all his days and will see his grandchildren. 

Fear-of-God Expands Your Life:  “God's blessing makes life rich;
   nothing we do can improve on God.”  (Proverbs 10:22 The Message)

“It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich,
And He adds no sorrow to it.”  (Proverbs 10:22  NASB)

I am reminded of Joseph working for Potiphar.  The Scriptures say in Genesis 39:5  “ Cross references:

1. Proverbs 10:22 : Gen 24:35; 26:12; Deut 8:18; Prov 8:21

 “From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.”

 Barnes gives the following summary of Psalm 128:

(:1) “The blessedness of those who fear the Lord.

This blessedness is seen in:

(a) their success in life;

(b) a numerous, happy family (:3)

(c) being permitted to see children's children (:6)

(d) being permitted to see the prosperity of holy religion (:5)

(e) seeing the prosperity of Jerusalem; and (f) peace upon Israel” (:5-6)

Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 252.

Verse 2 says:  “You will eat the fruit of your labor.”  Labor is not a bad word!  As James Montgomery (1771-1854) said: 

Labour, the symbol of man's punishment;
Labour, the secret of man's happiness.

Verse 3:  “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.”  Here is a complete family picture:  husband, wife, children in the house and around the table.

Pastor Steven J. Cole shared a wonderful outline:

Psalms 127 & 128 show us

God’s blueprint for building a satisfying home.

Taken together, the two psalms may be seen as

Four stages in the development of a family:

127:1-2, Inception of home—“Foundation.”

127:3-5, Expansion of home—“Building on foundation.”

128:1-4, Child-rearing years—“Building material.”

128:5-6, Empty nest years—“Finished product.”

Psalm 127 says: A satisfying home is based on God’s blessing.

Psalm 128 goes a step further:

God’s blessing in the family is based on the fear of the Lord.

Thus, a satisfying home is based upon the fear of the Lord.

http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/101793.pdf

Solid and Secure Foundation (Psalm 127)

Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Let’s give some more thought to Psalm 127, verse 1

“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; “

The main thought is that we are entirely dependent on God for the entire process of building in our lives….for everything!  Everything that man builds will eventually crumble and disappear. On what are we dependent?

What would you list?  How about:

·        Life

·        Health

·        Strength

·        Wisdom

·        Ability

·        ……or to put it  plainly:  Everything!

Where do you think our breath comes from?  It is from the Lord.  Finances?  Sure, we work and earn a paycheck.  But who provided the job?  Oh, you say, “I got the job.”  You may have, but ultimately it was the Lord who provided.

We work hard…..but, it can all be gone in an instant…..destroyed by fire, wind, water, earthquake, war, or some other disaster.

We are completely dependent on the Lord.  He supplies all we need to live our lives.  We must acknowledge this.

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.”  (Philippians 4:19-20)

So what is this all about when it comes to spiritual progress?

It is about TRUSTING the Lord.  You can trust Him because He will do what He says He will do!

Can He provide for me in these tough financial days?

I can certainly say “Yes” to that.  The Lord has supplied all we have needed over 40+ years of marriage.  He has supplied finances when we needed them; healing when we have needed it; health when we went years without any hospitalization insurance; strength when we thought we’d not make it through the day.  I could go on and on and on.  God is faithful. 

Let the Master Builder build your life.  He will teach you how to build your life.

For example, Hebrews 3:4   “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. ”

On what do we build our lives?  It is on God’s Word.

Hear the teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 7, the story of the two foundations:

Cross references:

    ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Obey the Master Builder (Jesus) and the foundation of your life will be solid and secure.  

The Solid Rock

Words:  Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

Chorus:

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand


When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand by Avalon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7vodGhOaE&feature=related

Here is a "sing-a-long" version:

 

My hope is built on nothing less

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWdNgXSd46Y&feature=related

Story behind the hymn The Solid Rock

“One morn­ing it came into my mind as I went to la­bour, to write an hymn on the ‘Gra­cious Exper­i­ence of a Christ­ian.’ As I went up Hol­born I had the chor­us,

‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.’

In the day I had four first vers­es com­plete, and wrote them off. On the Sab­bath fol­low­ing I met bro­ther King as I came out of Lisle Street Meet­ing…who in­formed me that his wife was ve­ry ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an ear­ly tea, and called af­ter­wards. He said that it was his usu­al custom to sing a hymn, read a por­tion, and en­gage in pray­er, be­fore he went to meet­ing. He looked for his hymn-book but could find it no­where. I said, ‘I have some vers­es in my pock­et; if he liked, we would sing them.’ We did, and his wife en­joyed them so much, that af­ter ser­vice he asked me, as a fa­vour, to leave a co­py of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fire­side com­posed the last two vers­es, wrote the whole off, and took them to sis­ter King…As these verses so met the dy­ing wo­man’s case, my at­ten­tion to them was the more ar­rest­ed, and I had a thou­sand print­ed for dis­tr­ibu­tion.” 

Edward Mote
Let­ter to the Gos­pel Her­ald

Except the Lord Builds (Psalm 127)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

Another step in the progress of the spiritual life is to realize that unless the Lord builds the house, you labor in vain.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
   its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
   the watchmen stand guard in vain.
² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
   children a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
   are sons born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Theme:  Build

Key thought:  Children are God’s Gift

Key verse:  “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”

  

How is God revealed?  The Lord builds and watches; the children He gives to families are a heritage from him.

What an amazing Psalm! It deals with a number of key areas in our life:  understanding that "unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."  One area of interpretation is the building of the family.  The home must be built up on the Lord and He must be the architect and builder of your family.  He also gives rest to His people and he blesses families with children.  For, children are a heritage from the Lord!

Enjoy reading the Psalm.....meditating on what the Lord does.  Allow Him to build in your life.

Below are a couple of fine quotes which will be helpful to each of us.  Then scroll to the end and enjoy some music.

Verse 2 tell us that God gives sleep to those He loves:  “In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.”  The King James Version translated it:  “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809-1861) used this verse is her poem:

Of all the thoughts of God that are
Borne inward unto souls afar,
Along the Psalmist's music deep,
Now tell me if that any is,
For gift or grace surpassing this—
"He giveth his beloved sleep."
—

“God's blessing on his people as their one great necessity and privilege is here spoken of. We are here taught that builders of houses and cities, systems and fortunes, empires and churches all labour in vain without the Lord; but under the divine favour they enjoy perfect rest. Sons, who are in the Hebrew called "builders", are set forth as building up families under the same divine blessing, to the great honour and happiness of their parents. It is THE BUILDER'S PSALM. "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God", and unto God be praise.”  (Charles Spurgeon; http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps127.htm

"This Psalm puts together two proverbs (v. 1-2; 3-5) on God establishing “houses” or families. The prosperity of human groups is not the work of human beings but the gift of God."

⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

“At the gate: the reference is not to enemies besieging the walls of a city but to adversaries in litigation. Law courts functioned in the open area near the main city gate. The more adult sons a man had, the more forceful he would appear in disputes, cf. Proverbs 31:23 (Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.)  http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/127/

Charles Spurgeon ways of verse 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD.

 

“This points to another mode of building up a house, namely, by leaving descendants to keep our name and family alive upon the earth. Without this what is a man's purpose in accumulating wealth! To what purpose does he build a house if he has none in his household to hold the house after him? What boots it that he is the possessor of broad acres if he has no heir? Yet in this matter a main is powerless without the Lord. The great Napoleon, with all his sinful care on this point, could not create a dynasty. Hundreds of wealthy persons would give half their estates if they could hear the cry of a babe born of their own bodies. Children are a heritage which Jehovah himself must give, or a man will die childless, and thus his house will be unbuilt. And the fruit of the womb is his reward, or a reward from God. He gives children, not as a penalty nor as a burden, but as a favour. They are a token for good if men know how to receive them, and educate them. They are "doubtful blessings" only because we are doubtful persons. Where society is rightly ordered children are regarded, not as an incumbrance, but as an inheritance; and they are received, not with regret, but as a reward. If we are over crowded in England, and so seem to be embarrassed with too large an increase, we must remember that the Lord does not order us to remain in this narrow island, but would have us fill those boundless regions which wait for the axe and the plough. Yet even here, with all the straits of limited incomes, our best possessions are our own dear offspring, for whom we bless God every day.

 
http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps127.htm


Here is a "happy" arrangement of a song entitled Unless The Lord builds the House.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Mv1AyfncY 

The late Keith Green:  Unless The Lord Builds The House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qULtV42ft7s