The Biblical Vision of the Good Life.

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“Psalm 128 is a picture of the good life.” These words from Dr. James Hamilton have been echoed in my ears since I arrived at Southern Seminary for a recent Alumni Academy on Biblical Theology. While the whole two days left me with much to dwell on, this passage has been heavy on my heart. Little did I know recent events in Atlanta would tie right into what God has said. The good life is intrinsically tied to family life.*

Psalm 128 begins, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!”  “Blessed” means happy.  Reverence was to lead the Psalmist to rejoicing.  And not just a moment of rejoicing but a “walk.”  Fear of God is more than what you do in a Sunday service; it is a continual walking in obedience to God.  And we see in Psalm 128, the fear of God is connected with blessedness.  It is clear that the author of this Psalm was familiar with the blessings for obedience in Deuteronomy 28.  The people were promised blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.  Notice verse 2 which carries this thought along, “You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.”  The blessing of God brought him provision.  Notice both what the Psalmist does say, and what he does not say.

 I think we often struggle as gospel people to believe that there is a blessing found in obedience.  But how else are we to understand this text?  Those who are obedient are blessed.  There is a blessedness (a happiness, a joy) in obedience.  As we walk through the text we will see this blessing is not simply material, but also the proper enjoyment of the material.

At the same time I think we are right to push back against this text, especially in the midst of the prosperity gospel in America.  So many people think that if they are moral (by societal standards) then God is going to be happy with them and give them everything they want.  NO!  Psalm 128 stands directly against this heresy. 

Notice, first, this blessedness does not come apart from fear of God.  Reverence for God in light of His character is what brings about the blessed life.  Knowledge of our sinfulness before His holiness is what breeds blessedness, not simple rule keeping.  Rule-keeping is moralism, not Christianity.  Rule keeping never got anyone to Heaven.  In fact, the god of moralism isn’t one who we need to reverence because he is not holy. The god of moralism cannot bless your obedience.  The gospel is the only path to any true, lasting blessedness.

Second, we must also notice in this text that even one who is blessed must still labor.  We shall eat the fruit of our labor.  We must work hard.  Blessedness does not mean we do not work hard, it is a foundation to work hard!  Walking in the ways of the Lord (verse 1) is not easy.  Fearing the Lord is not easy.  In fact, I would argue that if “stuff” is all that it meant to be blessed for our obedience then we aren’t getting a proper reward!  The blessedness of walking in the ways of the Lord is not a care free life, it’s a fruitful life.  The good life is the enjoyment of the fruits of our labors.

This is exactly what the next verse goes onto say as it looks into our homes.  The good life is one spent with family.  Families who fear the Lord are fruitful.  He writes,  “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.”  He first turns to look at marriage.  First we must see that the good life is found in marriage between a man and woman.  There is no other option for marriage.  Marriage is intrinsically tied to Christian blessedness.  And as we’ll see, family is also intrinsically tied to human flourishing.

Notice next that the blessed man is the family man.  It is not the man who can attract all the girls he can who is considered blessed, but the one who is faithfully seeking to love one woman.  It is not the man who abandons responsibility to continue in the ways of a child, but the blessed man is one who takes responsibility to love his kids and train them up in the ways of the Lord.  The blessed man is not the man with the most money, for the passage doesn’t even mention wealth!  Our culture does not define blessed- God does.  God defines blessedness in the context of the family.

Notice how the man’s fear of the Lord affected his wife.  “She is like a fruitful vine.”  The fruit of the vine (wine) brings joy to the heart (and to the home!).  How does she do this?  Well, the “oneness” of marriage itself should bring this joy but I think he is bringing us to think back to Psalm 127:3 and forward to the rest of verse 3.

“Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.”  Also, check out Psalm 127:3,  “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.”  The fruitful blessing of God is children he has been given to enjoy.  Marriage is given not only for the enjoyment of your wife, but for the enjoyment of children.  Not only as a fruitful partner, but as the MacArthur Study Bible puts it, a “flourishing progeny” (word of the week!).  The blessings which come to those who fears the Lord overflow into his household. It is not simply having a household that makes one blessed (for if so, most people are blessed).  The blessedness is the fruitful labor to cultivate a household that fears the Lord.  Verse 4 reiterates this point, “Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”  The blessed house is the house which cultivates further blessedness, which is only found in cultivating a fear of the Lord.

Psalm 128 teaches us that the family is a uniquely blessed structure in God’s world.  Not one we should play with or seek to redefine.  For no vine or shoot grows without careful, diligent cultivation.  Our families should be the same way.  Men must lead their families with the patient, enduring, love that Jesus showed toward his church (Eph. 5:25-33).  God has promised to bless our efforts uniquely when we are diligent to faithfully work hard to do this.  Does that mean life will be easy?  No.  Does that mean we will do everything perfect?  Absolutely not!  I’m not even married and I’ve figured this out.  But the blessedness of God is not a care-free life, but the sprout of faithfulness out of the soil of a cultivated soul.  The blessing doesn’t stop there…

The Psalmist finishes by saying, “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!”  - Psalm 138:5-6  He not only shows this blessing of a cultivated family as an individual blessing (he would see his grand kids, a great Old Testament blessing!) but that the blessing would spill over into the community.  “May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem  all the days of your life!”

Verse 5 addresses the blessed man and his community. The blessing of God to him is the prosperity of Jerusalem. Our families, led by God fearing men, are God’s mean for human flourishing. The family is central to God’s program for blessing the surrounding city. This is still the same today. The family has always been God’s means of displaying his gospel (Eph. 5:25-33) and it is under attack. Psalm 128 is a call to men everywhere; fear God. Single or married- fear God and let that reverence lead you to lead your families rightly (when the time for a family comes).

Psalm 128 leads to two central exhortations. 1) Stand up for the family as God defines it. The family is central to God’s purpose and plan and is a key pathway to blessing our cities, nation and world. For if we truly believe we have found “the good life”, how much more should we seek through the gospel and discipleship, to bring others into the joy of the good life? 2) Let us strive together as men to cultivate a fear of God in our prayer life, in our devotion to the Word, and our discipline to evangelism. For regardless of what the culture might tell us, the man who labors in this will never find his work done in vain (1 Cor. 15:50-58).

* What I (and the Bible) are saying regarding the connection between the good life and family life is not to diminish the worth and purpose of those called to singleness.  Those who are in a season of singleness can find much hope in Psalm 128 and those called to a lifetime of singleness can find hope in God’s Word.  Even if God has not called you to a family (this applies to few of you who are reading this), the biblical good life is still yours because eternal life is yours.  You have family in this age (the church), and will reap far more in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30).  Don’t let this discourage you, but encourage you.  God has called you to a specific path (one which models Jesus in a special way).  1 Corinthians 7:25-40 is a word to you that isn’t for the married just as Psalm 128 is a word to those who pursue the good life through family.