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