Psalm 128

Introduction.—Ps. 128 is an idyllic picture of family piety and felicity..

On the superscription see Introduction to Ps. 120; also pp. 625, 627.

1. Blessed. See on Ps. 1:1.

That feareth. The fear of God is the foundation of all true happiness. This is not the shuddering fear that comes from conscious guilt, but the fear that arises from an ardent love and profound reverence for God.

2. Labour of thine hands. The industry of the good man is blessed and the diligent toiler enjoys a recompense for his labor. The Scriptures give no sanction to indolence but everywhere uphold the dignity of labor. Man’s life of toil and care was appointed in love (see PP 60), as a protection to him in his fallen state (see on Gen. 3:17–19).

3. Fruitful vine. The fruitfulness, gracefulness, and dependence for support of the vine is a fitting symbol of the loyal wife and mother in the home.

Olive plants. The Hebrews considered the vine and the olive among earth’s choicest fruits. So a noble wife and dutiful children are the greatest gifts that a man can possess on this earth.

4. Blessed. Not only is the good man blessed himself; he is a blessing to all around him.

5. The good of Jerusalem. As the Hebrews kept continually before them the prosperity of Jerusalem, so the Christian will constantly work for the upbuilding of God’s church on earth.

6. Children’s children. The man who fears the Lord will live to a ripe old age and see his family perpetuated.

Peace upon Israel. It is preferable to take these words as a parting benediction, “Peace be upon Israel.”

Ellen G. White comments

1 CS 155

1, 2 4T 495

psalm 129introduction.—ps. 129 is a song celebrating national deliverance. The psalmist speaks of the trials through which Israel as a nation had passed and of how the Lord interposed on their behalf and brought confusion to their enemies. It is a song of the countryside and has many allusions to agricultural pursuits. The precise historical incident that may have been the occasion of this psalm is a matter of conjecture. The psalmist is not so much concerned with the incident as with the lesson to be drawn from it.

On the superscription see Introduction to Ps. 120; see also pp. 625, 627.

1. Many. Or, “in abundant measure,” that is, “often.”

From my youth. See Jer. 2:2; Hosea 2:3, 15; 11:1. Israel had spent her “youth” in cruel bondage in Egypt and now looks back to the Lord’s deliverance from that dark land.

2. Not prevailed. He who puts his trust in the Lord, though often in distress, need never be defeated (see 2 Cor. 4:8–10). In Christ he is always victorious.

3. Plowed upon my back. A picture of the backs of the Israelites being lacerated by the cruel lashes of their oppressors. The scourges turned the flesh as the plow turns the furrows of the field.

6. As the grass. The wind, or perchance some bird, carries a seed, and as it falls upon the flat roof of the Oriental house it springs up very quickly, but having no depth of earth, it soon withers, and thus yields no harvest (Matt. 13:5). So it is with those who scheme against Israel. Their plans at first give the appearance of success, but they do not fructify.

7. Filleth not. There will be no sheaves and thus no grain.

8. Upon you. Compare Ruth 2:4. There was nothing comparable to this kind of greeting with reference to the enemies of Zion.