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Psalms 128

on Psalms 128

The Pilgrim Psalms

Each of these fifteen psalms is called “A Song of Degrees.” The Hebrew word translated “degrees” or “ascents” comes from a root that means “to go up,” as ascending a stairway. Ten of the psalms are anonymous, four are attributed to David (122, 124, 131, 133), and one to Solomon (127). These psalms were selected to form a “hymnal” to be used by the people who went to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts (Ex. 23:14—19)—Passover in spring, Pentecost in early summer, and Tabernacles in the autumn. The pilgrims sang these songs together as they journeyed in family groups to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41–52), and this helped to focus their minds on what the Lord had done for their nation. The sanctuary is mentioned in 122:1, 9; 132:7–8; and 134:1–2; and Mount Zion and Jerusalem are mentioned in 122:2–3, 6; 125:1–2; 126:1; 128:5; 129:5; 132:13; 133:3; and 134:3. Three special themes are repeated: (1) the afflictions that Israel experienced at the hands of the other nations, (2) the gracious way God cared for and protected His chosen people, and (3) the blessing of being in Jerusalem. Israel had suffered contempt and scorn (123:3–4), near extinction (124:1–5; 130:1), traps (124:6–7), bondage (126:1, 4), and affliction (129:1–3), yet she is still here!

Under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites were a nomadic people for forty years. But after they settled in Canaan, the Lord required them to go to Jerusalem three times a year. This reminded them that, spiritually speaking, they were still a pilgrim people and needed to depend on the Lord. “For we are aliens and pilgrims before you,” said David (1 Chron. 29:15; and see Ps. 84:5–7; 119:19, 54.) Too many believers today want to be “settlers,” not pilgrims and strangers (Heb. 11:8–10, 13–16; 1 Peter 1:1; 2:11). We are happy to settle down in our comfort zones and live as though Jesus never died, Jesus is not coming again, and our lives will never end. We are guilty of what Eugene Peterson calls “the tourist mindset,” content to make occasional brief visits with the Lord that are leisurely and entertaining, all the while conforming to this world and enjoying it. (See A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, IVP, 12.) Our citizenship is in heaven (Luke 10:20; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 12:22–24), and that should make a difference in our lives on earth. We need to “feel temporary” as we make this pilgrim journey called life.

Psalm 128

Because families traveled together to the annual feasts in Jerusalem, it is only right that another psalm be devoted to parents and their offspring. The previous psalm pictured children as a rich heritage and as arrows for defeating the enemy (127:3–5). This psalm uses agricultural images for both the wife and the children. In one form or another, the word bless is used four times, but it is the translation of two different Hebrew words. In verses 1–2, it is the word asher, which is often translated “happy” (Gen. 30:12–13), and in verses 4–5, it is barak, which means “blessed of the Lord.” The latter word is used by the Lord when He blesses people; the former word is used to describe the good that comes when people do that which pleases the Lord. Like 127 and Jeremiah 29:4–7, this psalm deals with protection (v. 1), working (v. 2), the family (vv. 3–4, 6), and God’s blessing on Jerusalem (v. 5). While the writer includes all who fear the Lord (v. 1), the psalm is addressed especially to the man of the house (v. 3). We see a happy man and woman as they go through several stages in life.

Psalm 128

Godly Believers

In the ancient Near East, marriages were arranged primarily by the parents, but the stories of Jacob (Gen. 28—30) and Ruth indicate that love was not entirely lacking in these marriages. Here we have a Jewish couple who truly feared the Lord and wanted to establish a home that Jehovah could bless. To fear the Lord means to reverence Him and seek to please Him by obeying His Word. In the background is the covenant God made with Israel (Lev. 26; Deut. 38–30). If they obeyed, God would meet their needs; if they disobeyed, He would chasten them. This is the Old Testament version of Matthew 6:33. It takes three to form a happy marriage: a man and woman who love the Lord and each other, and the Lord who performed the first wedding back in the Garden of Eden.

Godly Believers

Successful Workers

It is the Lord who gives His people “power to get wealth” (Deut. 8:18). How easy it is for us to think that our planning, skill, and hard work accomplished it all, but such is not the case. As we saw in the previous psalm, without the blessing of the Lord, all our labor is in vain. Each Jew was required to give tithes to the Lord, but the Lord wanted the workers to share the fruit of their labor. If the nation turned to other gods, one of the first places the Lord would send judgment was in the home and field (Lev. 26:14ff.; Deut. 28:30–34).

Successful Workers

Happy Parents

Both the vine and the olive tree were important to the economy of Israel, the vine providing wine and the olive tree supplying fruit and oil (104:14–15). A husband’s love for his wife is illustrated by the vine and the olive tree (Song 7:6–9). Jewish couples wanted large families and considered each child a blessing from the Lord. The phrase “within your house” refers to the wife’s apartment at the back of the tent, as far from the tent door as possible. The faithful wife is not unhappy in her own house, caring for children she dearly loved. The unfaithful wife leaves the safety and sanctity of her apartment and goes seeking for victims (Prov. 7:10–13). The olive shoots around the base of the parent tree, fresh and vigorous, picture the children around the family table. It takes patience to care for them as they grow, but the efforts are rewarding. How shocked those ancient families would be if they visited a modern home and watched parents and children scattering in all directions and rarely eating a leisurely meal together.

Happy Parents

Useful Citizens

The Jewish people are proud of their heritage and want to see God’s very best blessings come to Jerusalem. They realize how enriched they are from Zion. They long for each of their children to bring honor to Israel, and they pray for the peace and prosperity of Israel and Jerusalem. Many of the psalms end with a prayer for the land and the city (14:7; 25:22; 72:18–19; 106:48; 130:7–8; 125:5; 131:3; 134:3; 135:21; 148:14). True patriotism begins in the home, where love of God, family, and country are bound together.

Useful Citizens

Contented Grandparents

From bride and groom to grandparents in just six verses! How time flies! Three generations are represented in the psalm, and all of them walking with the Lord. We are so prone to remember that God judges the succeeding generations if they imitate the sins of their ancestors, but we must remember that He also passes along the blessings when the ancestors have been godly (Ex. 34:67; Num. 14:18–19; Deut. 5:9–10). It is often the third generation that abandons the faith (Judg. 2), so we must pray much for our children and grandchildren, that the Lord will keep His good hand of blessing on their lives for His glory. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (33:12).