Sermon Tone Analysis

Just about every bookstore — Christian or otherwise — has a ton of books on how to prepare for marriage.

Most of these books deal with topics like choosing the right mate, temperament and personality tests, relational skills, and planning the wedding itself.

My concern today is a little more basic than any of these things.

It has to do with you as an individual.

Are you, as an individual, prepared for marriage?

Obviously, those of you who have yet to be married need to ask yourselves this question.

You need to take an inventory of yourself to see if you have matured enough in the faith to assume the responsibilities of the marital covenant.

But even those of you who are already married need to run down the checklist once in a while, just to make sure that you’re staying on track.

And parents need to consider this question as you train your children for married life.

I’ve chosen to consider Psalm 128 this morning because this text deals with this very subject.

Most commentators say that this psalm describes the “temporal blessings of true piety.”[1]

While this is certainly an accurate description, it is also an inadequate one.

If fails to mention that this psalm is particularly about the family.

In fact, it was probably sung by the Jews as they were leaving Jerusalem to return home after their annual feasts.

It encouraged them to consider the blessing of God upon everyday, domestic life as they made their way home.

Therefore, I think Martin Luther captured the essence of Psalm 128 better when he dubbed it “a wedding psalm for Christians.”

Psalm 128 rejoices in the blessings of a godly home.

Its thrust is to show you that the basis of peace and tranquility within the home is nothing less than the fear of God.

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God’s Blessing is Grounded in Godly Fear

This psalm identifies its theme in the first verse: /Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways/.

In other words, a person can be happy in his home — really, truly happy — only to the degree that he fears the Lord.

Yet, it’s not enough simply to fear the Lord.

This verse also reminds us that God’s blessing requires us to walk in his ways.

We must obey his Word.

The fear of God is a rare commodity these days.

When I was just starting out in the ministry twenty-two years ago, I had to deal with a man who habitually absented himself from worship for no reason.

I tried to call on him both at his home and at his office, but he always hid himself in a back room when he saw me coming and refused to come out to speak with me.

I asked Rev. Hart, who was overseeing my internship at the time, about this.

Having been this man’s pastor previously, he said simply, “He has no fear of God.”

In Psalm 36, David complained that his enemies boasted in their hearts that they did not fear God (v. 1).

Romans 3:18 says that lack of godly fear is a hallmark of sin.

Believers, on the other hand, are marked by a loving fear of God (Neh.

5:9, 15; II Cor.

7:1; Eph.

5:21).

So, what is the fear of God? Before we answer this, we have say what it is not.

It is not a consuming dread of the Almighty.

If unbelievers do not dread God now, there will come a day when they will.

As far as we’re concerned, lthough the perfect holiness of God should inspire each of us with an awareness of his terror, so that we understand that /our God is a consuming fire/ (Heb.

12:29), we must also understand that we no longer stand under that condemnation, but have been incorporated into his family.

Therefore, the fear of God that Psalm 128 encourages is a childlike reverence for and trust in God that teaches us to humble ourselves in his presence and to expect all good things from him.

Verse 1 teaches us that those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways have his blessing upon their lives.

Note that this applies to everyone in the home.

The promise of divine blessing is not restricted to parents, nor is it restricted to children.

It’s not limited to males or females, to those of a certain age or to those who rank higher in order of birth.

It’s not confined to people of a particular nationality, skin color or language.

Worldly riches and power do not determine who has it.

Rather, God promises his blessing to everyone who fears him and walks in his ways.

Some people our present life as a necessary evil, a curse that we have to endure that really has no meaning or purpose.

In this verse, the psalmist corrects this kind of thinking.

He reminds you that this present life is also a blessing from God.

How can it be otherwise, since we are already joint-heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ?

In fact, it is so true that this life is a blessing that the Word of God even commands us to rejoice in our trials.

James 1:2–3 says, /My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience/.

What more could we possibly want?

Our lives are filled with the grace of God and with the God of all grace.

With these we should be more than satisfied.

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Blessings on Our Labors

Verse 2 increases our confidence in God’s promise by reminding us that the Lord specifically blesses our work: /For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee/.

(Ps 128:2).

Interestingly, this verse doesn’t command us to work hard.

Rather, it just assumes that we will.

And this is a just assumption because the fear of God that teaches us to humble ourselves before our Maker also instructs us to accept his call to service.

In particular, this verse promises two things to those who fear the Lord.

First, it promises that God will give us both work and the strength to do that work, so that we have no excuse whatsoever for being idle.

Our days upon this earth are few and they are short.

They are too precious to squander with inactivity or silly pursuits.

In fact, the Word of God teaches you to do the opposite.

You are to redeem the time, because the days are evil (Eph.

5:16).

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, /Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest/.

But our text promises something more.

Not only does it assure us that God gives us work, it also promises that God will allow us to enjoy the fruit of our work.

In other words, it’s not enough that we labor.

We must also take the time to enjoy both our labor and its rewards.

Why?

Because both come from the Lord.

Again, we are reminded of what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes: /It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God/ (Eccles.

5:18–19).

Psalm 127:2 gives the other side of this truth, viz., those who do not conduct their business with a firm trust in God will find neither their labor nor their rest profitable.

/It is vain/, wrote the psalmist, /for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep/.

This vanity that Ecclesiastes warns against is living our lives is living our lives under the sun instead of under the Son.

The point here is that, although God promises blessing to those who fear him, we cannot just sit around with our hands stretched out waiting for him to fill them.

We have to work hard as if everything depended on us, but at the same time realize that our effort will only be productive if it has the blessing of heaven.

Now, apply this to yourselves as individual believers and individual members of your families.

That’s what the psalmist encourages you to do when he uses the singular pronoun: /Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee/.

Don’t think that God actually gives his blessings only to others, but not to you!

Take comfort in the fact that his promises have your name written all over them!

Expect him to do for you everything that he said!

But when the psalmist wrote, /And it shall be well with thee/, did he promise that your life will always be filled with roses and champagne?

Did he guarantee that you’ll never have the heartaches and problems that you see in others?

No; rather, he wants you to understand that, even when your roses fade and your champagne goes flat, God will nonetheless bring good out of it for you.

Consider Joseph.

His jealous brothers sold him into slavery and pretended that he was dead.

In Egypt, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape, which landed him squarely in jail.

And although he correctly interpreted the butler’s dreams, the butler failed to remember him.

For years it seems that Joseph’s life was an endless stream of wilted flowers.

But God had a reason for it all.

Eventually, the Lord elevated Joseph to be second in command throughout all the land of Egypt, and Pharaoh commissioned him specifically to manage the forthcoming famine.

It was only then that he learned why he had to endure all of his earlier hardships.

It was to save his family — the family that had sold him years before — to ensure the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom.

He explained it to his brothers in these words: /But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive/ (Gen.