Bible Commentary

Psalms 128:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

A sunny picture of the life era good man.

"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord," etc.

I. THE GREATEST, MOST INFLUENTIAL, RELIGION IS COMPOUNDED OF "THE FEAR" OF THE CONSCIENCE AND THE TRUST AND LOVE OF THE HEART. "The fear" is the elevating fear of offending against the highest law, and the strongest, tenderest love—one of the holiest feelings that Christ has generated in the new life.

II. SUCH A CONTINUATION RESULTS IN THE BEST, MOST OBEDIENT, LIFE. "That walketh in his ways." The "walking" in the ways of God is the habitual life of God-like ways—not any occasional outburst of righteous impulses or endeavors. The walk of a man in his settled character.

III. SUCH A LIFE GIVES HIM A LOFTY INDEPENDENCE. "He eats of the labor of his hands." He enjoys the satisfaction of living upon his own labor, and not upon what others have done for him. This entails health, competence, and the highest prosperity. "Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee."

IV. AND PRODUCES ALSO THE HAPPINESS OF THE HOME LIFE. The wife is the image of rich abundance; the children, of vigorous health. This is supposed principally to spring from the life and influence of the good man—his life is reproduced in the life of the wife and children; and they depend upon him, as the vine depends upon that to which it clings. The whole passage is richer in what it suggests than in what it pictures.

V. SUCH A MAN STANDS IN USEFUL AND HAPPY RELATIONS WITH THE CHURCH AND THE CITY. (.) He is blessed out of Zion, and sees the good of Jerusalem. Individual character is the center of all life, both in Church and State; and when each is filled with the power of Christ in his personal life, he helps to flood the life of the Church and of the State with the only enduring elements of the highest prosperity.

VI. HE REJOICES IN A HAPPY OLD AGE, AND IN THE COMPANIONSHIP OF HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN. The good man, whose affections and sympathies remain pure down to old age, takes great delight in children and grandchildren, and sees in them the pledges of future peace to the Church and the country.—S.

Psalms 127

Psalms

Psalms 129

Psalms 128 - psalms-128 - worlddic.com

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commentaryMatthew Henry on Psalms 128:1-6Only those who are truly holy, are truly happy. In vain do we pretend to be of those that fear God, if we do not make conscience of keeping stedfastly to his ways. Blessed is every one that fears the Lord; whether he be…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1-6EXPOSITION IT is not quite easy to see why this psalm occurs among the "Songs of Ascents." The sentiment of it is that true religion never loses its reward; or, in other words, that whoever fears God shall be blessed. F…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord (comp. Psalms 112:1; Psalms 115:13); that walketh in his ways. The psalmist assumes that true religious fear of God, and a good and holy life, will necessarily go together. The…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1-6Present recompense. It is quite certain that the true and loyal servant of God will be abundantly rewarded; it is not certain when or how he will receive his recompense. There are three spheres in which that reward may…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1-6The secret of the happy home. I. THE FEAR OF THE LORD. 1. This is not a slavish fear, but that reverent and loving regard to the Lord's will, in all things, which will make a man shrink from transgression. 2. He has thi…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:1Practical fear. "Feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways." "Let us cultivate that holy filial fear of Jehovah, which is the essence of all true religion; the fear of reverence, of dread to offend, of anxiety to pleas…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:2For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. This is the first point of the "blessedness." God's faithful servant shall enjoy the fruits of his own industry, and not have them devoured by strangers (comp. Deuteronomy 28…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 128:2The link between labor and reward. Labor is not a part of the judgment on man's fall; the conditions under which he has to labor may be. Labor is presupposed in the nature of man, and in his relations to the material wo…Joseph S. Exell and contributors