Psalms | Psalm 128

Welcome you again, the new life. My name is Kyle and I serve as

the lead Pastor here, we're going to be in Psalm 128 today

as you turn there, when I wish you, you menu, father's a Happy

Father's Day. Thank you so much for the work

that you do. I appreciate it, keep it up.

Keep up the good work. Psalm 128 is where we'll be

today, was kicked off the summer series in the Psalms and James

set that up really well. Thank you, brother, Jasper.

I followed it up with a another good.

Sermon from the Psalms, his was on integrity and and then today,

we're in Psalm 128, Psalm 128 is called a song of ascents, a song

of ascents. Not a, not a cent like what you

smell, but an assent, like going up something and the reason

these songs are called a song, a song of a sense is that they're

referring to the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem during Feast which

God's people would have made. And so, they were Jerusalem, set

on top of a mountain, that's where you would go for the

feast. And so you would remind yourself

of God's goodness. You would remind yourself of who

God is, how he works in a family of why we serve the Lord, those

kinds of things. As you're going up through these

songs, by singing them, to one another, among the people that

you were with, it's also possible that these were used

likely used to in Israel's. As returns from Exile, that

these would have been things. They would have sung as they

were returning to the Lord. And so, in that way, you could

view them as oftentimes songs of repentance songs of reminder, of

the faithfulness of God, and how we need to remain faithful to

him. And so there's really no reason.

It can't be both at there wouldn't have been used in both

instances. One final thing about the song,

This song particular it comes after. 127, obviously, which was

written by Solomon, but we don't know the author of 128.

What we do know is that 128 is really an expansion of thoughts

from 127. So, it's possible that Solomon

is the author of 128 also, but it really doesn't matter for

what we're going through today. Psalm 128 is a song for

families. It's a song for families and

here in this Psalm, we were taught that the prosperity of

our families and all Define, what we mean by prosperity and a

moment are really as we go through this.

But the prosperity of our families, depends on the

blessing of God, and we are shown how to obtain his

Blessing. So, the prosperity of our

families, depends on the blessing of God.

And in this Psalm, we were shown how to obtain his Blessing.

If you're able a task That you stand as we read these six

verses here in Psalm 128. When I finish reading I'll say

this is God's holy word and you respond with, thanks.

Be to God. All right, thanks be to God.

All right, Psalm 128 verse 1. Blessed is everyone, who fears

Psalms 128:1

the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the

labor of your hands. You shall be blessed and it

shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a

fruitful Vine within your house. Your children will be like all

of shoots around your table. Behold the Show the man, be

blessed, who fears the Lord? The Lord bless you from Zion.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your

life? May you see?

Your children's children? Peace be upon Israel.

This is God's. Holy word.

Thanks be to God. Amen, let me pray for you and

then you'll be seated, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your

word, we thank you for Psalm 128.

We thank you for the truth that are here.

But Lord, these truths will only be as good as the ink on this

white paper. If your Holy Spirit, does not

open our eyes to see or ears to hear our hearts to grasp to take

hold of and our minds to comprehend.

So, Lord, would you arrest our attention today with your word?

Lord, that we might be strengthened to walk in your

ways that we might be men and women who fear you who live in

reference to you father. We are helpless.

Alice without your spirit and these moments as we come to your

word. And so we beg of you now.

So feed us from your word. It's in Christ's name we pray.

Amen. May be seated.

It's true that there is a common Grace.

From God, which is meant for all people to experience.

There's a common Grace from God, which is meant for all people to

experience. You might say there's a common

blessedness, there's a common blessing.

One example is from scripture, we read that it rains on the

just and the unjust, this could mean that bad things come to

both the just and the unjust. It could also be taken that God

supplies rain for the production of so much of what we depend on

for both the just and the unjust.

And so that would be one of his common.

Grace's, marriage is another one marriage is enjoyed when we say

marriage, when mean between a man and a woman has God ordained

it marriage. And that way is enjoyed, can be

enjoyed by both the Christian and the non-Christian, they can

enjoy marriage. A hearty ribeye by like Ribeyes

grilled to Perfection, which is medium.

Or medium rare, of course, hitting the taste buds for the

first time is a Savory experience for almost anyone.

The sights, The Sounds. The smells of all that God has

created and given us to enjoy our other examples of his common

Grace. I have been fortunate enough to

see the Grand Canyon, a couple of times in my life.

The Grand Canyon is all inspiring whether you're a

Christian or a pagan you find it amazing.

However, there exists a blessedness from God, that

remains only for his people, whom he calls to himself, those

who will in return devote themselves to him.

And to his ways, there is a special blessedness, it's an

uncommon Grace. It's a Grace received by his

people from his hand and these people.

Are truly blessed and that's what the psalmist means to show

us here. In Psalm 128, is that there is a

blessing reserved for those who fear the lord and walk in his

ways. In other words, if you will

align yourself with God, his heart by revering him by walking

in his ways, then you will know his divine blessing in your

life. You will know it.

Psalm 128 one. I'll read it to you again.

Blessed is One, who fears the Lord who walks in his ways?

I think many of us may be aware of what the Bible means.

When it uses the word blessed, it means a happiness, but it's

not just any happiness. It's a divinely inspired

happiness, we might call it a divine blessing or a Divine

happiness. It is a happiness that can come

only from the hand of God. In other words, it's to know the

joy of the Lord intimately. It's to be acquainted with

deeply acquainted with God's joy.

And where, where do we find such Divine happiness?

Well, the psalmist is telling us that it's found in the fear of

the Lord. And one way that I think about

what the fear of the Lord means, one way, we might say this is to

say it's found in the shadow of the Almighty.

And what do I mean by? It's found in the shadow of the

Almighty. I mean you find blessing when

you humble yourself before God when you Revere God when you

ascribed his name all glory and honor which is due only and

rightly to the one true God Of Heaven and Earth the creator of

all things, the Christian God and you do this as you reverence

God this is where you find his Divine blessing.

Again blessed is everyone who who fears the Lord say it with

me. Fears the Lord hears.

The Lord who walks in his ways. So to fear the lord is to

reverence, the Lord is to ascribe to him all glory and

honor. What do we mean when we see walk

in his ways, what does the psalmist telling us?

Well walks in his ways and tends to communicate the whole of

one's life and behavior. It's everything about who you

are. One way you might think of this.

Is that your heart. Which in scripture your heart is

the sinner of all that you are your life.

You're being your emotion, your work.

The heart is the center of all, that you are.

And so when the Bible talks about the heart of man is

talking about everything that he is, the whole of the man.

It's only think about someone who's walking in his ways were

thinking about someone whose heart is submitted to Christ.

A heart that Revere's the Lord above all else.

This man is blessed and you can see it.

You can see that he Revere's. The Lord in the way that he

lives in the way that he behaves.

It's not merely outward showing of The, there are those kinds of

people but I'm not talking about those kind of people today, I'm

painting. A picture for you today as the

psalmist is here of what it looks like to be this kind of

man. This kind of man is seen in the

way that he walks is one who reveres the lord.

It's noticed in all that he is, the blessed man is not merely

one who fears the Lord, but he also walks in his ways.

He trust him enough to follow him.

This means that he hit the very least, knows God's word.

And I don't mean that, you know, every word, every Dot and Tittle

every Every piece of it, you'll spend your life, hopefully

devoted to the word of God studying those things.

But you you love the word of God.

Maybe that's a better way to say it.

You love God's word. You love what he has to say.

You're you're attentive to its and so you're seeking to align

yourself with his word. He knows what God's command,

what God commands of his people to do, and then he commits

himself to do it again. We're talking about blessed is

Everyone who fears the Lord who walks in his ways and then in

verse 2, it's going to get into specifically the man who is

doing this. We know that because it says

that his wife and his children, his work But right now the the

principle of fearing, the Lord and walk in his ways and the

blessedness that comes with this applies to all people who fear

the lord and walk in his ways, you can know the divine blessing

but I would like to turn our attention to the kind of man

that's being described here. With a with a dogged

masculinity. We might say he pursues God and

his ways Above All Else. He knows that divine blessing,

only exists for such a man and his family.

And so he devotes himself to this life for his own good.

For the good of those who were under his care and for the glory

of God, this is what drives him to wake up each morning.

That's why he steps out of his house to go to work.

It's why he steps into his home in the evening returning from

work to care for his family. It's why he doesn't check out.

He's there, he's present because he knows that divine.

Blessing is reserved for the man who fears the Lord and walks in

his ways. And for that, man, his family

will experience the same blessings.

And so he sacrifices himself in this way that he might lead

others cheerfully into the divine blessing.

This blessing for those who fear the lord is deeply rooted in

scripture and Christian history. I mean we I have not near the

time to take you through so many passages that talk about this

but I tried to hit a few different places Deuteronomy 8

Moses in Deuteronomy is giving what might be read as like a

final address to the Israelites before there.

Enter the promised land. He's not allowed to enter, but

he's a dressing them. He's telling them how their to

live, how they're to to walk in the ways of the Lord to fear

Him. This is what he says, in

Deuteronomy chapter 8, he's already said so many things like

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

this, but he sums it up and Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 6.

Deuteronomy 8:6

He says. So you shall keep the

Commandments of the Lord, your God by walking in his ways and

by fearing him. So you shall keep the

Commandments of the Lord, your God by walking in his ways and

by fear. Seeing him.

How do you keep the commands of God by walking in his ways?

And by fearing him reverencing, him hiding yourself in the

shadow of the almighty, humbling yourself.

Before him, ascribing glory to him, and to him alone, There are

many. And again I joked with my dad

before the service, I I don't like a Father's Day.

Message that that beats you over the head like I'm just not here

for that. There's enough of that.

What we need is for men to catch a vision of what A rugged Godly

Christianity. Looks like in the life of a man

so that their home will be blessed so that the church will

be blessed. So that the community at large,

the nation at large, will be blessed.

But there are warnings in scripture in the wisdom

literature especially about the kind of man who looks to find

his own way apart from the ways of God and this is what Proverbs

Proverbs 14:12

14:12 says. So there's a way that seems

right to a man but in its but it's end is the way of death its

end as the way to death. So there's a way and every man

that seems right unto him and he will pursue that selfishly, But

it's way is the way to death. And so the wisdom literature,

the law into the gospels Christ himself.

As I'm going to read in a moment, the letters of the New

Testament, all of these things were reminding.

You what? It's like to be a Godly person

who walks in the ways of the Lord, so that you might receive

divine blessing. All of scriptures doing this

Jesus in John, chapter 15 is really summing up the same

John 15 · chapter mention

things. He's at the end of his time,

with his disciples. He's about to be arrested.

And he says they're likely in the garden.

Now we're he will eventually be arrested, but he says this.

He says, if you keep my Commandments, you will abide in

my love. Just as I have kept my father's

Commandments and abide in his love.

One way to think about a fear of the Lord, a healthy fear of the

Lord is to abide in his love. These things, Jesus goes on to

say, I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you.

And that your joy may be full. My joy may be in you, and that

your joy may be full. That may be the very best

succinct. Definition of the divine

blessing that awaits, those who will fear the lord and walk in

his ways that your, that the joy of Christ himself will be in you

and your joy might be full. And so as we continue reading,

we see that the godly man is a man who Here's the Lord.

As we've seen that, now, as we continue reading, see that the

godly man, the man who fears the Lord, enjoys a flourishing home.

Let's look at the psalmist description of this divine

blessing. I kind of he flushes it out for

us. This is what the blessing looks

like in verse 2. He says you shall eat the fruit

of the labor of your hands and you shall be blessed and it

shall be well with you. You shall eat the fruit of your

hands. The labor of your hands, you

shall be blessed and it shall be well with you.

Now, let's think about for a moment, the time period of this

song, right? This is not written today in

this day and really this wasn't that long ago Even in our

history. But in this day, a man planted

his own food. A man gardened a man hunted.

A man fished a man lived off the land, that was given to him.

He cultivated it, he worked it, he protected it just as he was

designed to do. Genesis 2:15 is God creates the

Genesis 2:15

man. He puts him into the garden.

He says to Adam that he has to work it and keep it.

This is Central to the design of a man is that he's a worker and

the keeper. He's a cultivator, he causes

things to flourish. And he keeps them.

He protects he fights for. He's a provider and a protector.

In many ways we still do this to some extent, right?

Your our were might look different but we're still

providing. We're still cold to vaiting.

We're still working and keeping. The idea is the same that you

work, and you keep all that God, grants you just like Adam was

created to do. But here's the issue, Adam

failed to do, what God commanded him to do.

And so, he was told that the ground was going to be cursed.

Because of him and work was going to be cursed because of

him. And it was told to him that he

would now work by the sweat of his brow that he would toil

against thorns and thistles all the days of his life until he

returns to dust. And in many ways, this is what

work is for us. Whether you sit in a cubicle and

work all day or you're out and a plant working all day, or your

gardening at home, working all day or whatever you're doing

work is kind of the same, right? Your toiling against proverbial.

Thorns and thistles, your work feels fruitless at times.

Solomon in Ecclesiastes is going to say that it's vanity because

it's just monotonous it's over and over and over a man works

all the days of his life and then he returns to dust all is

vanities. And we feel that, right?

There's some of you men in here kind of not in like yeah you

feel that as you check into your 925 each day, your seven, two

three, seven, two four, seven, two seven whatever you're

working you feel this? And so in many ways, we're still

toiling against thorns and thistles until we return to

dust, but the divine blessing that's being pronounced here in

Psalm 128. For those who fear the lord and

walk in his ways is announcing to you.

That the curse of the Fall is overcome.

For you that the curse of the Fall does not completely affect

your work, that there is blessing in the work because all

that you're committing your hands to do.

You're committing to do unto the glory of God.

You fear the lord and you're walking in his ways.

And so he is blessing your work. He is causing your hands to be

fruitful and so you're eating of the fruit of your labor.

But you battle these thorns and thistles all your days your work

is fruitful not fruitless. That's one of the blessings that

you see here for the man who fears the Lord and walks in his

ways. You shall eat the fruit of the

labor of your hands. You shall be blessed and it

shall be well with you. And so, what this means is that,

it's good for you, absolutely. But if you're a husband, if

you're a father, if your man who's helping taking care of his

community, that's not only good for you.

It's good for all of those who were under your care or within

your reach, you're affecting them also.

And that's where the psalmist heads to Next in verse 3, he

says your wife will be like a fruitful Vine within your house.

Your children will be like all of shoots around your table.

Let's deal with this first phrase, your wife will be like a

fruitful vine with in your house.

There's two things in mind here. I'll get to those as we go

through this. The wife of a godly man receives

blessing. Also she receives the divine

blessing. Also as he leads and producing

as he leads and fruitfulness she follows and assist him, when God

looked at the man in the garden, he said it's not and he's

already given him the command to work and to keep He looks at the

man he says not good. That the man should be alone.

I'll make a what for him, a helper fit for him, a helper fit

for him. And so a wife is to come

alongside her husband and join in the mission of being fruitful

and multiplying of exercising, dominions doing all that God.

Created a wife, assist her husband in this.

She follows him in this, he leads.

She follows he works. She assists it doesn't I mean

that she doesn't have responsibilities to take care of

that are her own and that she's tending to absolutely.

She does. Everything's Patricia does that?

I am absolutely not wired to do and I don't mean cooking and

cleaning. All right, let's not reduce it

to that. But let's also not paint over

cooking and cleaning like they're bad things either.

These are gifts from the Lord and he's created a wife, to be a

cultivator of her own to nourish and cherish things so that they

grow and flourish alongside her husband.

And so together. Working together, they bear much

fruit. She becomes a fruitful vine with

in the house. Now, one way a wife is meant to

be fruitful is how she Bears children.

This is one way. A woman is absolutely doing

something. I don't care what the news says

today. A man cannot do.

She Bears, the fruit of children for him.

And they raise them together and these children are a tremendous

blessing to the God-fearing husband and wife.

Psalm 127 says of the man. And his children behold,

children are a Heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb, a reward like arrows in the hand of a

warrior or the children of one's youth blessed is the man who

fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

And so this is one way. But the fruit of the womb which

is something only the woman can do alongside her husband.

Of course, the fruit of the womb becomes Heritage for the man.

Children are like arrows. In his hands.

And blessed, is the man that says who fills his quiver with

them? He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks, with his enemies in the gate.

They are a Heritage there, a testimony to the faithfulness,

and fruitfulness of God, the blessing, the divine, blessing

of the Lord, as he seeks to raise them.

The way God commands. They become a Heritage as he

seeks to follow the lord and all his ways to Revere him.

His children are like, arrows. I mean, you know, a crooked

arrow is no good. All right, you've ever shot a

bow and arrow of any Type you like this.

This is used to happen when you would make your own right as a

kid. You would get a piece of wood

that you found a stick. Really that you found in the

woods and you'd been that thing you tie some string to and then

you go find another stick and because it's a lot of work kind

of knock the knots off of it and really it's hard to find a

straight one. You just kind of settle but you

end up with an arrow that kind of looks like this, right?

It's got knots all over and you try to shoot that thing.

It just Falls at your feet, like a crooked arrow is of no use use

to a man, you go to battle with a crooked arrow, you're in

trouble. In trouble.

You can shoot around corners with them.

They don't fly that way. They don't work that way.

And so a man who's not seeing to the raising of his children

manage not training. His children for godliness is

really setting himself up to be defeated by his enemies later in

life. He doesn't have the proper

arrows for the battle. He won't win the war.

When the enemies are at the gate. and so, his job is to

cultivate and protect Right? It's the grow things to protect

them. Listen to what proverbs 31 says,

with the woman and her children, I love this her children.

Rise up and call her blessed. Here's that word.

Again, divinely. Happy for children, rise up and

call her blessed. Her husband also, and he Praises

her, this is what he says, many women have done excellently, but

you surpass them all. Verse 30.

It says this of the woman, again, the husband's done

talking now, we're back to instructions for The Godly woman

here. It says charm is deceitful,

beauty is in vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be

praised a woman who hides herself under the shadow of the

wings of the almighty, a woman who reveres the Lord is to be

praised. She's the one.

Verse 31, it says give her the fruits of her hands.

Here we go with the vine again. She's a fruitful Vine and let

her works. Praise her in the gates.

Other words. This woman doesn't walk around

saying look at all the things that I've done.

She's hidden herself under the shadow of the almighty.

She's not counted charm as something to be held onto.

She's knows that this is deceitful.

She knows that beauty. Is in vain, you were Beauty.

You are beautiful in the way that the world counts Beauty.

For just a short time of your life, right?

I mean aging is not pretty it's just not things sag that didn't

sag before wrinkles appear that weren't there before.

And so is the world counts Beauty?

We start thinking, well, I need liposuction and I need all kinds

of different surgeries to take care of these things.

And by the time I'm done, I'm going to look like a messed-up

Barbie doll, okay? But you don't need those things

because beauty is vain But a woman who fears the Lord, that's

the one where to praise. But do you know who's under the

most attack? Really in our culture.

From feminist. Is the kind of woman that the

Bible says, is worthy of praise. The kind of woman that the Bible

says is worthy of Praise feminism does not hold up this

kind of woman. In fact they want to end the

work of a Biblical woman. They want to demean her work to

ascribe to her. Something that the Bible says is

deceitful and vain The same is true of men.

The kind of men that are being propped up here in scripture.

The kind of man that the Bible says, is going to be divinely

blessed by God. It's not a man who fears the

Lord. It's not a man who walks in his

ways. It's a man who Blaze his own

trail, who pays his own path, who goes, the way that no one

else has gone before. And what we need is a return to

a proper understanding of biblical, manhood and Womanhood.

As God has designed it and men, and women who will say I'm

submitting myself, To that. But I digress.

That's a different sermon all together.

So children are in mind here when we talk about the

fruitfulness of a woman as they should be, but this blessing is

not limited to Children. Only God is not saying that if a

woman does not have a child, she is not fruitful Vine.

That's not what's being said, here might be one of the ways

does not the only way the God-fearing husband and wife

will be fruitful in a myriad of ways.

Namely, this is the thing here. This is what's being said here,

about the Divine blessedness that Vine happiness.

Namely, they will the husband and wife, who fear the lord

walking in his ways. They will spread the joy of the

Lord into all the world as they fear Him and walk in his ways.

This is fruitfulness and we know that because the psalmist also

means here that your wife will be a bringer of Joy like wine.

He has a mind here, the vine that produces wine.

Which is meant to bring joy often it's abused and so it's

not a joyful thing at all. But the way God intended wind to

be used, was to be a bringer of joy and he's saying a woman.

Under the care of a husband who is like, this will be a bringer

of joy for him like wine. She too knows the Divine

happiness of her husband. And so she shares it with all

those who are around her and the husband benefits also from this,

your children will be like all those shoots around your table

again following the instruction of God, the man is Walking, In

God's ways. He's teaching his children, he's

exemplifying the commands of God.

I mentioned to you, Deuteronomy 8 earlier about walking in the

ways of the Lord fearing him and Deuteronomy.

It's just a couple of chapters. Earlier, Moses says this, I'm

going to read to you a somewhat lengthy portion here, because I

think it's really important to what we're talking about.

He says this, he says, now this is the Commandment, the statutes

and the rules that the Lord, your God commanded me to teach

you that you may do them in the land to, which you were going

over to possess it. That you may fear the lord, your

God did you and your son and your son's son by keeping all

his statutes and his Commandments.

You see how it affects the next. Asian men, the way you fear.

The Lord says that you may fear. The lord your God you and your

son and your son's son, the second and third Generations,

which I command you all the days of your life and that your days

may be long here. Therefore o Israel and be

careful to do them that it may go well with you and that you

may multiply greatly as the Lord.

The god of your father's has promised you in the land,

flowing with milk and honey hear o Israel.

The Lord our Our God. The Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord. Your God with all your heart.

And with all your soul and with all your minds, this is

reverence. And these words that I command

you today shall be on your heart again.

That's the the logo of the central.

Locus of the man. This is everything.

That is these words. I command you.

Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul

with all your might. These things shall be on your

heart. You shall teach them diligently

to your children and shalt talk of them.

When you sit in your house and when you walk, by the way, and

when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a

sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your

eyes, you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and

on your Gates, another words everywhere that you are the word

of the Lord is meant to be. And in every conversation, not

every, in everyday conversation, you can bring up the joy of the

Lord, the love of the Lord, with your children, and your Meant

especially father's, you're meant to be leading in this way.

The Divine happiness of the man, not only impacts his wife.

It impacts their children also and like all of shoots is

children who are now full of energy and they're full of

Promise. There's lots that could be

produced from them. How many of, you know, there's

lots of Destruction that can come from a child, right?

There's lots of blessing that can come from a child.

The Lord blesses, the Man's children, and his children's

children, when they fear Him, and walk in his ways and verse

4, he of Psalm 128, he says this, he says, behold the shall

the man be blessed. Who fears the Lord.

So it's just kind of a summary of everything that he said and

the last two verses are really a prayer, but let's summarize it

real quick. Nothing suggests that happiness.

Divine happiness is automatic that, that's not what the

psalmist is suggesting here. In fact, he's suggesting Quite

the opposite. And the rest of the wisdom

literature would fill out how men who fear the lord they work

diligently. They love their lot, their wife,

well, they Faithfully train their children and godliness and

so this Psalm Paints the picture of the divine blessing that

surrounds such a family. But it's not saying it's

automatic. It's not saying that this is

even easy work. It's saying this is the Blessed

work. This is the work of divine

blessing. And so Brothers, you are wired

by God to be a worker and a keeper.

You were wired by God to be fruitful for his namesake and

the good of all those under your care.

You were wired by God to produce and to protect and to cultivate.

And when you fear the lord, He blesses you He makes you more

fruitful, you produce with higher quality, you protect with

greater precision and you cultivate with a deeper strength

when you hide yourself under the shadow of the Almighty. in verse

five and six again, we see a prayer and what this tells us is

that the godly man helps God's people Prosper, also, So, The

Godly Man is one who fears the Lord and walks in his ways that

man sees fruitfulness in his home.

And now we see that, that same man and his home, which are

being fruitful now, affect the people of God at large, look at

verses five and six again, the Lord bless you from Zion, may

you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your

life? May you see your children's

children? Peace be upon Israel.

Here, the psalmist. Praise that each member of God's

house, might know this Divine happiness.

He's just say, may this happen. May the Lord bless you.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem of the people of God?

All the days of your life? May you see your children's

children? The psalmist?

Praise that the man might see his children's children.

It's incredible. I've not prayed this own this

prayer for my life yet nor have I prayed it for anyone else.

But what a thing to pray for One of the quotes that flies around

and some of the things that I read is, is that the difference

between one of the differences between a godly man, who fears

the Lord and a worldly man is that the godly man ought to be

thinking about his grandchildren and his grandchildren's

children, right? His great-grandchildren.

And what they mean by this is that The Godly man knows that

his life. Now affects the trajectory of

the family for Generations. The worldly man doesn't know

this, but you can rest assured that your directory of his

family is affected for Generations by his worldliness.

And so the adverse is true, that the godly man who knows this and

sees us Works to cultivate and keep the kind of family, that

knows the divine blessing, so that his children's children

know, the divine blessing, this is one way to think about our

life, we get 50, 60 70. 80 years.

If we're lucky maybe a bit more, you don't know, maybe less.

But each day is meant to be lived.

Understanding that life is short.

There's a phrase for this Memento more.

I called me, I think you got it on your on your arm, don't you?

I saw it earlier. It's meant to be lived.

With the understanding that life is brief the brevity of life

changes. The way you wake up each day,

the way you go to sleep, the way you work for things.

During the day, when you cultivate a relationship with

your wife and your children, the community around you, that sort

of thing. And so here what we're seeing is

that the blessing may you be blessed so that you know, the

prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life and so that

peace be upon Israel. And so, he reveals to us one

further benefit of the divine blessing.

Is that it the blessedness that's on a man and his

household is the same blessing that will benefit the whole of

God's people which is Illustrated here using the words

Jerusalem and Israel. Then back then is this was

written. They look to the nation of

Israel as God's people today. We look to the church those who

are of the faith. This is why Paul writes in

Romans for that, not all who are Israel or not.

Well, that's Romans 10. He says not all.

Who are of Israel were Israel. In other words, just because we

were born in Israel, didn't mean you were part of it, but you

became part of it by faith, which he talks about in Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 is, he's mentioning Abraham and his faith.

And this is what made him God's people.

And so the Divine happiness on the home, affects the whole

church. Also not just your local church,

but the whole church. And so we might say, as the man

goes, so, goes his home It's the man goes.

So goes his home and as the home goes, so goes the church.

The song reveals that a man's work, his wife, his children and

the church all will prosper due to the fact that he not, they

fear the lord, what Grace and kindness of God are on display

here. Well God does visit the sins of

the father on the third and fourth Generations, he shows

incredible kindness to thousands of generations because of

Faithfulness to him in this generation.

That's one of the saddest things to read and scriptures and

judges chapters one and two. The people had already, they had

already rebelled against Deuteronomy and all that was

commanded of them. There to know the blessing of

God to know his divine grace on them to stay in that to walk in

that. And and so they would Prosper,

they've already rebelled against that.

And in Judges chapter 2, I believe it is.

Judges 2 · chapter mention

We read that the people did not know.

The way of their fathers. And so they did all that their

heart desired. In other words, they lost their

way because the father's lost their way.

The father's lost their way and so it's true that God does visit

the sins of the father on the third and fourth Generations.

But it's also true that he shows kindness, the thousands of

generations because of the faithfulness to him in this

generation and so the consequences of sin are

ultimately exceeded By and eclipsed By Grace.

Grace toward those who follow God.

Who submit themselves to him, who will repent of their sins

and Believe In Christ for their salvation.

And so as the man as the husband, the father lives by

God's grace a life and the fear of God, he can expect God's

blessing to rest on his labor and on his wife.

And on his children, you might call this as one translator or

one scholar called the umbrella principle.

One man, holds the umbrella faithfully and by God's grace,

countless others are protected under the cover that it

provides, but it doesn't stop there.

As we read in these final two versus a man who fears God Or as

a man, fears, God, his children are blessed and so his wife is

bless his children are blessed. And so the church, the people of

God, likewise are blessed. And so again, as goes the

husband and the father, so go the children and the church.

Last week in my devotion time. I read these words from David

and First Chronicles, David is rallying the troops for yet

another battle against those who were threatening God's people.

Threatening to devour them. Overrun them rebelling, against

God. And this is what David says in

first Chronicles night First Chronicles, 19 13 He says be

strong. He's addressing the troops.

He says be strong and let us use our strength for our people and

for the cities of our God and may the Lord do what seems good

to him. Read it one more time, brothers.

Be strong and let us use our strength for our people and for

the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to

him. Amen.

Men, I urge you. To fight the good fight.

To compete to finish the race well to run strong to not grow.

Tired of doing the good work that God has granted to you.

I urge you to join together here with other brothers and let us

each all of us together Endeavor to hide ourselves in the shadow

of the almighty God today. Let's resolve.

In our minds and in our hearts right now that we will fear Him

only that, we were Revere him alone and that we will walk in

his ways, whatever that takes, whatever it demands of us,

whatever it calls for. We're following him so that we,

and those under our care. And within this church community

may enjoy God's Divine happiness.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord and walks in his ways.

Let me pray for you. Heavenly father, I thank for

your word. I thank you.

Lord, for these men. I thank you for the women here.

I thank you, Lord, for the children that are in attendance

today. God, would you help each one of

us to fear you and to walk in your ways?

That we might know the divine blessing of God, help us to

Revere you. It's a humble ourselves submit

ourselves to you. Father, I do.

Pray. A prayer for the men that are

here whether married or unmarried whether fathers or not

Lord, help them to do this. Strengthen them for this, Lord,

whatever it takes. I pray that you would take hold

of their allegiance to you or the, their heart would be

aligned with yours only. Their desires would be your

desires that their hopes would be your hope.

That their mission would be to take the divine blessing of God

and shine it all around to those around us.

But their wives would be fruitful that their children

would be fruitful. That the church City's the

nation at large would be fruitful because men have

surrendered themselves to you and have chosen to follow your

ways. God everywhere we look, we're

told that this is foolishness. But it's silly to entrust

ourselves to a God. We can't see to a lord who

demands this of us. To a God who creates division

among Believers and unbelievers by his word.

But father, my prayer is that you would be found truthful.

And every man a liar Help us to know you.

Help us to trust you, help us to hide ourselves under your Shadow

almighty God. Lord, we need men who love the

Lord. We see to it to work and to live

for you. To cultivate and to protect.

For Your Glory. Lord, we trust you for that

work. Thank you, Lord.

I think it's in Christ's name. I pray today.

Amen, man. Thank you, Lord.

I think it's in Christ's name. I pray today.

Amen, man.