BLESSINGS IN THE LORD
Psalm 128: 1-6
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Every once in a while, there are moments in the classroom when teacher's and students can relax and consider ideas and facts outside of the curriculum. Many times, these precious moments are more important than the subjects seen worthy of study. It is always amusing for me to answer questions about hobbies, habits and family life. More than anything else today's students find a quiet ordered life boring beyond comprehension. Or at least that is the immediate reaction. I do hope that upon reflection, the idea of having the same mother and the same father in the same house day after night might be worth considering!
What we may take for granted is now a minority option. New studies suggest that less than fifty per cent of families now follow the stable traditional model. More and more the general population is living what I would call Soap Opera lives. By this I mean, there is always constant turmoil, trouble and restlessness. In fact, some types of people absolutely relish this lifestyle so much so, that they will go out of their way to destabilize any quiet and orderly lives they might come across. I remember one student with severe problems who was able, allowed and encouraged to pull four other families into her psychotic cesspool.
This phenomenon is reinforced by humanistic counseling and modern conventional wisdom. Well do I remember when "guidance" counselors were first allowed into the public schools. They began to talk about the difficulties we should be experiencing with our parents. Then when I was in my thirties, counselors spoke to a captive audience of adults and described what they understood to be a common mid-live crisis experience. Within the year, quite a few people suddenly were able to justify divorces, abandonment and career adjustments. The very ideas of a "generation gap" and "mid-life crisis" have become self-fulfilling prophecies. In some places young people and middle-age people who do not share in these experiences are the odd people out. More and more I believe that humanistic counseling has become the major destabilizing influence on the lives of students and their families. This does not have to be the case, there is a better biblical model for quiet and ordered lives.
The contrast of family lives modeled on Scripture do impress those worldly members of society who truly desire something better than they have. All of those people who honor the Scriptural teachings do enjoy certain aspects of God's blessing in this life. Many people are mystified by testimony that such a life can be planned and enjoyed on a regular basis. Let us turn to a passage of Scripture that models this promised peace in the home.
Our psalm this morning is one of those titled "a song of ascents". These begin at Psalm 120 and continue to Psalm 134. While there are many interpretations, these psalms were traditionally supposed to be sung by those Jewish families who journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. This psalm follows after Psalm 127 whose theme is the idea that God is the foundation of any house. Here in Psalm 128 the house is now established and within that house there is peace. This psalm is a family hymn, a song especially for marriage, birth or any occasion of family happiness. Happiness and peace are the theme of this psalm. And happy should be the first word of the first verse here. This is the blessed state that our world needs again to hear about. Look there in verse one for the cause of happiness: [Happy] "is everyone who fears the Lord. Who walk in His ways."
How very much this essential wisdom contrasts with the worldly wisdom of our time. James Kennedy on his radio show once interviewed an author who reported that some professional sociologists have defined a new type of emotional abuse which should cause children to be removed from some homes. This emotional abuse is none other than telling children the biblical facts about the terrors of Hell! Now, we certainly would not dwell on this theme day in and day out, but we must honor the teachings of Scripture and explain carefully the whole counsel of God. Our eternal and present happiness are related to our need to fear and respect the Lord God Almighty. If we cannot train up our children to understand this essential basis for God's authority then the faith cannot survive.
So we must reject the worldly wisdom and fear Him who can cast those who fear Him not into the fires of Hell. In addition to respectful fear our psalmist reminds us that there must be a practical side to our faith as well. We must walk with the Lord as an old Hymn instructs us. And this walking with Him in His ways are the key to having a peaceful home. The next verse promises us the happiness of such a walk. There we see the fruits of practical theology. These are God's blessings and prosperity for hard work. This is another lesson that the world needs to relearn. That lesson that there is a relationship between labor and reward.
Unfortunately, too much of our business community is focused on quick wealth gained from manipulation and exploitation. The banking, business and insurance crises that are behind us or ahead of us are all based upon non-biblical approaches to prosperity. The current method for financing a college education is one case in point. I was absolutely shocked when I first used a computer simulation for tuition payments when our oldest son was searching for scholarships. To make a long story short: there are no longer any real economic incentives to save and make sacrifices. In fact financial decisions and planning traditionally belonging to parents and students are replaced by humiliating questionnaires which actually encourage deceit and dishonesty.
And yet, we know that eventually God's ways will win out and essential lessons of frugality, saving and planning are easier taught before necessity makes them absolutely necessary. So our children need to be taught how to work, how to save and how to spend the fruits of their labor. And the best way to teach these skills is for parents and grandparents to apply practical theology to these areas of life.
Our third verse stresses the partnership approach to having a happy home. The Hebrew here is full of images. The vine symbolizes fruitfulness, sexual charm and festivity. Here, the emphasis is on fruitfulness. The word for within may be better translated "in the heart of your house". The implication here comes from the courtyard construction of many Hebrew homes. In the side rooms around the courtyard could be found the responsibilities of wife and servants. The point here is related to the division of labor between husband and wife.
Certainly, these differ from culture to culture and family to family. In the country there used to be a common understanding that all work and upkeep outside of the house was the responsibility of the husband, while the inside belonged to the wife. Thus window washing time became a time of shared responsibility, with the husband on the ladder outside and the wife handing cleaning supplies out through the window. Each family needs to examine their strengths and interests as they find a fair formula for their distribution of labor. Conflict can come when people insist on doing everything the way their parents did. Especially when family differences are becoming so dramatic in our day and age. Harmony and happiness have to be planned and worked at! I remember hearing at Seminary of one family who broke up because each spouse insisted upon squeezing a toothpaste tube differently!
The next image of little sprouts is much like the advertisements of the Jolly Green Giant's progeny on frozen food ads from several years back. In our back yard, there was a continual growth of sprouts under our cherry trees. This same miracle of growth comes as the family circle grows larger with the little bundles of joy that God adds to every home. Our psalmist sees children as indeed blessings in verse four. And these blessings multiply our responsibilities beyond our home. It is a certain fact that the lives of our little ones will be broadened and expanded in the midst of a larger community.
I can remember in my youth when the family, the church and the school all pulled together as a team. My father was in a position of authority in all three institutions. Unfortunately those opportunities are no longer as comprehensive. Certainly we more than ever in this century need the prayer from verse five. "The Lord bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life."
In our time we need to relearn a hope for the prosperity of our city under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our PCA Church planter in the heart of New York city moved his family there in the midst of emotional struggles over the move. His work and witness there have been blessed beyond belief. Hundreds of people have come into Christ's Church and lives are being challenged and changed. One convert wrestled with joining the Church. He was informed that if he became a member he would be expected to live a celibate life or face discipline! After thinking it over for several weeks, he came back with the astounding understanding that if celibacy were the cost of discipleship, he might as well plan on getting married to avoid continual temptation.
Yes, we are challenged not only to establish peace, harmony and order in our own families but to encourage the overflow of that precious commodity into the world around us. In a peaceful environment we have real hopes of living to see our grandchildren. Given the normal lifestyles and length of life, this has not always been common. Yet, there is hope that God's peace may overflow from our lives into our families and thence into the world around us. Our psalmist closes with a prayer for blessing. "Peace be upon Israel". May God's peace be ours, our families and that of our community as well. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. |
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Foundation for Reformation. New Geneva Study Bible . (1995) Thomas Nelson, Inc. New King James Version. (1982) | ||
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Psm 128a |
19 August 91 & 05 April 97 | |