The Benefits of Fearing God (Psalm 128)
The primary focus of the psalm is not the blessings of family life (of which some are mentioned), but the blessings that come to believers through fearing the Lord. The English word ‘blessing’ or similar terms occur four times in the psalm (vv. 1, 2, 4, 5). The psalm may contain the words of a priest as he blessed the pilgrims who had gathered at the temple in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. And we can say the words to one another as we travel through life.
The first word of the psalm is ‘blessed’, which means happy. Happiness is what every person looks for, and in this psalm we are told how we will get it (by fearing the Lord) and what it will look like in several areas of life (in work, in the home, and in the church). Many today look for fulfilment in leisure, in individual pursuits and without God; such a lifestyle is the exact opposite of the way of happiness detailed in this psalm and we should not be surprised that happiness is the missing feature of many contemporary lives in a society that ignores the Bible.
Fearing the Lord – the means of blessing
It is also worth observing that the promises of the psalm are given to all that fear the Lord. These great promises are not limited to believers who have achieved great spiritual exploits, they are not confined to believers in prominent places in society or in the church. The psalm is describing an average believer (the author was aware that some believers would not marry and that others would not have children). The promises are given to every spiritually-healthy believer, because to say that a person is spiritually healthy is to say the same thing as to say a person fears the Lord. This does not mean that the promises will be filled automatically in the lives of such. Rather they have to take these promises and use them as arguments with God in prayer.
It used to be common for a Christian to be described as ‘God-fearing’, although I have not heard that adjective used for a long time. This was an aspect of Job’s character that was stressed by God when he pointed out Job’s lifestyle to Satan: ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ (Job 1:8). Although the psalm refers to a godly male, the same word is used of a woman in Proverbs 31:29: ‘Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.’
This fear is what the Lord wants from his people: ‘And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?’ (Deut. 10:12). This requirement of fearing God would have been in the minds of people attending the feasts because the Israelites were commanded concerning the Feast of Tabernacles: ‘Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess’ (Deut. 31:12-13). One reason they would have gone to the feast was to be instructed about the fear of God.
The Book of Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of both wisdom (9:10) and knowledge (1:7). This fits with the promise of Psalm 25:12: ‘Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.’ In that verse, the Lord promises to teach (give wisdom and knowledge) those who fear him.
Given that the psalm is concerned with the person who fears the Lord, it is essential that we understand what it means. Fear of God does not mean to be frightened into spiritual paralysis by the thought of God. Nor does it mean a servile fear, which is a response of a person who is trying to please God but who does not understand the meaning of grace. In servile fear, there is a continuing pre-occupation with God as a judge ready to crush us for the smallest failure.
Instead, godly fear means to respect him with reverence and love. Sinclair Ferguson describes this fear as ‘that indefinable mixture of reverence, fear, pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realise who God is and what he has done for us.’ This fear begins when we first understand the gospel and develops as we grasp more of God’s great purpose of grace. As this happens, we will know this fear in the manner that James Boice summarised such an outlook: ‘God must be taken seriously. He must not be trifled with. He must be, as he actually is, the centre of everything we are, think, or aspire to do. He must be the starting point for every project, the strength we seek for every valuable endeavour, the one we earnestly desire to please and honour as our goal.’
How can be know that a person fears God? The answer is given in the next line of the psalm: such will walk in God’s ways. As it says in Proverbs 14:2: ‘Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.’ Enoch and Noah are described as walking with God. He was their companion and enabler as they journeyed in his paths. The imagery of walking illustrates progress and a destination, and we have God as our upholder, teacher and guide along the path to heaven. This path is the way of holiness (Isa. 35:8).
But why does a person fear the Lord? The answer is that he does so out of his experience of the goodness of God. Because he has been pardoned his sin, he reverences the Lord; because he has been accepted into God’s family, he adores the Lord; because he can enjoy the Lord’s presence, he is careful about his behaviour; because he has been given the promises of God, therefore he venerates the Lord. We could expand the list endlessly. What is important to note is that reverence arises from experiencing the goodness of God.
The blessings we receive from God
Great promises are given in this psalm to the person who fears God. These promises are an example of what is described in Psalm 31:19: ‘Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!’
We have to remember that when this psalm was written, the husband usually worked from home (v. 2). If he was a baker or a carpenter, the bakery or workshop would be attached to his house. Even if he was a fisherman or a farmer, he was still regarded as working from home. Our modern world has detached a person’s employment from his or her home, and often members of a household don’t know what the others do in their work. But in biblical times, one could walk past a house and see the husband working at his trade, his wife busy in the home, and the children sitting around the house.
Work in the ancient world was usually done in order to provide the basics of life. The psalm promises that such will be provided to the person that fears God. This is an Old Testament equivalent of what Jesus promised in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’ (Matt. 6:31-32). The psalmist is telling his devout listener that he does not need to worry about receiving these basic requirements for life.
The next blessing concerns the man’s wife who is described as a fruitful vine (v. 3). An impression could be taken is that is meant is she will be fruitful in bearing children. But I suspect that is a wrong deduction. The vine in Israel was regarded as a source of refreshment, shelter and fragrance. That is how the man who fears the Lord will regard his wife. And just as the vine also symbolised joy, so such a man finds great joy in what his wife brings to their home. His contribution is to work for the security of their needs, her contribution is to provide the beauty of their home.
When there is such a husband and wife, then there will be happy children. The father is likened to an old olive tree around which younger plants are growing, partaking of his wisdom and knowledge. The imagery also suggests that as the plants grow, they protect the older tree which has become weaker through age. The idea is similar to the one mentioned in the previous psalm about children being like arrows fired into the future by the parent. They learn from the way their parents interact with one another, implying that they too are fearing the Lord.
Such a home is worth observing says the psalmist in verse 4. We are to behold it, to contemplate with wonder what the Lord can do in a home inhabited by sinful parents and children. A happy home is the blessing often given to those who fear the Lord.
Spiritual provision
In verses 5 and 6, the psalmist describes public blessings in addition to the private ones he mentions in the previous verses. The statements in verses 5 and 6 can be interpreted as definite promises or as prayer requests; probably both ideas are in mind because promises often are fulfilled through earnest prayer. In either case, those who fear the Lord will receive spiritual blessings from Zion. At that time, in the temple God dwelt in the holy of holies as the God of mercy. He was also the one who promised to protect his people from their enemies. Many other blessings could be mentioned. The psalmist says that these blessings will be lifelong.
What was pictured in the earthly Jerusalem is fulfilled in the heavenly Zion, and from there we receive great blessings: assurance, the fruit of the Spirit, the strengthening of our hope, the joy of the Lord, the peace of God, and godly sorrow for sin. These blessings come because we have in Zion a king with the authority to give them and a priest with the compassionate desire to bestow them constantly upon us. The house of God becomes a blessing to our homes when we fear the Lord.
The psalmist also mentions that the man who fears the Lord will see his grandchildren. No doubt, there is the family joy of descendants included in this promise. Further, and probably more important, is the fact that the presence of grandchildren would indicate to the psalmist the continuation of his family inheritance, which was very important to a devout Israelite because it indicated ongoing possession of the land God had promised. It points to us today being given assurance that our inheritance is kept secure for us in heaven.
The psalm closes with a benediction, probably originally announced by a priest in the temple. We are assured that the Great High Priest in heaven is also raising this benediction over us, ensuring that the blessings promised to those who fear God will come to us in both the spiritual domain of our private lives in our homes and our public lives in Zion. May he say to us at this time, ‘Peace be upon Israel.’