THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXXVIII. God’s Path To Fulfilling Manhood

(Psalm 128:1-6)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Happiness, especially for men in today’s world, often seems to be a fleeting hope:

(1) Happiness seems to be a fleeting hope for various men in the federal government: President “Trump, a Republican, isn’t the first president to” rule “by executive order. His two predecessors, both Democrats, issued many such orders – indeed, some of Trump’s just undo them – and many of his orders have been stalled by court injunctions that themselves exceed law or precedent . . .” (Chris Powell, “Dems aren’t against kings, they just want a new one,” Republican-American, June 19, 2025, p. A8)

(2) Happiness seems to be a fleeting hope for various men in state governments: “States tax hospitals and send most of the tax money right back to the hospitals. When the money is returned, it is labeled ‘Medicaid supplemental payment.’ This label triggers a federal matching payment to the states . . . In fiscal 2017, when (Connecticut) faced a $2.2 billion budget deficit, it roughly doubled the tax to $900 million. It returned only $600 million as supplemental payments, leaving hospitals $300 million to the worse . . . (a)nd the state got $450 million in federal matching funds, leaving the state ahead a cool $750 million . . . Connecticut hospitals charged in a lawsuit against the state” that the “state did not use the money to fund Medicaid, but . . . to close its huge budget deficit . . . The state settled.” (Red Jahncke, “States are using Medicaid as a slush fund,” Ibid., June 7, 2025, p. A6)

(3) Happiness seems to be a fleeting hope for many men who want to buy a house: “Connecticut housing wasn’t always unaffordable, but it is now – and on top of that, there isn’t enough of it, affordable or otherwise. What caused housing to become unaffordable . . . (was a) combination of local zoning laws, state mandates, taxes, fees, socioeconomic evolution, union-friendly regulations and natural obstructions” that inflated “the cost of housing.” (“Why is housing unaffordable?” Ibid., June 13, 2025, p. A6)

(4) Happiness seems to be a fleeting hope for many men who pay taxes: “Government in the United States has grown vastly in recent decades, financed by a spectacular increase in the national debt, an increase that has rocketed inflation and is prompting the world to withdraw from financing American overconsumption,” Ibid., Powell.

(5) Happiness seems to be a fleeting hope for many men worldwide due to the unedifying ideologies they are influenced to adopt: Jay Bergman, a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Scholars, in his op-ed, “Anti-Israel agitators oppose Western civilization” (Ibid., June 18, 2025, p. A7), noted, “I cannot overstate the number of students who tell me in confidence . . . that their professors devote a percentage of their classes to proselytizing students in . . . left-wing politics that conjoins hatred of Israel and hatred of America . . . (A)n additional enemy of those in academia who hate Israel and America” is “Western civilization . . . (However,) the attributes of Western civilization that make it different from, indeed preferable to all others in the world, are individual rights, representative democracy, separation of religious and secular authority making religious toleration possible, and a belief in the equality of everyone as creations of God . . . Indeed, much of what other civilizations have accomplished has been by borrowing all that is best in the West.”

Need: So, we ask, “Can happiness be more than a fleeting hope for today’s men, and IF so, HOW?”

I. Psalm 128:1a KJV begins with the word “Blessed,” what renders the Hebrew noun ‘esher, but it always appears in the masculine plural construct form of ‘ashre, meaning “O the happiness(es) of” the one it describes (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1089; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 80).

II. The party the psalm specifically describes in verse 4 KJV is a “man,” what translates the Hebrew noun geber, “a male at the height of his powers” (Ibid., Kittel, p. 1090; Ibid., H. A. W., p. 148-149).

III. Thus, Psalm 128:1b-6 explains how a man at the height of his powers attains great happiness:

A. Such a man reveres the Lord so that he senses his accountability to God to order his life in God’s ways, v. 1b. The author of Psalm 128 may have recalled Exodus 20:18-20 where Israel’s people feared God’s display of great power at Mount Sinai so that they asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf that they not talk with Him lest they die. Moses explained that God wanted Israel’s people to revere Him so that they might not sin.

B. Then, thinking of the Deuteronomy 28:1-14 comprehensive blessings God promised for obeying His laws, the author at Psalm 128:2-6 explained the specific blessings that a male head of household would experience for revering the Lord so as to walk in His ways (as follows):

1. In general, this God-revering, Scripture-heeding male head of household would eat the fruit of his labor and he would be happy and prosperous in fulfillment of the Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Mosaic Covenant (v. 2).

2. Specifically, this man would see his wife be like a fruitful vine in his house, and his children be like olive shoots around his table, a promise of future productivity when they matured as adults, Psalm 128:3-4 NIV.

3. The Lord would bless such a head of household from his nation’s temple on Mount Zion, and that man would live to see the prosperity of his nation’s capital city of Jerusalem all the days of his “earthly life” (hayyim, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 313; Ibid., H. A. W., p. 281), Psalm 128:5.

4. This head of household would live to see his children’s children, and peace be on Israel, implying international peace as his nation related in peace, prosperity and power with Gentile nations, Psalm 128:6.

Lesson: In the dispensation of the Law, if a male head of household at the height of his powers revered the Lord so as to obey His Word, God would comprehensively, greatly bless him with happiness as he enjoyed partaking of the fruit of his labors in the workplace, and be blessed in regard to his marriage, family, his nation’s capital and temple, his nation and even in the international realm.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) Since we no longer live in the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, God’s promised blessings for heads of households who revere Him so that they obey Scripture are more muted, but still comprehensive and fulfilling. (3) May we men then revere the Lord so as to obey Him for blessing.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

Each issue of concern in our introduction regarding unhappiness in men is addressed by revering the Lord so as to pay attention to specific instructions in Scripture as given below:

(1) The tendency for happiness to be a fleeting experience for men in the federal government, state governments or in many other positions where they are exposed to and influenced by unedifying ideologies, Deuteronomy 18:14-20 explains what Israel’s kings were to be and to do for fulfillment, and what it teaches is applicable to any man who, in a sense, acts like a “king” in an oversight role: (a) First, to lead others well, be it in a marriage, family, or any other human institution, a man must be “one of the people” he oversees, Deuteronomy 18:15. He must understand their needs, fears, trials, hopes, etc. if he is to use his oversight role best to help his subordinates. (b) Second, a man must rely on the Lord and not on his own human abilities to lead well (Deuteronomy 18:16). The complexities of human nature and the angelic realm are far too great for a human male man to lead by his own understanding, so he must rely on God! (c) Third, a man must be faithful to the Lord versus relying on any false gods, Deuteronomy 18:17a. (d) Fourth, a man must not aim to be excessively wealthy, but focus on higher goals than that, Deuteronomy 18:17b. Wealth is a blessing of the Lord, and a man needs some wealth for his livelihood needs, but becoming rich as an end in itself should not be his life’s goal. (e) Fifth, a man must read Scripture daily to keep his mind purged of errant viewpoints that constantly press in up him, Deuteronomy 18:18-19a; John 15:3. (f) Sixth, a man must revere the Lord through His exposure to Scripture to lead well, Deuteronomy 18:19b. (g) Seventh, a man must obey God’s Word, Deuteronomy 18:19c. (h) Eighth, a man must remain humble, not viewing himself as being more intrinsically valuable than his subordinates Deuteronomy 18:20a. (i) Ninth, a man must obey Scripture precisely to succeed and to be fulfilled in his role, Deuteronomy 18:20b.

(2) The challenges that men who are taxpayers and prospective homebuyers face due to the overreach or excessive restrictions by government officials, what raises costs by way of inflation, etc. that financially pressure wage earners, (a) managing one’s resources of time, talents, emotions, income, etc. is essential: (i) Proverbs 24:27 that was authored in ancient Israel where agriculture was the main occupation for a living directs that a man arrange his outdoor work and get his fields ready to earn a living before he builds a house. By application today, a male head of household must plan for the training he needs to enter a stable, well-paying career before he buys or builds a house! (ii) In addition, Luke 14:28-30 directs one to budget before starting to buy or build a structure. The better we budget all of our resources – time, money, emotions, etc. – the less troubles and thus stress we face. (b) Also, God rewards men with adequate wealth if they exhibit godly characteristics like (i) humility (Proverbs 22:4 ESV), (ii) diligence (Proverbs 10:4 ESV), (iii) avoiding excessive spending on pleasures (Proverbs 21:17 ESV), (iv) faithfulness and patience in earning and investing (Proverbs 28:20 ESV) and (v) a lifelong habit of acquiring wisdom and knowledge, what we today also call “teachability” (Proverbs 24:3-4 ESV).

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then revere the Lord in order to heed His Word for fulfillment.