September 3, 2026

The chapter summary for Psalm 128 says "blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways".

As we read the verses, it's interesting in what way we are blessed when we walk in His ways.

It says that we will "eat the labor of our hands", which typically refers to the fruit we bring forth, or our righteous works. But which fruit and works specifically?

Our spouse and children, our family, will be as a fruitful vine, and the last verse says we will see our children's children and peace upon Israel.

When we walk in His ways, we do His work and focus on bringing to pass the immortality the eternal life of His children. This work starts in the home, with our spouse and children.

As we labor to bring our family unto Christ, the fruit of the labor will be sweet, and we will have joy in our posterity.

I love the last line, we will see "peace upon Israel". Christ is the Prince of Peace, and His renewed covenant with Jacob is our promise as we participate in His work. This Psalm is full of peace, happiness, and blessing.

In Psalm 135, we read that the Lord is eternal and endures forever, while the idols of the heathen are mute, deaf, and blind, as are those who build them or trust in them.

This description of idols compared to the endurance of God teaches that they are powerless. Any time we are tempted to prioritize something above God and make it an idol, we should "think celestial" - what does this benefit us in the eternal perspective? When we worship idols, we cannot hear the Lord because we are too preoccupied with something else. We cannot see Him because we aren't looking for Him. And we cannot speak with power because without Him we are powerless. We must keep our covenant and always remember Him. To me, that means always keep Him first in our hearts and minds.