Or, The Fruitful Wants of a Lord-Fearer
Scripture: Psalm 128:1-6
Date: July 6, 2025
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Sundays after Saturday weddings, let alone late wedding festivities, are a blessing of their own kind. This is the second such Sunday after a Saturday wedding of one of my own kids, and these big life events take up a big portion of heart and mind. So preaching something related seems fitting, and fits with where my heart and mind have been.
Psalm 128 fits. Cal and Bazen had us sing it during their ceremony yesterday; actually, Bazen walked down the aisle to the instrumental version of “Blessed the Man That Fears Jehovah.” It is the first psalm that I remember learning to sing in its entirety (so, different than just lines of psalms; “thou, O Lord, are a shield about me” 3:3; “as the deer panteth for the water” 42:1, and others). There is no psalm in its entirely that I have sung more times; I know all the words by heart (which is, of course, a key feature of singing psalms). Around our sabbath dinner table we typically choose between “Blessed the Man” and the doxology to kick off our meal. And I while there isn’t deeper meaning in it, it is providential fun, that in my Bible reading program Psalm 128 has been on July 5 for years (since around 1983).
There is no other song that has caused me to lose my hair more than Psalm 128. In my mind, it is the perfect soundtrack to Genesis 1:28, blessed responsibilities and blessed relationships. It is a Mike Tyson-in-his-prime punch in dualism’s throat; it’s blessings on earth not as we wait only for what’s in heaven. It is a blessing that challenges a man’s weltanschauung and changes a man’s mind about what it means to be blessed and how to get the blessing. In just six verses there is blessing for a man, his vocation, his marriage, his kids and grandkids, his community, and his eschatology, all wrapped up in jealousabile blessings.
While this could be a psalm that describes the fruitful life or fruitful labor of a man, I think a couple things from the song argue that this is a psalm that stirs up the fruitful wants of a Lord-fearer.
Even as “A Song of Ascents” it is a song of anticipation. The worshipers were going up to Jerusalem, and this song informs their anticipation of blessing. This psalm shows them what the blessings of the Lord look like, it portrays the blessings they should want.
The first part of the psalm is bookended with blessing: “How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD” (verse 1) and “thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD” (verse 4).
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
(Psalm 128:1 ESV)
There are two Hebrew words translated blessed in this psalm. Here in verse 1 and again in verse 2, it’s asheri, which emphasizes the happiness of all fearers of Yahweh (or as some previous scholars though to pronounce the Hebrew letters, Jehovah). Remember: the Bible doesn’t make distinctions between happiness and joy like we tend to do.
To fear is to revere, to fear is to worship, to fear is to live in light of the Lord like a planet lives in light of the sun. Everything revolves around, depends on, gets life from, the LORD.
These Lord-fearers are law abiders, as in, they obey. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” The words are sure, even if the typical melody to that song is more sentimental.
And, beloved, this is what it looks like when you pass by the home of the blessed man.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor
of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall
be well with you.
(Psalm 128:2 ESV)
This verse isn’t immediately about lack of taxation or financial exploitation, but it could get there after some application. This verse also isn’t about vacation, but rather vocation. You’ll be working, but you’ll see the harvest, or at least the paycheck. Fruit is added in translation; the original lyric is “you shall eat the labor of your hands.” Again, your hands will be dirty.
“Sweet is the sleep of a laborer” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Being tired is useless if the Lord doesn’t bless the sacrifice (Psalm 127:2), but with His blessing the labor leads to good. Being blessed sometimes feels like not sleeping quite enough, but it comes with some satisfaction.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
(Psalm 128:3 ESV)
This is a family psalm, even more, a father’s psalm.
Responsibilities and relationships, so what it means to be image-bearers. God said it’s not good for a man to be alone (Genesis 2:18), and an excellent wife is a gift from the Lord (Proverbs 19:14).
She may not always feel fruitful. Men, you don’t have to flatter, but you certainly better see all the things she’s doing that you would have to do (and likely in some cases do poorly) and be grateful for her fruit. Depend on it: harmonious marriages have spouses who are more thankful for their spouse than their spouse thinks he/she deserves.
Wives (and young women desiring to be wives), want to be this blessing. You are not merely eating the fruit of your labor, when you fear the Lord then the fruit of your hands brings you praise (Proverbs 31:30-31).
In the previous psalm children are “arrows” (Psalm 127:4, and “how blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Psalm 127:5). Here they are like olive shoots around your table.
The day after Maggie and Taylor’s wedding, in a message titled “Blessed Fruitfulness,” I said that I don’t think couples need to have kids AMAP ASAP = as many as possible as soon as possible. It turned out, by God’s blessing, that my first grandson was born nine months later. Praise the Lord, and also, we don’t have a “grandkid quota” to see who gets more of our stuff when we’re dead.
But kids are great. And they make more messes than oxen in the stall (see Proverbs 14:4). Trash. Dishes. Can’t find anything because your extra freezer in the garage is too full. A hundred tough questions that they ask, a hundred tough questions that you need to ask. And all are signs of blessing.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
(Psalm 128:4 ESV)
Look again at this picture; “lo, surely” (YLT), “yes indeed” (NET). This is blessed, the Hebrew barak. It’s not just filled with happiness but filled with favor and the favor is a strength for more fruit.
We praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow, and so we pray to the Lord for more. This part of the song must represent a priestly blessing, but we get to sing it on ourselves.
The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity
of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
(Psalm 128:5–6 ESV)
Zion calls to mind the Mountain where the temple was. It was, at that time, the place of God’s presence and strength.
The desire for the prosperity of Jerusalem, and even peace…upon Israel depended ultimately on the coming and ruling of the Messiah.
Your children’s children are your grandkids, who are called the “crown” of the aged (Proverbs 17:6). Generations make jealousable. They also are going to take care of you in your old age better than cats.
Two points of clarity.
First, ALL of this song applies to us, Gentile Christians in the church, who are NOT in Jerusalem nor are we Jews making pilgrimage to Mt. Zion. That said, Spirit-filled men will sing psalms (Ephesians 5:18), and so if we are to walk in His ways, then we must sing psalms. AND, as we get these blessings in kind if not in particular, God is using us to provoke a kind of jealousy for the blessings so that those who should be fearing the Lord will return to the Lord and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 11:11-15). Eschatology is about more blessings!
Second, these blessings are for the near future. John Calvin was nervous about this. I like John Calvin so much that I named my only son Calvin. And also, as an example of how we ought to keep reading the Bible, Abraham Kuyper showed how Calvin’s life work to clarify and praise the sovereignty of God meant that blessings were possible here not just in heaven. There are terrestrial, not just celestial goods. The implications of this are exhaustive and exhausting, but in the best ways, the blessed ways.
Could you be a workaholic and work instead of worship? Could you depend on your hands rather than God’s provision? Could you make an idol of love? Could you seek political success apart from naming Christ? Could you be a man “of the world whose portion is in this life” (Psalm 17:14) as a judgment from God? Yes.
And also none of those qualifications are here. So sing the psalm! Seek the blessings! This is what Lord-fearers learn to want, not what Lord-fearers fear to want. Blessed the man that fears Jehovah and that walketh in His ways.
Train yourselves for being blessed and to be a blessing. Bodily training is of some value, but godliness—starting with the fear of the Lord—is of value in every way. Long for the blessings of the Lord, in the present life and for the life to come. May the Lord bless you!
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine
upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance
upon you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 ESV)