Psalm 128 Part 1

Like Ps127, this psalm has a focus on God’s work in and through the family. This is significant when we remember that these songs of ascent were sung by pilgrims in family clusters making their way to worship in Jerusalem.

The proper honour and respect the creature owes to the Creator are described as the beginning of wisdom in many places (e.g.Eccl.12:13). It is to be expected that such wise living brings a blessing and that this blessing is available to all who honour and respect God. This is ‘the fear of the Lord’. They, therefore ‘walk in His ways’, not as a matter of feelings toward Him, but as a matter of a life of obedience. It is idle to talk of fearing the Lord if we act like those who have no care whether there be a God or not. God’s ways will be our ways if we have a sincere reverence for him: if the heart is joined to God, the feet will follow earnestly after him. In vs2-3The psalmist had in mind the hard-working farmer who enjoys the food of his own work. The vine was a symbol not only of fruitfulness but also of sexual charm (Song of Solomon.7:8ff) and of festivity (Judges.9:13).

What a charming cluster of images! The wife as a vine twining around the carved trellis-work of the inner court of the home – as though the woman gives the rich wine of life, which is love, as well as shadowing fertility and graceful beauty. Children, like olive plants, are sources of perennial joy. Olive trees take a long time to mature and become profitable. Patiently cultivated, they become quite valuable and continue to produce a profitable crop for centuries, longer perhaps than any other fruit-producing tree or plant.

These two images, vines, and olive plants are biblical symbols of abundant life. They are not food staples like wheat or corn. They symbolize rich blessings. We should however pause and note that they are the author’s desired blessing upon those who fear God, and not universal promises. They are not the only blessings of life. Jesus was single but greatly blessed.