The Blessed Man – Psalm 128
The Blessed Man – Psalm 128
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 17, 2007 AM
“You decide if you are happy or not,” my father used to say to us when we were moping around. There are many in the world who do not understand this philosophy in life because they think that it is someone else’s responsibility to make them happy. Some folks place the responsibility on personal relationships and when these fail, they blame others. Some misguided people place it on things, and when these break or get lost, they blame their unhappiness on the product and not themselves. Still, others blame it on God and think of Him as a big genie in the sky who should grant their every wish because, after all, if He were a truly "loving God" He would give them everything they ever wanted! Happiness for these folks becomes elusive. The Psalmist relates for us where true happiness is found.
In our world today we often find ourselves asking, “What’s in it for me?” Sadly it is a selfish narcissistic preoccupation that is narrow in focus, however, it can be valid when we are looking closely at our relationship with the Lord. Here is what I mean: When we discover the spiritual truth that God blesses those who follow Him faithfully! Wow! I know this is not a new spiritual concept but a true one none the less. In fact it is one that can be life-changing if we make it a priority in our lives. The man who lives for God finds true happiness in life. The Psalmist did and he wanted others to discover for themselves what it means to be “the blessed man.” Let’s discover how this morning…
READ: Psalm 128
My Dad loved to read. And, he would read anything from newspapers to tin can labels. If someone left a book unattended, he would pick it up and read it. Magazines made their way to his bedside so he could read them before he slept. When asked why he liked to read so much, he replied, “It makes me happy.” I asked him one time what he would wish for if he had just one wish. He promptly replied, “Happiness and peace of mind.” Here in this Psalm we find the writer teaching us that the blessed man has discovered…
I. The inner happiness of a life lived for God! (vv. 1-2)
1. All who fear God understand who He is! Fear is not just a means of being afraid, but this fear is an understanding of who God truly is. He is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere, and all loving. He is sinless and holy and “all who walk in His ways,” will “eat the fruit” of their spiritual “labor.” The “blessings and prosperity” described here are the fruits of the Spirit a godly man displays: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) These “fruits” that are found in a man of God tell the tale of a life of inner happiness. He is truly blessed! This is why in the preceding Psalm the writer related that “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Jesus would say, “Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12:29-31) Jesus is not saying, “Do not work for a living.” Rather, He is teaching us that Godly men find inner happiness in a life lived for God.
EXAMPLE: Inner peace is not found by trying to be a better person. If this were true, then Jesus did not have to die on the cross. All we would have to do is meditate on our belly buttons or watch bugs crawl across a leaf and let our “minds go.” Kind of like a self-induced transcendental state. What this becomes is not inner peace, but a numbing of the mind and senses to the realities of life. My father had an direct response to this self-induced state of being: He would whack us smartly on the back of the head and ask, “Boy, what in the world are you daydreaming about?” God does not desire us to be numbed to the realities of life, but to understand that we can trust Him with our lives: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me…. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:1, 6 & 27) Men can find the inner happiness of a life lived for God!
We did not have very much growing up. It was due to the combination of my father’s poor health and his wandering spirit. He got bored easily and sought to keep his mind as active as possible. Sometimes, sadly, this meant he would go from job to job. However, one of the things in life that made him “blessed,” was his family. We were boisterous, we were loving, and we were protective. Sure, we had our faults, but our family was a place where we were loved deeply. The Psalmist understood this as well and we discover him teaching us that the blessed man has discovered…
II. The outward happiness of a Godly family! (vv. 3-4)
1. A godly man looks at life through those he has influenced! Notice where the focus of the Psalmist’s attention was. He realized that a husband who loves God first will have a wife that is like a “fruitful vine.” Where large families were prized in order that your retirement years were protected when you got older, the writer related that a godly man’s wife will be “fruitful.” Not just in bearing children, but in everything she does. The reason? She is not worried about her husband’s spiritual health. Her focus is not worrying where he will spend eternity or if they as a couple will be separated from each other in eternity. She is emotionally, spiritually, and physically secure because he is secure. And she can be “fruitful” in all she does because of this! In fact, a home where the man is a consistent godly husband and father, enjoys children who are “like olive shoots around the table.” They are growing, maturing, and secure in themselves and their relationship with God! How sad to see homes where the mother and father are at odds with one another. When this occurs the children usually blame themselves! Yet how wonderful to find a man of God secure in what he believes and is happy with himself and his relationship with the Lord. When this occurs you will find the outward happiness of a Godly family!
EXAMPLE: Too many husbands do a “disconnect” on their families either emotionally, spiritually, or both! When they do, their families suffer the consequences of their sin. Children are not emotionally and spiritually equipped to handle what the ungodly world throws their way. They end up doing what feels good at the moment. Wives look elsewhere for comfort and security: Either in extramarital relationships, through things – in spending more than the family can withstand -- or in seeking security by overly wrapping themselves up in their work or children. This is why Paul would admonish “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:25-28) And later he would write, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) It is the man's role in life. Like the Psalmist, Paul understood that blessed is the man who experiences the outward happiness of a Godly family!
I received a Father’s Day card several years ago that I have kept. It reads: “Dads know stuff. Not just the things like math problems or how to throw a ball – but that mysterious dad stuff, like when a wink, a high five, or a goofy joke is just what you need.” Yet, I have discovered that a dad knows more than that. They know when to give out hugs, when a shoulder works just as well, or when by just being there gives a sense of security. This is why so many children grow up insecure. They do not have a father to help them understand what security is all about. The Psalmist writes that the blessed man understands…
III. The security of eternal happiness! (vv. 5-6)
1. Security is found in the One who can keep you safe forever! Why would this be so important? The Psalmist prayed for additional blessings from God on the man who fears Him. The idea here is that those blessings include seeing Jerusalem prosper and living long enough to see one’s grandchildren. We discover that what we do as men of God not only influences our children and families, but it influences future generations as well and thereby the entire nation! The future of the world is in the hands of men today! What we believe, why we believe it, and what it means matters not just to our generation but to generations yet unborn. Jesus would ponder, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) The writer of Hebrews would warn, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. “ (Hebrews 12:1) The idea here being that we not only influence future generations but that we are accountable to those who came before us! Then, the psalmist also prayed for the peace on the nation. Why? He knew that one man living for God can change the course of an entire nation! David had. Jesus would. The only way Israel would know “peace” would be if its people knew the Prince of Peace! Eternal security is found in God alone. Many followed Jesus wanting to be fed, healed, or to hear him tell it like it was, yet to all of these myopic people Jesus related, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27) The Psalmist teaches us that a man is blessed when he finds the security of eternal happiness!
EXAMPLE: At a 1994 Promise Keepers Conference -- a huge spiritual rally for men that was a fad for a few years -- in Denton, Texas, Pastor James Ryle explained how the sins of the fathers influence future generations. When he was two years old, his father was sent to prison. When he was 7, authorities placed him in an orphanage. At age 19, he was in a car accident that killed a friend. Ryle sold drugs to raise money to pay his legal fees until the law caught up to him. He was arrested, charged with a felony, and sent to prison. While in prison Ryle eventually turned to Christ. After serving his time, he went into the ministry. Years later he sought out his father to reconcile with him. When they got together, the conversation turned to prison life. James's father asked, "Which prison were you in?" James told him, and his father was taken aback. "I helped build that prison," he said. He had been a welder who went from place to place building penitentiaries. Pastor Ryle concluded, "I was in a prison my father built." How amazing that a father's example can build a cursed place or a blessed place for his children to live. It can literally be a prison or a place of eternal hope! No wonder the Psalmist related that blessed is the man who understands the security of eternal happiness!
Conclusion:
Here in this Psalm we find the writer teaching us that the blessed man has discovered the inner happiness of a life lived for God; the outward happiness of a Godly family; and the security of eternal happiness. Have you discovered this for your life?
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 17, 2007 AM
“You decide if you are happy or not,” my father used to say to us when we were moping around. There are many in the world who do not understand this philosophy in life because they think that it is someone else’s responsibility to make them happy. Some folks place the responsibility on personal relationships and when these fail, they blame others. Some misguided people place it on things, and when these break or get lost, they blame their unhappiness on the product and not themselves. Still, others blame it on God and think of Him as a big genie in the sky who should grant their every wish because, after all, if He were a truly "loving God" He would give them everything they ever wanted! Happiness for these folks becomes elusive. The Psalmist relates for us where true happiness is found.
In our world today we often find ourselves asking, “What’s in it for me?” Sadly it is a selfish narcissistic preoccupation that is narrow in focus, however, it can be valid when we are looking closely at our relationship with the Lord. Here is what I mean: When we discover the spiritual truth that God blesses those who follow Him faithfully! Wow! I know this is not a new spiritual concept but a true one none the less. In fact it is one that can be life-changing if we make it a priority in our lives. The man who lives for God finds true happiness in life. The Psalmist did and he wanted others to discover for themselves what it means to be “the blessed man.” Let’s discover how this morning…
READ: Psalm 128
My Dad loved to read. And, he would read anything from newspapers to tin can labels. If someone left a book unattended, he would pick it up and read it. Magazines made their way to his bedside so he could read them before he slept. When asked why he liked to read so much, he replied, “It makes me happy.” I asked him one time what he would wish for if he had just one wish. He promptly replied, “Happiness and peace of mind.” Here in this Psalm we find the writer teaching us that the blessed man has discovered…
I. The inner happiness of a life lived for God! (vv. 1-2)
1. All who fear God understand who He is! Fear is not just a means of being afraid, but this fear is an understanding of who God truly is. He is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere, and all loving. He is sinless and holy and “all who walk in His ways,” will “eat the fruit” of their spiritual “labor.” The “blessings and prosperity” described here are the fruits of the Spirit a godly man displays: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) These “fruits” that are found in a man of God tell the tale of a life of inner happiness. He is truly blessed! This is why in the preceding Psalm the writer related that “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Jesus would say, “Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12:29-31) Jesus is not saying, “Do not work for a living.” Rather, He is teaching us that Godly men find inner happiness in a life lived for God.
EXAMPLE: Inner peace is not found by trying to be a better person. If this were true, then Jesus did not have to die on the cross. All we would have to do is meditate on our belly buttons or watch bugs crawl across a leaf and let our “minds go.” Kind of like a self-induced transcendental state. What this becomes is not inner peace, but a numbing of the mind and senses to the realities of life. My father had an direct response to this self-induced state of being: He would whack us smartly on the back of the head and ask, “Boy, what in the world are you daydreaming about?” God does not desire us to be numbed to the realities of life, but to understand that we can trust Him with our lives: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me…. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:1, 6 & 27) Men can find the inner happiness of a life lived for God!
We did not have very much growing up. It was due to the combination of my father’s poor health and his wandering spirit. He got bored easily and sought to keep his mind as active as possible. Sometimes, sadly, this meant he would go from job to job. However, one of the things in life that made him “blessed,” was his family. We were boisterous, we were loving, and we were protective. Sure, we had our faults, but our family was a place where we were loved deeply. The Psalmist understood this as well and we discover him teaching us that the blessed man has discovered…
II. The outward happiness of a Godly family! (vv. 3-4)
1. A godly man looks at life through those he has influenced! Notice where the focus of the Psalmist’s attention was. He realized that a husband who loves God first will have a wife that is like a “fruitful vine.” Where large families were prized in order that your retirement years were protected when you got older, the writer related that a godly man’s wife will be “fruitful.” Not just in bearing children, but in everything she does. The reason? She is not worried about her husband’s spiritual health. Her focus is not worrying where he will spend eternity or if they as a couple will be separated from each other in eternity. She is emotionally, spiritually, and physically secure because he is secure. And she can be “fruitful” in all she does because of this! In fact, a home where the man is a consistent godly husband and father, enjoys children who are “like olive shoots around the table.” They are growing, maturing, and secure in themselves and their relationship with God! How sad to see homes where the mother and father are at odds with one another. When this occurs the children usually blame themselves! Yet how wonderful to find a man of God secure in what he believes and is happy with himself and his relationship with the Lord. When this occurs you will find the outward happiness of a Godly family!
EXAMPLE: Too many husbands do a “disconnect” on their families either emotionally, spiritually, or both! When they do, their families suffer the consequences of their sin. Children are not emotionally and spiritually equipped to handle what the ungodly world throws their way. They end up doing what feels good at the moment. Wives look elsewhere for comfort and security: Either in extramarital relationships, through things – in spending more than the family can withstand -- or in seeking security by overly wrapping themselves up in their work or children. This is why Paul would admonish “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:25-28) And later he would write, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) It is the man's role in life. Like the Psalmist, Paul understood that blessed is the man who experiences the outward happiness of a Godly family!
I received a Father’s Day card several years ago that I have kept. It reads: “Dads know stuff. Not just the things like math problems or how to throw a ball – but that mysterious dad stuff, like when a wink, a high five, or a goofy joke is just what you need.” Yet, I have discovered that a dad knows more than that. They know when to give out hugs, when a shoulder works just as well, or when by just being there gives a sense of security. This is why so many children grow up insecure. They do not have a father to help them understand what security is all about. The Psalmist writes that the blessed man understands…
III. The security of eternal happiness! (vv. 5-6)
1. Security is found in the One who can keep you safe forever! Why would this be so important? The Psalmist prayed for additional blessings from God on the man who fears Him. The idea here is that those blessings include seeing Jerusalem prosper and living long enough to see one’s grandchildren. We discover that what we do as men of God not only influences our children and families, but it influences future generations as well and thereby the entire nation! The future of the world is in the hands of men today! What we believe, why we believe it, and what it means matters not just to our generation but to generations yet unborn. Jesus would ponder, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) The writer of Hebrews would warn, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. “ (Hebrews 12:1) The idea here being that we not only influence future generations but that we are accountable to those who came before us! Then, the psalmist also prayed for the peace on the nation. Why? He knew that one man living for God can change the course of an entire nation! David had. Jesus would. The only way Israel would know “peace” would be if its people knew the Prince of Peace! Eternal security is found in God alone. Many followed Jesus wanting to be fed, healed, or to hear him tell it like it was, yet to all of these myopic people Jesus related, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27) The Psalmist teaches us that a man is blessed when he finds the security of eternal happiness!
EXAMPLE: At a 1994 Promise Keepers Conference -- a huge spiritual rally for men that was a fad for a few years -- in Denton, Texas, Pastor James Ryle explained how the sins of the fathers influence future generations. When he was two years old, his father was sent to prison. When he was 7, authorities placed him in an orphanage. At age 19, he was in a car accident that killed a friend. Ryle sold drugs to raise money to pay his legal fees until the law caught up to him. He was arrested, charged with a felony, and sent to prison. While in prison Ryle eventually turned to Christ. After serving his time, he went into the ministry. Years later he sought out his father to reconcile with him. When they got together, the conversation turned to prison life. James's father asked, "Which prison were you in?" James told him, and his father was taken aback. "I helped build that prison," he said. He had been a welder who went from place to place building penitentiaries. Pastor Ryle concluded, "I was in a prison my father built." How amazing that a father's example can build a cursed place or a blessed place for his children to live. It can literally be a prison or a place of eternal hope! No wonder the Psalmist related that blessed is the man who understands the security of eternal happiness!
Conclusion:
Here in this Psalm we find the writer teaching us that the blessed man has discovered the inner happiness of a life lived for God; the outward happiness of a Godly family; and the security of eternal happiness. Have you discovered this for your life?
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