诗篇 128:1

PSALM 128

THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE FAMILY THAT FEARS THE LORD

The theme of these six brief verses is, "Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah, that walketh in his ways" (Psalms 128:1), the same thought being repeated in Psalms 128:4.

The date, occasion and authorship are unknown.

Delitzsch pointed out that, "Psalms 127 and Psalms 128 supplement each other."[1] The happiness and prosperity that men desire is represented in Psalms 127 as "a gift of God," whereas in Psalms 128 they are seen as a reward. Psalms 127 stresses the gifts of God's grace, `while his beloved sleeps,' as contrasted with the fruitless `day and night' activities of wicked men; and here God's blessings are seen as a reward of a faith that works through love.

Barnes gives the following summary of what the psalm says.

It states in general (Psalms 128:1) the blessedness of those who fear the Lord. This blessedness is seen in: (a) their success in life; (b) a numerous, happy family (Psalms 128:3); (c) being permitted to see children's children (Psalms 128:6); (d) being permitted to see the prosperity of holy religion (Psalms 128:5); (e) seeing the prosperity of Jerusalem; and (f) peace upon Israel (Psalms 128:5-6).[2]

Psalms 128:1-2

"Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah,

That walketh in his ways.

For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands:

Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee."

As noted above, the first verse here is a concise statement of the theme of the psalm.

"Thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands" (Psalms 128:2). In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the work ethic is a cardinal principle of God's will for mankind. Even in Eden God assigned Adam work to do; and in the Decalogue, even ahead of the sabbath commandment, there thunders the commandment, "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work."

The society in which we live today has spawned a whole generation of people who expect to live by the fruit of other men's labors; but an apostle has written, "If a man will not work, neither let him eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

The first blessing which is mentioned here as belonging to the man who fears God and walks in his ways is that he shall indeed have his "daily bread." "To know that one's own hands have toiled for it always adds to the satisfaction of enjoying the blessing."[3]

Furthermore, the fact of one's having worked for his food should not be allowed to obscure the truth that it is actually the blessing of God. Many godly men can look back upon a lifetime of God's provisions for them.