Psalm 128-130

Thoughts

Psalm 128

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the LORD. Song of Ascents 

Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

• blessing flows from fear of God
• The blessing includes provision from work and peace

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

• A “fruitful vine” could mean fertility, but also joy, kindness, happiness, affection

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.

• This does not guarantee the above blessings if you fear the Lord, but could be the psalmists’ blessings or desired blessings. 

The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!

• The focus widens from household to city to nation.
• Seeing grandchildren reflects longevity and covenant continuity.

Psalm 129

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth. A Song of Ascents

“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—
let Israel now say—
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.”

• “let Israel now say.” This is shared memory
• “From my youth” israel as having suffered oppression from its very beginning (Egypt onward).

The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.

• Israel’s back treated like a field.
• “Long furrows” long repeated suffering 

The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.

May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!

• The turning point of the psalm. God’s righteousness ends suffering

Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,

with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

• Rooftop grass sprouts quickly but has no depth 
• Their labor yields nothing worth gathering. Evil is ultimately unproductive 

nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

• The wicked receive no blessing, no shared joy, no lasting legacy.

Psalm 130

My Soul Waits for the LORD.A Song of Ascents

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

• “The depths” signals chaos,  near-death 

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?

• The psalmist pauses to reflect before asking for rescue.
• Who can stand before the Lord? 

But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

• Forgiveness creates fear (awe-filled loyalty, not dread)

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;

• Waiting becomes an act of faith
• This hope is  קוָּה (qavah, “wait/hope”) meaning tension like a cord pulled tight 

my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

• Watchmen long for dawn because it guarantees relief and safety.

O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.

And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

• “Plentiful redemption” there is continual redemption for all
• For the individual and the nation

Questions

Why is Israel “he” here and usually “she” elsewhere?

Application

Psalm 128 reminds us that fearing God produces steadiness in our life. We may not have dramatic victories, but we will slowly flourish throughout the generations. Psalm 129 reminds us that obedience does not remove suffering. However, we will not be defeated. God’s righteousness breaks the power of sin and will endure forever. Psalm 130 shows us a penitential psalm where the psalmist asks for forgiveness. We must always remember to confess our sins.