Where to get your blessing - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 128,

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots
around your table.
Thus is the man blessed
who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
and may you live to see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel.

This "song of ascents" begins with a beatitude and ends with a
benediction. A beatitude is a "state of bliss" (Merriam-Webster). The
online dictionary provides these synonyms for it: happiness,
blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, felicity, gladness, joy, warm
fuzzies (I find this one interesting for a dictionary...). A
benediction is an "invocation of a blessing".

The psalmist tells us the cause for the state of happiness or bliss he
speaks of is "fear of the Lord". Those who fear him will be blessed.
This fear is expressed by walking in the Lord's ways. The blessing is
seen in the fulfillment of reaping the rewards of work, "blessings and
prosperity" as well as a happy and fulfilled family life. In that a
person who fears the Lord is to be blessed, the psalmist provides his
invocation, that is, he calls for this blessing.

There is much more going on in this psalm than material for the
liturgy or the worship leader in a Sunday morning service. The
psalmist tells us the possibility exists for us to reap blessings in
this life from our Creator. Reflecting on that, and knowing that we
don't deserve anything from our God, from whom we have rebelled and
turned our backs on, is stunning to me.

If we make it our choice to fear the Lord and walk in his ways, we
will be blessed. To fear the Lord is to have reverence for him, to
recognize who he is and acknowledge his rightful position in our
lives. The Scriptures have much to say about the fear of the Lord. We
are told, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..."
Proverbs 1:7. Also, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom..." Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord has consequence in our
lives, "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from
the snares of death." And, it enables us to avoid failure and
downfall, "through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." Proverbs
16:6. The fear of the Lord brings its own reward, "Humility and the
fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life."

We are not guaranteed a prosperous life, a full and happy family life,
and we certainly are not promised escape from the frustrations,
challenges, heartaches, pain and suffering this life can provide at
times. However, during both the good times and the bad times, we will
be blessed by God, strengthened by him, and have all things work
together for our good if we choose to fear the Lord.

The psalmist tells us the fear of the Lord is expressed in walking in
his ways. What is his way? Paul tells us in Romans 3:20-22, "No one
will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather,
through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness
from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and
the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Fear of the Lord is expressed
when we embrace him in faith. Faith is how we "walk in his ways." So
important is faith that we read in Romans 14:23, "everything that does
not come from faith is sin."

Fearing the Lord is only giving the Lord what is due him. To think
that he blesses us when we only do what is appropriate and rightful by
him demonstrates his love and kindness to us.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com