1. A Man Adjusted to God (vv.1,2)
2. His Family Life (vv.3,4)
3. The Bigger Picture (vv.5,6)

VERSE 1 How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD ( yrev.a [interj., ashere] arey>-lK';; [n.m.s. + Qal.pt.m.s., yare, fear] hw"hy> [pr.n.]),

Who walks in His ways ( %lehoh; [Qal.pt.m.s., halak, walk] `wyk'r'd>Bi [prep./n.m.p. w/3.m.s.sf., derek, way]).

VERSE 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands ( yKi [conj.] lkeat [Qal.impf.2.m.s., akhal, eat] [;ygIy> [n.m.s., yeghiya, toil, produce, product] ^yP,K; [n.f.dual., kaph, palm, hand]),

You will be happy and it will be well with you ( ^yr,v.a; [interj.w.2.m.s.sf., ashere; cp. v.1a; Deut.33:29; Eccl.10:17; "You will be happy"] bAjw> o[conj.w/n.m.s., tobh, good] `%l' [prep.w/2.m.s.sf.]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 1,2

1. The quiet blessings of a doctrinally-centered life is the scope of this psalm.
2. They are available to "everyone who fears the LORD".
3. "Blessed" means "happy", the same word used in v.2b.
4. Here happiness (+H) is summed up as respect for God and obedience to His directive will (v.1).
5. Two things are required if a man, under the divine institutions of marriage and family, is to attain to the full realization of the divine ideal of happiness, success, and contentment.
6. He must fear God and apply the commandments learned under GAP.
7. It is a very simple formula, but one that is rarely seen due to man’s unwillingness to seek God and learn His ways.
8. Hard work (v.2a) is taken for granted, but this song makes it clear, as in Ps.127, that the enjoyment of the fruits of one’s labor is a gift from God.
9. The individual male believer who sets out to make God and His will the center and focus of his life will reap blessings in his occupation, marriage, and family life.
10. The key is a consistent and broad-based application of the imperatives of Scripture.
11. "You will be happy and it will be well with you" is the promise that comes to any male believer who "fears" God and "walks (applies) in His ways".
12. Happiness is what everyone wants, yet it is far from most, as they do not conform to what is set forth in v.1.
13. Many people work hard, yet they do not truly enjoy the fruit of their labors, as they are at odds with the directive will of God.
14. The promises of v.2 may seem modest, and the formula of v.1 unadventurous, but the alternative is a life subject to frustration and misery.
15. Adherence to BD enables the individual to avoid bad (STA predicated) decision-making that undermines the quiet and contented life that is promised to all who apply.
16. Many men work hard but they neglect their families and reap misery.
His Family Life (vv.3,4)

VERSE 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine (. ^T.v.a, [n.f.s.w/2.m.s.sf., ishshah, woman, wife] !p,g<K [prep.w/n.m.s., gephen, vine] . hY"rIPo [Qal.pt.f.s., parah, bear fruit]),

Within your house ( yteK.r>y:B [prep.w/n.f.dual.cstr., yarekhah, remote parts, recesses; "within"] ^t,ybe [n.m.s.w/2.m.s.sf., bayith, house]),

Your children like olive plants ( ^yn<B' [n.m.p.w/2.m.s.sf., ben, child] yletiv.Ki [prep. w/n.m.pl.cstr., shathyil, cutting, transplant; "plants"] ~ytiyzE [n.m.p., zayith, olive]

Around your table ( bybis' [adv., around] `^n<x'l.vul. [prep.w/n.m.s.w/2.m.s.sf., shulechan, table].

VERSE 4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed ( hNEhi [interj.] !ke-yki [prep. + adv.; "for thus"] rb,G [n.m.s., gebher, mighty man] %r;boy> [Pual.impf.3.m.s., barakh, bless])

Who fears the LORD ( arey> [Qal.pt.m.s., yare, fear] `hw"hy> [pr.n.]).

ANALYSIS: VERSES 3,4

1. Such a man is blessed at his job and in his home life.
2. His wife is presented under the figure of the vine.
3. Such a man is rewarded with a wife who is faithful and devoted to him.
4. Grape vines were in abundance in the land of Israel.
5. The vine was a symbol of fruitfulness (here explicitly stated), but also of romantic love (SOS.7:8ff).
6. She is to him a "fruitful vine" bringing much soulish and physical satisfaction into his life.
7. She is a grace gift that makes his home life so happy (Prov.18:22 "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD"; Prov.12:4 "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones"; Prov.19:14 "House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD").
8. The strong word "within" (v.3b) indicates that this is her primary domain, which is graced by her care and attention to the joy of her family.
9. She, then, is the perfect compliment to her RM.
10. The home environment is a reflection of their mutual devotion to their spheres of activity.
11. In the evening they enjoy the blessings of a home and marriage that is sanctified by the WOG and prayer.
12. When she goes forth from the home, it is for the benefit of the family unit (cp. Prov.31:10-31).
13. She is in complete contrast to the wayward wife of Prov.7:11.
14. The attractiveness of the God-centered wife is her faithfulness, industriousness, and devotion to her husband and children.
15. The man who is devoted to God is rewarded with such a woman.
16. The "children…around your table" are the hope and promise of the future.
17. Note the expressions "your hands" (income derived from honest labor), "your wife", "your house", "your children", "your table", and "your children’s children", which draws our attention to the head of the house, who is the subject of this song.
18. The simile of "olive plants" (or cuttings) is instructive, like the arrows of Ps.127:4.
19. They are related to two stages of youth.
20. The olive plant indicates tender growth to be nurtured by the parents.
21. The arrows suggest zeal for the family interests rooted and grounded in the faith.
22. Vigorous sons and dependable daughters are the result of faithful attention to their early development (cp. Ps.144:12).
23. The young children are as young olive plants, which hold promise for the future.
24. The divine ideal is seen in the picture of the family sitting around the supper table in love and respectful devotion to one another.
25. Such a home knows love and order and prosperity, and guarantees a steady flow of divine blessing.
26. This blessed state of affairs comes to the man "who fears the LORD".
27. Such a man commands respect and devotion from his family.
28. He is neither a bully nor a wimp, but rules his household in wisdom and devotion.
29. This kind of familial blessedness is available to all those who will devote themselves to hearth and home.
30. Too often men allow unworthy goals and interests to undermine attention to wife and children.
31. Neglect and indifference lead to all sorts of dysfunctional conditions within the divine institution.
32. Those who truly fear God qualify themselves for this kind of blessing.
33. One has to be willing to make this the priority rather than materialistic pursuits.
34. Every decision made by the husband and the wife should be viewed in light of its impact on the family.

VERSE 5 The LORD bless you from Zion ( hw"hy> [pr.n.] ^k.r,b'y> [Piel.impf.3.m.s. w/2.m.s.sf., barakh, bless] !AYCimi [prep.w/pr.n.]),

And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life ( haer>W [conj.w/Qal.imper., ra-ah, see] bWjB. [prep.w/n.m.s.cstr., tobh, good; "prosperity"] ~l'iv'Wry [pr.n.] lKo> [n.m.s., all] ymey> [n.m.p.cstr., yom, day] `^yY<x; [n.m.p.w/2.m.s.sf., chayay, life]).

VERSE 6 Indeed, may you see your children's children ( ~ynIb'-haer>W [conj. w/Qal.imper., ra-ah, see, + n.m.p., ben] ^yn<b'l . [prep.w/n.m.s.w/2.m.s.sf., ben; "sons for your sons" = grandchildren]).

Peace be upon Israel ( ~Alv ' [n.m.s., peace] `laer'f.yI-l[; [prep. + pr.n.])!

ANALYSIS: VERSES 5,6

1. The quiet blessings of the ordered life are traced from the center outwards as the focus moves from the godly man to his family and finally to the nation (Israel).
2. An adjusted male believer living in the age of Israel came under the priestly benediction of these final verses.
3. At the close of religious festivals the priests would send the men (and their families) back to their homes and labors throughout the land (cf. Num.6:23-27).
4. The realization of the benediction, of course, depended upon the individual’s attitude of heart towards God and His commandments.
5. The hope expressed in v.5 is that each pilgrim would be worthy of such blessing under the covenant (Law of Moses).
6. Those that experienced the reality were those who gave serious attention to the directive will of God.
7. Dear to the pilgrim was the welfare of Jerusalem, in addition to his own welfare (vv.5a and 2).
8. The blessings of verses 5 and 6 came from God who made Jerusalem/Zion His special abode.
9. The source of such blessing, as detailed in this psalm, is spelled out.
10. Individual blessing comes from the generous hand of Yahweh, who identified Himself with the spiritual fountainhead of the national life - the Temple in Jerusalem.
11. The blessing of v.5b depended upon many individuals who raised families in the fear of God.
12. The "prosperity of Jerusalem" within a lifetime depended upon the overall spiritual health of greater Israel.
13. It depended upon how the nation at large related itself to the will of God as taught through the Temple and its services.
14. The earthly Zion was a miniature of the heavenly Zion, from where all blessings flow.
15. Earthy Zion’s prosperity depended upon the health of tribal Israel.
16. Individual’s fortunate enough to live during periods when the capital was safe came under the blessing of v.5b.
17. Long life and the blessing of seeing grandchildren (v.6a) is keyed to strong families.
18. The family is the basic unit of society, and as goes the family, so goes the nation.
19. The individual male Jewish believer who lived in the fear of the Lord and who was rewarded with a happy and strong family contributed to the stability of the nation.
20. To live to see "your children’s children" was a reward to those who honored God during their adult lives.
21. Long life was a promised blessing under the Mosaic Covenant (Prov.3:16).
22. The divine ideal was that there be an unbroken chain, generation after generation.
23. This is how Israel was to live on from father to son to grandson.
24. Israel’s historical failure to sustain this in no way overrides the divine ideal.
25. Israel will attain to this in the Age of Christ.
26. The simple philosophy of this psalm, presented in seemingly absolute terms, receives qualification throughout Scripture (all positive individuals were not so blessed due to specialized circumstances).
27. However, for many, apart from exceptional niches, such categorical blessings were a reality.
28. The road to such blessing may be varied based on any number of factors.
29. Young people who are married or contemplating marriage should look to this song as a goal to be realized under God’s grace.
30. All can look to it as a corrective to dysfunction within their home life.
31. The final benediction is directed towards the believing community for time and eternity.
32. The psalmist calls down "peace"/prosperity upon the believing community for all its members in all places and in all ages.

© Copyright 1998, Maranatha Church Inc.