Instead of asking you to think about the two usual questions, Stephen has written a reflection on today’s psalms.
Psalm 128
A song of ascents.
1 How blessed is every one of the LORD’s loyal followers,
each one who keeps his commands.
2 You will eat what you worked so hard to grow.
You will be blessed and secure.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children will be like olive branches,
as they sit all around your table.
4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the LORD
will be blessed in this way.
5 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
that you might see Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and that you might see your grandchildren.
May Israel experience peace.
Psalm 129
A song of ascents.
1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The LORD is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,
“May you experience the LORD’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the LORD.”
REFLECTIONS
One thing to remember as you reflect on the Psalms in the light of Jesus is that Old Testament believers were mostly expecting material blessings from God in this life, like abundant food, fruitful work, and a rich family life. We were made for those blessings, and when we experience them we should receive them with thankfulness as expressions of God’s generosity.
But unlike Old Testament believers, we don’t get our hopes up or necessarily expect that God will provide us with those things. That’s not because we’re more pessimistic or have less faith. It’s because Jesus rose from the dead, and that gives us a completely new perspective: We look forward to the full experience of God’s blessing when Christ returns and raises us in glory. We expect less of this life, because we know so much more of the hope that is “stored up for us in heaven” (Colossians 1:5). We might not fully understand what the new creation will be like, but it will involve true enjoyment of every material blessing – like feasting and family.
Those are especially important truths to remember when we hear the Psalmists talk about God’s blessings for his people. For some, Psalms 127 (yesterday) and 128 (today) might be hard to read, because they seem to suggest that if you don’t have a spouse and children, you’re missing out on God’s blessing.
Not only does Jesus’ resurrection turn that upside down, but in God’s kindness, he sent us a Saviour who was both single and childless. So when we read these Psalms in the light of Jesus, we can know that they describe rich blessings that are for all God’s children – but (hopefully) we won’t make the mistake of thinking the little “entrée” blessings of this life are the full promise.
And yet … there is one extra blessing of family in this time of waiting: The family of Christ’s church. Children are a gift from the Lord, as the Psalmists say. But we all have received the precious gift of being children and brothers and sisters (and parents and aunts and uncles) in Christ’s family, because through his resurrection, “Jesus is not ashamed to call [us] brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11).
With all that in mind: What parts of your perspective on life do you need to shift in light of Jesus’ resurrection? And what’s one thing you could change to treat your brother and sisters at church more as family?
