BLESSED WORK, HOME AND FAMILY

“BLESSED is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways” – Psalm 128:1

Psalms 128 dwells on the blessings God gives to those who fear the Lord, and in particular, the BLESSED HOME and FAMILY. This is important because the home and family are the foundations for everything else in society. If we do not know God’s blessing here, how can we ever experience His blessings anywhere else? However, few people are willing to follow God’s way to having a happy home and fulfilled family-life. The world thinks being a Christian takes away our joy, but they’re absolutely wrong. The greatest joys in life come from knowing God and living under His blessing. That in a nutshell is what Psalm 128 is all about. It builds off of Psalm 127, which speaks of the home and the city: “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Psa.127:1). Psalm 128 then focuses on home and the family.

The two psalms work together as a pair discussing similar themes but from a different angle. Psalm 127 is a psalm of trust that focuses on receiving God’s blessing as a gift; whereas, Psalm 128 is a psalm of triumph that focuses on gaining God’s blessing as a reward. Psalm 127 is all about God and His gifts to us; while Psalm 128 is all about our attitudes and actions towards God.

Psalm 128 tells us, “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD.” It then uses the picture of a blessed family to teach about that God’s blessing. The blessed family in this psalm is similar to the blessed person in Psalm 1, the blessed or virtuous wife in Proverbs 31, and ideal love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. We sometimes read these passages and are tempted to wonder if these could ever be real! Could life ever be this fulfilling and thrilling? True, this may not be the way life is, but these scriptures show us the way life ought to and can be. These passages of the blessed person, the blessed family, the virtuous wife, and ideal love are not meant to discourage us but rather to inspire us to greater possibilities.

Psalm 128 therefor portrays the picture of a happy home and presents the home as the center of God’s blessing. Blessed, happy, and God-fearing homes are an essential part of building God’s kingdom here on earth. The Psalm can be broken into two main parts: a statement of blessing and a prayer of blessing. Here, we’ll focus only on the first part (vv.1-4).

The theme of the Psalm is: “Blessed are all who fear the Lord.” The word blessed means happy, and true, real happiness in life is found only in those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. To fear the Lord means to be in awe of God’s majesty and approach Him with great reverence and respect; it means to take God seriously and put Him first in one’s life. Those who fear the Lord are those who walk in God’s ways: a right attitude towards God leads to right actions in your life. Although the example of a father and husband is spelt out, all who fear the Lord are blessed (Psa.1:1-3; 119:1-2). This is the foundation on which to build a life that is blessed by God. The psalm then shares specific examples of how God blesses:

God will bless your work: “When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you” (v.2). You will find fulfilment in your career, work, vocation or business, and it will provide for your needs.

God will bless your marriage: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house” (v.3a). The picture here is of a beautiful, thriving, flourishing, fruitful, and productive vine.

God will bless your family: “your children like olive plants all around your table” (v.3b).

By God’s grace, we shall be examining these dimensions of blessings more closely in the days ahead.