PSALMS LESSON 136
We will begin this lesson by giving the 128th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 128
Verse 1. "The man is blest who fears the Lord, And walketh in his
ways; For of thy labor thou shalt eat, And prosper all thy
days."
Verse 2. "Thy wife shall as a fruitful vine By thy house sides be
found; Thy children like to olive-plants Thy table shall
surround."
Verse 3. "Behold, the man that fears the Lord, Thus blessed shall he
be The Lord shall out of Zion give His blessing unto thee."
Verse 4. "Thou shalt Jerus'lem's good behold, Whilst thou on earth
dost dwell. thou shalt thy children's children see, And
peace on Israel."
We will begin the verse by verse study of the 128th Psalm. Psalms
128:1 "{A Song of degrees.} Blessed [is] every one that feareth the
LORD; that walketh in his ways."
Fear, or reverence, of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is
one of the major factors that we build upon. Many of the other
attributes that Christians have are started right here. If we did not
reverence Him, we might not do the things that He wills us to do.
Notice the word {walketh}. Walketh means continues to walk. We must
continue to walk in the fear and reverence of the Lord, if we are to
be blessed. This blessing is for this earth and for the eternity to
come.
Psalms 128:2 "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy
[shalt] thou [be], and [it shall be] well with thee."
We find that even though we are the blessed of God, we still must
work. God will bless the work of our hands, if we are walking in His
ways. He, in fact, will bless the work of our hands, and make it to
prosper. People who work and accomplish something with that work are
happy. This happiness comes especially, when we know what we are doing
is pleasing to God.
Psalms 128:3 "Thy wife [shall be] as a fruitful vine by the sides
of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table."
Hebrews believed that children were a blessing from God. The
Hebrew women were very upset, if they did not bear children. They even
thought it to be a punishment from God, if they did not have children.
A good wife, who does her husband good and not evil, is said to be
more precious than rubies to a man. The wife and husband are one in
the flesh. When the husband is blessed, she is blessed, as well. This
speaking of the olive plants round the table are speaking of the many
children around the table of their parents. Olive trees have very long
lives. Whether something about this is mentioned, I can not say.
Psalms 128:4 "Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that
feareth the LORD."
The blessings of a happy home are tops on the list of blessings.
The fact that he had a good wife and many children would bring him
happiness at home, and respect in the community. To fear the Lord, as
we said, is the beginning of wisdom. This would be a wise man indeed,
who would raise his family in the fear an admonition of the Lord.
Psalms 128:5 "The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou
shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life."
The Hebrews looked to the temple in Jerusalem for blessings. This
is the same as Zion. In the spiritual sense, Zion being the church,
the blessings do flow from the church to the people. The LORD
{Jehovah} does bless the people through the workings of the church.
Jerusalem was not overrun in David's time, and all the days of his
life he did see the good of Jerusalem.
Psalms 128:6 "Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, [and]
peace upon Israel."
At the end of David's reign and the 40 years that Solomon
reigned, there was peace in Jerusalem. One of the things that Solomon
did was make peace treaties with the countries around them. Children's
children are the crown of old men. We seem to live again in our
grandchildren, and it is a joy to live to see them grow up.
We will continue this lesson by giving the 129th Psalm in metre.
Chapter 129
Verse 1. "HOW oft from youth may Isr'el say, How oft from youth have
foes assailed! How sorely troubled me have they! Yet ne'er
against me have prevailed."
Verse 2. "Upon my back the plowers plowed, Upon me long their furrows
drew. The righteous Lord subdued the proud, In mercy cut
their cords in two."
Verse 3. "Let all be shamed, and made to flee, Who have to Zion
hatred shown; As grass on house-tops let them be, As grass
which fades ere it be grown."
Verse 4. "Its blades no mower's hand may press, To sheaves no binder
may lay claim; No strangers say. "The Lord thee bless, We
bless you in Jehovah's name."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 129th Psalm.
Psalms 129:1 "{A Song of degrees.} Many a time have they afflicted me
from my youth, may Israel now say:"
This is looking back at the afflictions through life. Have is
past tense, This is speaking of physical Isreal, who no one can deny,
went through terrible afflictions. They were bad, even though they
brought them on themselves by disobeying god. The Christians
{spiritual Israel} have gone through terrible persecutions, as well.
We know the disciples and the early Christians paid a terrible price
for us to be able to worship as freely as we do.
Psalms 129:2 "Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth:
yet they have not prevailed against me."
Now, David has jumped back from the afflictions of the house of
Israel to himself. He did suffer great affliction in his youth from
Saul. Notice, that he looks back to remember that God delivered him
from those afflictions. It is no good to look back, unless we learn a
lesson from it.
Psalms 129:3 "The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long
their furrows."
I do not recall David being flogged in the manner mentioned here.
This, to me, is speaking prophetically of the lashes the whip made on
the back of Jesus our Lord. This indicates the lashes went all the way
across the back and they were deep as a plough would make. By His
stripes, we are healed.
Psalms 129:4 "The LORD [is] righteous: he hath cut asunder the
cords of the wicked."
They were evil men, prodded by Satan, that made the slashes on
the back of Jesus. He was far above man. He was the purest of the
righteous. He even said, Father forgive them for they know not what
they do. He cut the cords that were binding all of mankind, when He
defeated Satan at the cross.
Psalms 129:5 "Let them all be confounded and turned back that
hate Zion."
Zion, again, is the church. Those who hate Zion in the physical,
or the church which is spiritual Zion, are those who are lost. They
are the unsaved. They are the ones upon whom the wrath of God will
fall. They are those who will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Psalms 129:6 "Let them be as the grass [upon] the housetops,
which withereth afore it groweth up:"
Grass growing in this manner, does not need to be killed, it dies
of its own account. That is what evil man is doing. The Bible says
that he will destroy himself.
Psalms 129:7 "Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he
that bindeth sheaves his bosom."
There is no wheat in this . There will be no harvest. It is dead.
Wheat is bound in sheaves to take into the barn. There is no wheat
here. We know that wheat symbolizes the Christians.
Psalms 129:8 "Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of
the LORD [be] upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD."
How can you bless those in the name of the LORD, who have denied
that He exists. They would not appreciate the blessing, even if you
spoke it. There is no need to speak a lie, and that is what it would
be, because God does not bless those who reject Him.
We will continue on by giving the 130th Psalm in metre.
Chapter 130
Verse 1. "FROM depths to thee, O Lord, I cried, My voice, Jehovah,
hear; And to my supplication's voice O give attentive ear."
Verse 2. "Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord, Shouldst mark
iniquity? But yet with thee forgiveness is, That feared thou
mayest be."
Verse 3. "I wait for God, my soul doth wait, My hope is in his word.
Yea, more than they for morn that watch, My soul waits for
the Lord;"
Verse 4. "Yea, more I wait than they that watch The morning light to
see. Let Isr'el in Jehovah hope, For with him mercies be."
Verse 5. "Redemption plentiful and free Is ever found with him. And
he from all iniquity Shall Israel redeem."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 130th Psalm.
Psalms 130:1 "{A Song of degrees.} Out of the depths have I cried unto
thee, O LORD."
We have discussed before that the best place to reach the Lord
is from our depth of despair. When we are at the very bottom, then we
cry out to the Lord, and He hears us and answers our plea. There is
one good thing about the bottom, there is no way but up to go. When we
reach the end of ourselves, we reach up to God. This is the cry that
the Lord hears, because it is sincere.
Psalms 130:2 "Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplications."
He is always attentive to our cry. If we are not used to calling
His name, we are not aware of that fact. The Bible says He knows our
needs even before we cry out to Him. He is there waiting for our cry.
Psalms 130:3 "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand?"
The answer to the above question is no one. Romans 3:23 "For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Praise God! There
is a solution to this dilemma. He took my sin upon His body on the
cross. My sin died upon the cross. I only have to accept Him as my
Saviour to receive full pardon.
Psalms 130:4 "But [there is] forgiveness with thee, that thou
mayest be feared."
This forgiveness is not just a covering of our sin with the
blood, but our sins have been removed from us and put as far away from
us as the east is from the west. They are so far away, We can never
find them again. We have taken on His righteousness. We are a new
creature in Christ. We now have no sin. He {Jesus Christ} has bought
and paid for us with His precious blood.
Psalms 130:5 "I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his
word do I hope."
In His Word {Bible} I am promised everlasting life in Him,
forgiven forever of my sin. I read His Word, I believe what I read,
and I wait for that blessed day when He will return for me, and I will
ever be with Him.
Psalms 130:6 "My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than they that
watch for the morning: [I say, more than] they that watch for the
morning."
This morning is that beginning of that eternal day. We may pray
all night and wait for day, but this is speaking of more than a normal
day. This is speaking of like a bride waiting on the bridegroom to
come. This is the church of the Lord Jesus, who are watching and
waiting for the trumpet to blow in the sky, when we will begin that
one eternal day with Him.
Psalms 130:7 "Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD
[there is] mercy, and with him [is] plenteous redemption."
This Israel is that spiritual Israel {believers in Christ} who
hope in the Lord. We received redemption by the mercy of God.
Redemption is offered to all. Only those, who do what it says in
Romans chapter 10 verses 9 and 10, receive this redemption.
Psalms 130:8 "And he shall redeem Israel from all his
iniquities."
The sting of sin is death. Death is the penalty for sin. All, who
believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, have no sin. Jesus
took their sin upon His body on the cross. He traded them a robe of
righteousness washed in His precious blood for their sin. He redeemed
all, who will receive it, freedom from sin and death, and gave them
everlasting life in Him.
We will continue by giving the 131st Psalm in metre.
Chapter 131
Verse 1. "My heart's not haughty, Lord, Nor lofty is mine eye; I
meddle not in matters great, In things for me too high."
Verse 2. "I surely have composed And soothed myself to rest, Yea, l
even as a weaned child Upon its mother's breast,"
Verse 3. "My soul is like a child Weaned and submissive grown; O
Isr'el, now and evermore Trust in the Lord alone. "
We will continue the verse by verse study of the 131st Psalm.
Psalms 131:1 "{A Song of degrees of David.} LORD, my heart is not
haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great
matters, or in things too high for me."
This is just saying, Lord I can not figure out what you have done
for me in salvation. I accept it on simple faith. I am humbled that so
great salvation has come to me in such a simple manner.
Psalms 131:2 "Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a
child that is weaned of his mother: my soul [is] even as a weaned
child."
Except ye come to God as a little child, you shall not receive
salvation. We can not figure out salvation, we must be saved through
simple childlike faith. We see from this, that faith alone is the
answer. We must not guess, but truly believe, and we shall be saved.
We must be separated from family and make this decision on our own.
Psalms 131:3 "Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for
ever."
There is no hope, but in God. It is our faith that is counted
unto us as righteousness. Hope in the Lord, and He shall never fail
you.
Questions 136
1. Quote chapter 128 of Psalms verse 1.
2. What does walketh mean?
3. Thou shalt eat the _______ of thy hands.
4. What is meant by thy wife being a fruitful vine?
5. What does it mean about children like olive plants round about the
table?
6. Hebrews believed children were a _________ from God.
7. Hebrew women thought it to be what, if they did not bare children?
8. What would bring the man happiness at home?
9. In verse 5, what blessings is it speaking of out of Zion?
10. How long did Solomon reign?
11. Children's children are the crown of ____ ___.
12. The terrible afflictions that physical Israel had they ________ on
themselves.
13. Who paid a terrible price, so that we might worship freely?
14. What is chapter 129 verse 3 speaking of prophetically?
15. Who cut the cords that were binding all of mankind?
16. Who are those that hate Zion?
17. What will the evil man do that is like this grass that dies?
18. What is verse 7 saying, pertaining to harvest?
19. In verse 8, he blessed them in whose name?
20. When is He attentive to our cry?
21. Quote Romans chapter 3 verse 23.
22. What happened to the sins of the Christians.
23. How did Jesus purchase us?
24. What is the Word, in verse 5?
25. Let Israel hope in the ______.
26. What is the morning, in verse 6, speaking of?
27. We received redemption by the _______ of God.
28. The sting of sin is _______.
29. What happened to the sin of the believer?
30. What is chapter 131 verse 1 speaking of?
31. If I can not figure out salvation, what must I receive it on?
32. Quote Psalms chapter 131 verse 3.
Home