Psalm 128 "Like a Fruitful Vine"

Psalm for Today = 128:1-6

¹Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

    who walks in his ways!

² You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

    within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

    around your table.

⁴ Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

    who fears the Lord.

⁵ The Lord bless you from Zion!

    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

    all the days of your life!

⁶ May you see your children's children!

    Peace be upon Israel!

Comments:

In the previous four times that I have commented on this psalm, it seems that I always focused on some aspect of v.1. While verse 1 is essential to understanding this psalm, this time I am going to give a general treatment of the whole psalm… it is short!

This psalm should be seen as complementary to Psalm 127 and placed next to it in the collection on purpose. In 127, you have the emphasis on God’s gracious involvement as the cause of success, not man’s efforts. Here in Psalm 128, you see God’s blessing not so much in the sense of a gift, but more in the way of reward for our participation by faith (the fear of the Lord) in the relational work of the Lord.

What is this blessing it speaks of? I would say that it is the opposite of poverty. So, what is poverty? In the West, we usually define poverty as a lack of the material resources to take care of oneself and one’s family. However, this definition falls short. Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, in their book When Helping Hurts, develop the idea that poverty is sourced in broken relationships (with God, Self, Others, and the Rest of Creation) as a result of the fall of humanity.  They write that, “Poverty is the result of relationships that don’t work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings.”[1]

This psalm describes the blessing of God primarily in strongly affective relational terms, the intimate cooperation of husband and wife (fruitful vine), the gathering of the children around the table (like olive shoots), and the prosperity of the community (Jerusalem) is seen in the longevity and constancy of relationships. Success is seen not as a bigger barn, but as living to see your grandchildren!

If we see the Lord as he really is and respond in faith-filled love, his blessing will be working in our relationships to bring about his shalom! We are blessed and fruitful when we are in right relationship to the Lord Jesus, as he said in John 15:4-5,

^“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

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[1] Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself, (Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2009), 62. This concept was initially articulated by Bryant Meyers.