For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage:  Psa 128

1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labour;
    blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    round your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
    for the man who fears the Lord.

5 May the Lord bless you from Zion;
    may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children’s children –
    peace be on Israel.

A. Find Out

1. Who are blessed? v.1
2. How will they be blessed? v.2
3. How will that be in the family? v.3
4. Where was the source of that blessing? v.5
5. How else is that blessing seen? v.6

B. Think:

1. Who will be blessed by God?
2. How will that blessing be expressed?

C. Comment:

                In this ninth ‘song of ascents’ the pilgrim is then lead to think about the life that will be blessed by God. Blessing simply means that God decrees good. First of all the recipient of God’s blessing: this will be the person who fears (v.1) or has a healthy respect for the Lord, honouring Him for who He is, and demonstrates this by living in God’s prescribed ways.

                Second, the form of this blessing: it is practical and it means that when the man or woman works they will prosper (v.2). Note that God does not bless the lazy or idle person, but the one who works.

                This practical blessing is also expressed in terms of the family: the wife will bear children, many children (v.3) and this in itself will be a sign that this man is blessed, this man who fears or has a healthy respect for the Lord (v.4)

                The intention that comes through this psalm is that blessing is something to be expected, something to be sought after and it will come from Zion (v.5), the place of meeting with God, because blessing comes from God Himself and, moreover, we may expect this blessing throughout the length of our life as we walk with the Lord. For the Jew, that personal blessing was linked with the blessing of Jerusalem itself, and the expectation was that that blessing meant a long life where you would live to see grandchildren (v.6).  God’s decree of goodness works in a very practical way for those who follow the Lord.

D. Application:

1. Trusting the Lord means walking in His ways.
2. When we walk in His ways we may expect His blessing.