Psalm 128 is interesting because it was often used as a part of Israelite weddings back in the day. The speaker is talking about the goodness that comes from following the Lord – it seems to be a particularly apt verse for weddings because it mentions the blessings of family.
Here’s why this is particularly interesting: we are grateful in the modern day for our families. We look to marry those we love, and if we can and choose to have children, they are major blessings from God. We hope they find their passions and the ways they can use their blessings to bless others and identify their place in the world.
But at the end of this short Psalm (the entire thing is just six verses), the tone shifts. The first four verses identify what life is like for those who “fear the Lord,” and walk in the path of God’s Word. Then, verses five and six are composed in “blessing language,” where the author is essentially blessing the reader/hearer of the Psalm. “May the Lord continually bless you…,” the author says and lists some specifics.
But at the end, there’s a twist: walking with God culminates in the blessing language, and finally concludes with…. Peace.
Not riches? Not success? Not status? The Bible makes a point here that might be surprising to us as modern people. As a father of a 5-year-old and 3-week-old, I’m well aware that families bring a lot of blessings that aren’t always “peaceful.”
But while families are obviously still blessings to us today, they were a more specific type of blessing back in the times of ancient Israel: to have a strong, healthy family was to be successful from a survival standpoint. People took up the mantle of their parent’s household, and to have many healthy children was to ensure the survival of the family as a whole because there were more hands to do the work. Essentially, God’s blessing of family gave them peace.
While we don’t live in the same social structure that they did, and not all those reading this message have been blessed with the same type of family, the invitation is the same: do you view those people in your everyday life as a blessing? Whether it’s a child, a friend, or even a coworker, do you see their presence in your life as a blessing that can bring you peace?
We are created to do life together with those that the Lord puts in our lives, and I wonder if some of the peace that might be absent from our lives might be in the interactions of those we pass in the hallways of our homes, workplaces, or churches. May we not neglect those around us as we pass them by for the sake of our own personal ambition or accomplishments. May the Lord instead open our eyes to see those around us, how we might live in closer community to really see each other, and be a blessing to each other as we strive to bring God’s Kingdom here and now.