Psalms 128

A Song of degrees.

This psalm is a side piece, or rather supplement, to the one preceding, to which it bears both a resemblance and a contrast, both constituting a completion of one design. In both psalms the family is the predominant theme, connecting with the broader relations of civil life and nationality. In both, also, our dependence on God for success in all our plans is equally prominent. But the contrast appears in this, that Psalms 127:0 is an admonition to those who would, in a godless self-trust, engage in the undertakings of life, while Psalms 128:0 pronounces blessings on the God-seeking man. The vanity of the labour of the one and of the blessedness of the other form the negative and positive sides of the argument the lights and shadows of the picture. That they both were written from the standpoint of the Hebrew doctrine that true family life and an abundant population, fearing God, are the glory of any nation is clear enough, and both might well be assigned to the same author and occasion. Most appositely, therefore, is it placed, with the pilgrim songs, among psalms of the latest date, suiting as well the special states of the returned exiles as the general spirit of the nation.