Psalm 128: Blessed

This is the sixth psalm that begins with a beatitude, “Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!” The most famous beatitudes are found in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount, but the Bible is filled with them. Deuteronomy, I Kings, II Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, even the book of Revelation. In its most basic form, a beatitude pronounces someone “blessed” and then explains the reason for their blessing. But if we look closer, we begin to see that each beatitude, whether in the Old or New Testament, is an announcement and an invitation, truth we need to hear and a promise that awaits our response. 

We’ve talked about this some during our journey through the Psalms, but what does it mean to be blessed? The Hebrew word that is used in verses one and two is ‘eser, it’s literal meaning is “happiness”. The way it is used in verse one is as an exclamation, “How happy!” But it is deeper than our usual expectation of happiness, which tends to be connected to circumstances, situations, feelings and experiences. This is a happiness that is found in satisfaction and joy, something that doesn’t come over you but becomes a part of you. Promises that can’t be shaken, that come not only from believing in but living from the character of God. 

“Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD . . .” Psalms, Proverbs and Job all say that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is not about knowledge, it’s about action, it’s not what we know, but what we do, it’s based in the heart not the mind, it’s the fabric of who we are not the accumulation of what we’ve learned. Our character is the result of our wisdom, but our wisdom is determined by our fear of the LORD. 

So then, what is the fear of the LORD? The fear of the LORD describes respect, reverence and wonder. It’s when God is always given the seat of honor at the table of my heart. Joseph showed us the fear of the LORD when he refused the advances of Potipher’s wife. He had been despised, disregarded and then abused but he didn’t allow his disappointment to cause him to disrespect God’s character. Hannah showed us the fear of the LORD when she chose prayer over bitterness, when she sought God rather than assuming her barrenness was the rejection of God. The Macedonian churches showed us the fear of the LORD when they chose generosity even when they were enduring extreme poverty. They were more thankful for their salvation than they were fearful for or frustrated by their lack. Even when it seemed they didn’t have enough, they gave so that others would have plenty. The fear of the LORD responds to who God is no matter how we feel, what we see or how we’ve been treated. It chooses to live for Jesus by living like Jesus. The fear of the LORD is when no matter what thoughts, feelings, fears or trials arise, God is always given the seat of honor at the table of my heart. 

The fear of the LORD is tangible, measurable action. The psalmist described those who fear the LORD as those “who walk in his ways”. In Isaiah 66:2, God said, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” To tremble at God’s word is not to literally quake but to be moved to obedience, to give the Word of God the place it deserves to cut, divide and judge the intents of our hearts. It’s not to be afraid of what God says, but to honor His voice with obedience. True faith, to truly believe in God is not just to take Him at His word, but to live in obedience to His word. 

The psalmist says that it’s obedience, walking in God’s ways that is produces the blessing, happiness and satisfaction that we were created for. He uses illustrations from work, home and community. This is not a promise that everything will be as we want it to be, but that we will be satisfied, that our hearts will be content because we will live in a constant awareness of God’s presence. Living in obedience means that our labor is never in vain even when it is hard because we are sure that we are working for God’s glory and according to God’s plans. Living in obedience, in the fear of the LORD means that our jobs are never how we make a living but where God has placed us to display His glory. 

It’s not just our work that we trust to be from God and for God, even our relationships, our communities our generations are His. God specifically provided Rebekah for Isaac, Boaz for Ruth and Joseph for Mary. But at the same time, He chose singleness for John the Baptist, most believe for the Apostle Paul and for Jesus. Were the married more blessed than the single? Were the single more chosen than the married? Weren’t they all content, satisfied and joyful in that they belonged to God and that He would provide for them? In Acts 17:25b-26, while in Athens Paul said of God, “he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place”. We are who we are and we are where we are by God’s design, for God’s glory and from God’s love. 

The fear of the LORD is obedience that is born from contentment in Him. It’s not being afraid of what God might do to us if we disobey, it’s not even the hope of what God might do for us if we obey, it’s when belonging to God holds the greatest place of joy, peace and hope in our hearts. It’s not that we don’t want the other things, it’s that we don’t need them, because in Him we have discovered and we now believe that we have everything needed for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). My obedience is a response to being completely content in His love, everything in me sighs, “Jesus is enough”. 

Speaking of Jesus, wasn’t that the reality of His life? For far too long we’ve allowed Jesus’ perfection to mean that He never sinned, but in Scripture, to be perfect means to be complete, lacking nothing. His perfection is not found in His sinlessness, but His sinlessness was found in His perfection. Jesus never sinned because He was content and complete in His relationship with His Father. He said He only did what He saw the Father doing, meaning, whatever the Father was doing was enough for Him. He even said that He didn’t speak on His own authority, only said what the Father had commanded Him, again, He didn’t need to make His own point, He was satisfied to make sure the Father was heard. Even when He faced temptation, He was hungry, Satan offered Him a way to eat right then, in that uncomfortable moment, but Jesus chose to wait, to be uncomfortable and to trust that the Father would feed Him. Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world in that moment, but Jesus knew those kingdoms would be His in the Father’s time and refused to speed up the process. Satan then tempted Jesus to prove His identity, to show that He was truly the Son of God, but Jesus did not depend upon any affirmation other than that of the Father and He was already and always convinced of that. Jesus didn’t sin because He didn’t believe anything was missing in His life, there was nothing more He needed for happiness or contentment, He trusted the Father and He made the active choice to be content by being obedient and to teach us how to reap the blessing of living in the fear of the LORD. 

Who holds the seat of honor at the table of your heart? Are there situations that must change, promises that must be fulfilled or opportunities that must come for your heart to be content and your joy complete? Psalm 128 is a song that the pilgrims sang while they waited in contentment. They knew that Zion’s blessing and Jerusalem’s prosperity would not be complete until the Messiah would come, but they also lived in the satisfaction of knowing that God would send Him at just the right time. While they were waiting, they believed that nothing was lacking because in God Himself they had all they would ever need. If your contentment is in question today, I encourage you to look to Jesus as your example and to remember that your blessing is not coming, it is found in your trust in and obedience to the Father who is Himself all the blessing we will ever need.