Devotional Short Note to Psalm 128:
Happiness is the Lord. Indeed. Those who walk in the way of the Lord are those “walk
in His ways” (128:1c). In the synonym dictionary of Isaiah in Isaiah 43:16a-b “way”
is also “path”. “He who is crooked in his ways despises Him” (Proverbs 14:2b).
Then there are the directives on the Way in Proverbs 4:11 “I [the Lord] have
directed you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in upright paths”. “Watch the
path of your feet and all your ways will be established” (Proverbs 4:26). God
is “guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones”
(Proverbs 2:8). God decides what the standard of integrity is and He made it
simple with the ten commandments. He said that ‘My law is not difficult’. Says
the commentator Alexander: “who testifies his fear of Him by walking in His
ways or doing His commandments” (for pastors download the Psalm commentary of
W. Plumer 1872 from www.archive.org). Says
Plumer: “The genuine fear of God is not taught by human authority, not enforced
by human sanctions, but only by the laws and ways of Jehovah”. If one is enwrapped with God with arms
of faith and prayer grasping hold of Omnipotence as Ellen White pointed out,
one shall eat the labor of one’s hands and it shall be well with one’s soul.
Not materialistic wellness. Spiritual soul-wellness. There are denominations
today that are teaching their members the secrets of getting financially rich
is knowing God. This is a wrong expectation from the start. It is starting on the
wrong leg. Wealth is a bonus not an ingredient of God’s blessings. Eternal life
is the greatest and richest bonus ever given to someone. Happy? Definitely.
Peace with God and peace with one’s neighbors is a wonderful experience. The
soul who seeks to be cleansed from all vain thought and earthly desires
overcome with victories and joy too wonderful to describe. Faithful husband, “Your wife shall be a
fruitful vine in the innermost parts of the house, you children like olive
plants round your table” (128:3). Children can only be around the table if the
Lord bring in their hearts a consideration of parents. For a long time the
effects of secularism, modernism and post-modernism have separated the family
members in the house and hardly did children keep in touch with their parents.
Some only on a yearly scale. But with digimodernism in our existence it should
be able to call mother or father every day even two times a day, regardless the
distance. Are we? Since I left home I called my parents every night until the
grave took my mother in 2000 and my father at 83 three years ago. Non-stop
communication. Now the silence speaks memories and their voices are not still.
They still speak in my innermost perceptions. I still giggle at my father’s
funny narratives. A storyteller. Maleachi says that at the End-Time God will
sent the Fourth Elijah which will be the last one that will bring the fathers
back to the children and the children back to the parents (Maleachi 4:6). That
time is now. Is your smartphone out already? It is in this way that the one that
fears the Lord shall be blessed (128:4). From where will blessing comes? From
Zion, heavenly Zion (128:5a). “And will see in the good of [Heavenly] Jerusalem
all the days of your life” (128:5b) which is eternity.
“And see your children’s children, peace
be upon [spiritual] Israel” (128:6a-b). Scholars think it is earthly and ethnic
Israel but I tend to think not. The future imperfect used in 128:5a starts a
section that is future and for God to bless out of Zion means that He blesses
from His center and that is the sanctuary in heaven where His throne is and where
Lucifer tried to overtake His throne before creation. This psalm is then not
about material wealth and family happiness for the Jewish people in Jerusalem
and Israel in the Old Testament times. That is locking the psalm up cutting out
billions outside. This is not what the psalm says. God does not work with etnic
groups and dish out automatic blessings based on blood and race relations. It
is not grace by genotype. It is grace by SQ = Spiritual Quotient. Scholars did
not really know what the Psalm is for: Luther said it is for a wedding. Henry
says that it is for families. Hengstenberg called it a “flat and broken
discourse”?