Psalm 128 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
² When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.
³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
⁴ Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

⁵ The Lord bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
⁶ Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!

Proverbs 16:31-33

A gray head is a crown of glory;
It is found in the way of righteousness.
³² He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.

The psalmist says:  How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.  Many people want to have the blessings and claim the promises of God. They want to walk in His abundance and prosperity, but they do not have reverence for Him and they do not walk in His ways. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 God says:   “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.”  You cannot claim the blessings and walk in disobedience. You cannot walk in disobedience and blame God for the lack of blessing. Each individual chooses their own way.  Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. 

In Psalm 37:3-6 the psalmist says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.  The blessings of God, include that we become righteous in Him. As we delight in Him, our desires align with His will. As we trust in Him, regardless of the situation or circumstance, He conforms us into His image and likeness. Romans 8:28-29 says:  We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. As we delight in God and trust Him, even in the difficult times, we become like Him. The true blessing of God is not that we receive all that we want. It is that He is all that we need. When we trust in God we have peace and contentment. We are more than just conformed to His image. In John 14:21-24 Jesus says:  “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”  With obedience to God, we also receive His abiding presence in our lives. What greater blessing could there be than to have God the Father and Jesus Himself abide with us?

The psalmist says:  The Lord bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!  In John 14:27 Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  In John 16:33 He says:  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  For each of you today, I pray Numbers 6:24-26 over your life:

The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;  The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.   Amen.   How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways. Amen.