Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Psalm 128 - God has a blessing for those who love Him

Tweet

Psalm 128:1-2 "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you." NKJV

There is that word again, Ashre, only now you know what this means. While translated "blessed", the word is an expression of complete joy. It is the same Hebrew word as the tribe of Asher. Asher was named in Genesis 30:13 where our word is used twice. (And by now we also know what the double use of a word means.)

The end of verse 1 concludes with an appositive. the initial thought is that there are those who fear the Lord. The descriptor follows, "The (ones who) walk in His ways." Apparently, in Scripture "fearing God" and "walking in His ways" are equal.

In verse 2 there is some syntax (word order) issue, but the thought emerges, "You will eat (to yourself) the work of your hand in good and your joy (there's that word again)."

Does this seem in any way ironic to anyone else? The priests are singing about the blessing of being on the path of God to those who are walking the stairway that leads to the presence of the Lord. Moreover; the priests are singing about the blessings of joy to those walking in the most joyous event of their lifetime.