Word of Salvation – Vol. 40 No.16 – April 1995

 

Blessed Is The God-Fearing Family

 

Sermon by Rev. J. W. Westendorp on Psalm 128

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:22 – 6:4; Psalm 128

 

Dear Congregation.

Introduction;

There are some things about this psalm that will be hard for some of us to handle today. To begin with I need to apologise to our single members.

This Psalm quite specifically addresses the family.
The unmarried, the widowed and the divorced are all but bypassed in this song.
That doesn’t mean it’s totally irrelevant to them…
there are lessons here for all of us.
But this is not going to be quite as relevant for those living on their own.

Secondly we notice that the language is rather male oriented.
It comes across as a little chauvinistic in our age of sexual equality.
The blessing is pronounced on the man…
the woman is a fruitful vine.
The language reflects the patriarchal society of the ancient world.
Yet behind the language are principles
as up to date as computers and space travel.

Thirdly we are conscious today of concerns
about the so-called population explosion.
And while that isn’t a problem in the land of Oz, it is elsewhere.
We have all heard the doomsday predictions of world-wide food shortages.
And at the very least we know that our world’s resources are finite.
Today couples prefer not to have too many
of those little olive shoots around the table.

And then, finally, we have a problem with this Psalm in that it seems so idealistic.
It pictures a lovely idyllic situation where all is well
and there’s not a cloud in the sky.
It’s a psalm that presents the picture of a peaceful and harmonious family.
Fine… that is the way it ought to be…
but the trouble is that reality is so different.
Hard words between husband and wife…
bitterness between parents and children.

So we need to work at understanding this psalm properly.
Do that and then despite these problems there are some wonderful things to learn.

A.  THE WAY TO BLESSING IN THE FAMILY

1.  This psalm begins by pronouncing a blessing.

Blessed are all who fear the LORD.

We would say: Happy are they…!
They are to be congratulated who fear God.
But that happiness is not just pronounced on individuals.
It comes in the context of a song about the family.

So we could say:
Here is a formula for happy family living.
And that is really the basic theme of this psalm.
A recipe for happy family life.
A way of enjoying God’s blessing in your home.

The secret of that happiness lies in fearing the LORD.
You want to be blessed in your family…?  Then fear the Lord.

That idea is repeated in verse 4
There it is specifically spoken to the man as the head of the family.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.

The idea that happy people are God-fearing people
is something we find throughout the Old Testament.
The saints of old were God-fearing people and God blessed them.

In fact the Old Testament puts a lot of emphasis on fearing God;
Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the Lord is the way to an upright life.
Psalm 147:11 – The Lord favours those who fear Him.

In all these verses – and many others – the fear of God is seen as a great blessing.

At first glance that may seem a little strange to you.
How can you be happy when you fear?
Doesn’t that sound contradictory?  Fearing God…!
That brings up images of Adam and Eve hiding from God in the garden.
It makes us think of God thundering down from Mt Sinai and Israel crying out in fear.
We think of Isaiah seeing God on the throne and crying out:
Woe is me, I am ruined.

Blessed are all who fear…!  That doesn’t sound like happiness.
That sounds like: Blessed are all who live in terror of the Almighty.
God, after all, is an awesome God.

Then some might even say: Give me the New Testament any time.
As Christians we are taught that God wants to be our Father through Jesus.
That we become His beloved children through faith in what Jesus has done.
And fear and terror don’t fit into that sort of relationship, do they?

Well, maybe that New Testament picture helps us put things into perspective.
Perhaps we ought to read this Psalm through New Testament glasses.
Then this fear is not the terror of the creature before some unapproachable deity.
It isn’t the horror of appearing before a God who doesn’t want anything to do with us.
At the heart of it is this relationship of Father and child.
But that didn’t begin in the New Testament either.
In the Old Testament Israel is called God’s first-born son.

So what we are really talking about is awe and reverence.
The respect a child ought to have towards a parent.

In a sense this is simply the Old Testament way
of talking about a faith relationship with God.

So, the song writer says: This is the way to happiness and blessing.
To come before God as the One who has our respect and reverence.
That’s the secret for a happy family life.

2.  But there is another way we come to understand what the psalmist means.
And that is by understanding the way the Hebrew people wrote poetry.
For these people poetry wasn’t making words rhyme.
Poetry was a skilful playing around with words.
And one way they would do that would be by making parallel statements.
They would make a brief statement.
Then they would say the same thing in a somewhat different way.

You find that right throughout the psalms.

So in many instances you can work out clearly just what the song writer meant.
You compare the two lines that are written parallel to one another.
The second line will give you a new way of looking at the first line.

So the psalmist says: Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD.
And then he explains what he means by adding: Who walks in His ways.

So, one of the key ways to show that one fears the Lord is to walk in His ways.

To fear the Lord, then, is not first of all to tremble at the thought of His presence.
Fearing God is first a matter of obedience.
It is showing reverence and respect for God by doing things God’s way.
The fear of the Lord does show itself in action.
But that action is an obedient lifestyle.

So, the Old Testament often makes this link:
To fear the Lord is to walk in God’s ways.

The formula then for happiness in family living
is a fear of God that is demonstrated in living the way God wants us to.

Today you don’t have to ask what that all includes.

You can read about God’s ways any time in His Word.

That’s why it’s so important that we keep the Scriptures at the centre of our families.
We need to know God’s ways by knowing His Word.

And then not just knowing that Word but living out of it.
And as we do that our text tells us we will indeed be blessed.

B.  THE MEANING OF THESE BLESSINGS FOR THE FAMILY

1.  As we move on we see that the promised blessings are very specific.
This happiness comes in ways that are practical and down to earth.

When God blesses His people it is not just for the life to come.
Nor is happiness limited just to spiritual matters.
God’s blessing makes things different here and now and in day to day realities.

The first specific way in which God-fearing people are blessed
is in that there will be prosperity:
You will eat the fruit of your labour:
Blessing and prosperity will be yours.

The psalmist is saying: God-fearing people will enjoy what they work for.
Fear the Lord, walk in His ways and your work will be blessed.

Of course, we need to be careful at this point.
This song does not tell us that we will all be wealthy…
prosperity is a relative thing.
Nor does it say that you will never be unemployed or get a heart attack or cancer.
It is simply assuring us that God does bless… and we will be provided for.

That is a very reassuring thing.
We live in a world after Eden… a world wounded and broken by sin.
The thorns and thistles… and the labour pains of Genesis 3 are all too real.
We live in a world where it isn’t always easy economically to bring up children.
Where it can be a struggle meeting the payments for the mortgage.
Life can so often become so very tough.

So what’s the answer?

It’s the same as what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness
and all these things shall be yours as well.

That is the same as saying: Walk in God’s ways and you will be blessed.

So there is a reassurance here for us as we live in families in a tough world.
The Lord is going to honour those who honour Him.

Despite times of hardship and trial, God will bless us and we will prosper.

Some years ago there was a man with a very large family… twelve children.
A friend said to him: You’re real old fashioned…  like Jacob.
How on earth do you manage?
His reply was: I’ve also got Jacob’s God…
so we’ve never gone without a meal yet.

2.  A second way God blesses is in the various relationships within the family.
And then first of all in the relationship between husband and wife.

Okay, we need to look beyond the way the Psalmist expresses himself here.
He expresses himself in a way that was meaningful in their society.
So he is not saying that the wife’s place is in the kitchen – barefoot and pregnant.
True: the imagery of the fruitful vine
certainly pronounces a blessing on motherhood.
And in a day when children have become unbearable we need to hear that.

But the imagery is much richer than that.

In their culture a fruitful vine was a source of joy and delight.
So behind the imagery is a picture of a man
delighting in the companionship of his wife.
It is a picture of a harmonious and stable marriage relationship.
A relationship that is sound and that brings satisfaction and gladness.

Here we need to remember that this blessing in marriage has a condition.
It is a blessing for the God-fearing… for those who walk in God’s ways.
It’s for those who know God’s Word and who live by it.

Today we see the reverse of what is in this Psalm.

We see lots of unhappiness in marriage and many marriages that fail.
And it’s not accidental that it happens in a society in which there is no fear of God.
And where countless thousands walk in their own ways instead of God’s ways.

Here we see again that the Word of God is so very practical.
– It tells husbands how to love their wives… as Jesus loved His church.
– It tells wives how to love their husbands… as the church submits to Jesus.
And as we fear God and walk in those ways
there will be harmony and loving unity between husband and wife.

The other relationship that will be blessed is that between parents and children.  Again the picture is one of loving harmony.
And it is full of promise for the future.

Olive shoots around the table that become strong young trees.
Again keep in mind what olive trees meant in the Middle East.
A source of rich blessing.

So there is the joy of parents in relation to their children.

At this point, too, we experience the brokenness of creation.
There are generation gaps between parents and children.
There are wayward young people who refuse to follow the Lord.
And so many parents opt out of the difficult job of child-rearing.

John Smith of God Squad once said:
If you bungle the job of bringing up your children
it doesn’t really matter what else you do well.
That’s sad but true.

Today thousands are trying to succeed in business and in their profession.
But at home things are a disaster.

Okay our text doesn’t guarantee that it will always be easy.
Parents will still make their mistakes and children will go astray.
But yet the general truth promised here is that God does bless.

But again… please note that it is conditional.
The condition is that we fear the Lord and walk in His ways.

And His ways are very specific also when it comes to parents and children.
Children ought to obey their parents.
And parents ought not to provoke their children.
And where that is lived out God does indeed bless and prosper.

C.  THE COVENANT CONTEXT FOR THESE BLESSINGS

1.  Now the blessings in this song are not just for the private enjoyment of the individual.

The problem is that we could easily take all this in a very selfish way.
Here is a formula for success…
and we all want success in our families.
We do want to prosper and we do want harmony and peace in our homes.
And that’s all very nice… but it’s also rather “me” centred.

This song ends by showing us the big picture.

It is a COVENANT psalm for covenant families.

It is for those who belong to the community which is in partnership with God.

That’s what the covenant is all about: partnership.
God and His people working together to further the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.

So this Psalm is full of covenant themes.
It doesn’t talk about God… it talks about Yahweh – LORD in block letters.
In other words – the covenant keeping Lord.

And in that covenant there are always two sides.

In a partnership both sides have privileges and obligations.
God says: You honour your side of the partnership and I’ll honour mine.
You walk in my ways and I will bless you.

And the first reason for God calling us to do that in our families
is simply because God makes his covenant with families…
with children’s children in God-fearing homes.

At the core of it is not just blessing for me and for my family.
At the core of it is the issue of God who makes His covenant with families.

2.  So in the big picture of the last few verses our vision opens up to the Kingdom.
Zion… Jerusalem… the Kingdom of God… the church.
Covenant concerns.

In other words:
God is building something much bigger than
harmonious and blessed homes and families.
God is building the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was doing that right through the Old Testament
preparing for Jesus’ coming.
And today we are preparing for His second coming.

So the goal of this psalm is much bigger that me and mine.
The goal is the welfare of the whole people of God
and the prosperity of God’s Kingdom.
All working towards that moment at the end of the ages
when Jesus will renew all things.

So there is a beautiful interaction in those last verses.

On the one hand God blesses the covenant family from Zion.
– Here church and Kingdom are a blessing to the family.
– God enriches His covenant family through these means.

On the other hand the home will be a blessing for church and Kingdom.
– Happy and stable homes make for a happy and harmonious church.
– And in this way the Kingdom of Jesus grows and increases.

Let’s strive to be God-fearing individuals
and God-fearing families walking in His ways.

Let’s do that not only because that is the way God blesses us.
Let’s do it especially for the upbuilding of the church
and for the coming of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.