How is it that fear can also be a blessing? How can it be true that, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord” (Ps. 128:4)? In thisintroductory session Scott Brown will do an exposition of Psalm 128, where the Psalmist lists the many blessings that are manifested in the personal, family, and civil lives of all those who fear God. He will explain the various types of fear that are found in the Bible and are therefore resident in the heart of man. 

Please open your Bibles to Psalm 128. Every principle is blessed when there's an illustration of it. And so here you have an illustration of these things that we've just spoken of regarding the fear of God. And so let's stand as we read the word of God, Psalm 128, beginning in verse 1. And it shall be well with you Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house Your children as all the plants all around your table behold thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

The Lord bless you out of Zion and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, May you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel. Oh Lord, we pray that you would open up your word to our hearts. And you would use it to change us.

To be found loved by you again through your word. Amen. Please be seated. So here is this illustration, it's a dramatic illustration, of how we ought to think about the filial fear of God. It's that kind of fear of affection and love and desire of that implanted fear that God gives at salvation.

And this is an explanation of that darling grace. And it is that seed that grows. And here we find an illustration of what happens to that seed. What does it affect? And so I want to give you a few pieces of information about this song.

First of all, it is a song. Singing is a distinctively Christian act. The church sings together. Most people don't sing, but the church does sing The church the the world entertains itself but the church sings to the Lord and and it is the fear of the Lord that puts a song in in your heart and In in one way, we're sort of mapping out the lyrics of this song. You know, when my children were little, I would often have us sing a hymn, And I would say, what was your favorite line?

Those were some of the sweetest times, to have each person just say, oh, I love that word in that song. And so this is a song, we're gonna kind of map the progress of this psalm. And it's also what is called one of the songs of ascents. There are 15 of them in the psalms. They begin in Psalm 120 and they conclude in Psalm 134, and they're sort of like a little booklet, a little song booklet in the middle of the Psalms.

And they were sung at a particular time in Israel's history. And they were sung during the Feast of Passover and Pentecost and Tabernacles. It's all explained in the book of Exodus, but three times a year families would go to the feasts and they would, as they would demonstrate the shadows of the better things to come, they would sing these songs. And the Jews, of course, allocated a tremendous amount of time for celebration and feasting. 22% of the days of the calendar were dedicated to feasting and singing and celebrating in these various feasts.

Now, the song is also about what I would just call stepping up. One of the most beautiful aspects of this song comes from really the picture that it paints. And you have a picture of a family that's making its way to worship, to sacrifice before the Lord. And you can just picture the scene of a father and a mother and the children, and they're walking down the road, and they're headed up to Jerusalem, and they're ascending to Jerusalem. And wherever you are coming from, you're going to be ascending to Jerusalem about 4, 500 feet.

And so they are, they're songs about a journey upward, upward to Zion, where all the blessings of God flow. And they really are songs about spiritual growth. You know, we get a picture of what was happening here in the life of Jesus. In Luke chapter two, we have this picture of the whole family of people going to and from Jerusalem to make sacrifices there. And on the way back, Jesus' family, they don't know where Jesus is.

It's a large crowd, and they've just lost track of him for an entire day because it was a whole community that went up to Jerusalem and they would sing together as they would go along the road. So that's the picture. You have a little family and you have a large family and they're making their way up the road. They're stepping heavenward in many ways. And also, I just want to identify sort of the flow and the focus of this psalm.

The psalm flows kind of in the shape of an hourglass. It starts out very broadly, and then it narrows down slowly, and then it broadens out wider again. And it starts with everyone. Everyone is blessed. And so it's very wide at the top, and then it begins to narrow down.

And it narrows down to a father and to a wife and then to children. And then it broadens out again, and it speaks of the blessing of the fear of God in the community and in the church and for many generations. So it's like an hourglass. It starts very broad with everyone and then narrows down and zeroes in on these various people in a family And then it expands again to really many, many generations. And this psalm describes one of the most beautiful impacts of this implanted blessing of the soul, of the fear of God.

The fear of God was designed to sweeten your family. And so there are several elements of this that I want to identify and the first element is this, the fear of the Lord makes you happy. That's verse one. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. And of course the word blessed means happy.

It appears four times in six verses. Two different words are used, but it really speaks to a lie that exists, particularly in the hearts of unbelievers. And it's the devil's lie. And that is if you fear God, you'll miss something, you'll be deprived of something, But somehow life will be hard. Well, that's not what this says.

This says that the fear of God is a blessed life. And the devil wants you to believe that the Christian life is a hard life. And it really exposes your worldview. And he's saying that the Christian life is actually a sweet life. It's a life of blessedness.

You lose nothing good in the fear of the Lord, but you gain everything. Now, we know that hard things do happen. In that sense, life is hard. But when life is lived in the fear of God, then the hard things are refashioned. And they really become the cords of love, the love of God because they make you want to love God more.

People that I know who've gone through terrible trials, they always say the same thing. I've never been closer to the Lord than in that time. I thought I was going to die. I've never felt closer to the Lord. I lost everything I had.

I never felt closer to the Lord. Because this fear of God is a sweetening fear. And that's why Spurgeon in his sermon on Psalm 128, you should go check it out. It's a great sermon. He said the fear of God is the cornerstone of all blessedness.

And so here fear and happiness are hitched together. But notice that this blessedness is conditional. They only come upon two conditions. There is the fear of God and the obedience of God. And he speaks of those who walk in his ways.

He's talking about your life. Your life is blessed when you walk in his ways, because there really are only two roads. There's the broad road and there is the narrow road. And there are, and blessings are promised to those who fear the Lord and who walk in his ways. These two things are the foundation of happiness in a home.

Obedience to God and that fear of God are the secrets of happiness in a home. That's why Moses, when he was speaking to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 28, he said, if you obey the words of God, he said, Blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. You see some of the same language that the psalmist uses here regarding walking and having the blessings of the fear of God.

So, first of all, there is this wonderful implant of fear in the soul that is a blessing. But the psalmist goes further than that, and he makes it clear that secondly, the fear of God makes you happy in the simplest things. And that's in verse 2. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you." And so there are these two promises, happy and well. The word well is referring to goodness and pleasantness and agreeableness.

Everything is sweetened by the fear of the Lord. And so the psalmist pictures the simplest thing you ever do, you eat. And The language implies that this family has been laboring together, and now after their work, they're enjoying a meal together. But what makes that meal so good? The fear of the Lord.

And that's why Bunyan said that the fear of God is the salt that seasons every duty. The fear of God makes even the simplest things the most blessed things. And here he makes it clear that high and low and rich or poor, it doesn't matter. The simple-minded, the genius, it doesn't matter at all. Anyone in the city, anyone in the country can experience this.

A man's situation in life doesn't determine God's supernatural blessing. And the poorest family can be the happiest family. The poorest in this world can be the richest in spirit with the fear of the Lord. You know, in all the ups and downs of economies and our lives, we have to recognize that there's one thing that levels it all. It's the fear of God.

It sweetens everything, even the simplest thing of eating together. It's not the happiness of luxury, but it's the happiness of love. And so, happy home life is not dependent on luxurious circumstances. It's not dependent on the absence of trouble. It is dependent on obedience and on fear.

The world's definition of happiness always includes abundance, but Psalm 128 makes it very clear that happiness comes from the fear of the Lord in the midst of the simplest provisions. And so you have this formula for happiness, and it sweetens absolutely everything. Now, there are, The more that the fear of God grows in you, the happier you become. The more of the fear of God you have in your family life, the happier that family will come. Do you have an unhappy family?

You might check out the fear of God. The Bible makes it clear that the fear of God is something that you learn, you grow in. It's something that expands. You may be a family here today that has a very small amount of fear. Let that fear grow, and let the happiness grow right along with it.

Often when you find an unhappy family, you find a lack of the fear of God. You may find great immaturity and immaturity in the fear of God. And as a result, they're not happy. That's why David said in Psalm 34 11 come children. Listen to me.

I will teach you the fear of the Lord because the smallest commonest things are sweetened by the fear of God the hardest and most difficult things are sweetened by the fear of God. And then the third thing that this wonderful implant in the soul brings is that The fear of God makes a new woman, and she's a fruitful woman, and she's a fearless woman. And we learn here from this statement of God's lovingkindnesses toward women, and How he desires to make them something of significance through his fear. This implant that a woman can have, this seed, this fountain in her soul is such a blessing to her and her entire family. And it is this infusion in a wife that sweetens everything in her life.

You know, we have many women here. And the question I would just ask of all the women here is this Do you have that sweetening fear? Do you have the fear of God implanted in your soul? You know, it's easy to just kind of follow your husband around this world But be very careful to recognize what kind of fear you have in your soul. You know last year a very dear woman in her sixties was saved here.

She'd been in church her whole life and I know her well and she's a different woman diagnosed with cancer had cancer surgery about a month ago That experience was an experience that brought her closer to God than ever because she had that fear. And so we learn how God desires to bless a woman. It transforms her life. And there's this beautiful imagery here of her influence. It's in the very heart of her home, and she's like a fruitful vine.

And her whole house is defined by her fruitfulness, and she's making everything beautiful. She's being fed from heaven. She is connected to a life source. She is a branch that is connected to the life of the kingdom of heaven, the life of Jesus Christ himself. Vines always grow by nourishment.

And if you want to find a fruitful and a fearless wife, you can find her, but when you find her, you'll learn this. She's a woman who feeds her soul. She's feeding her soul on the fear of God. And the sphere and the essence of her womanhood is expressed in all of these blessings. The woman in Proverbs 31 is a brilliant illustration of this.

This energetic, marvelous woman. Solomon says that she fears the Lord. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates." And you have this woman who fears God and because of that she fears no storm, she fears no economy, she fears no man. She looks to the future with joy because she fears God.

And she isn't really even all that worried about the weaknesses of her husband because she's not that afraid of her husband, because her fear of God has driven out her fear that comes to her when she sees her husband's weaknesses. And she's able to be a stately and mighty woman because she fears God. She's not cast down by the fear that other women have it in the face of their husband's weaknesses but God desires to make a fruitful and a fearless woman these are mighty women on the earth And I'm so glad to know many of them. And then, fourthly, there's the fear of God that makes for productive and happy children. That's the last part of verse three.

Your children like olive plants all around your table. Now, the fun begins right here. Now you have the scene of children, and they're like olive plants around the dinner table, and the fear of God is sweetening their childhood in the very simplest things. They don't need a lot of gadgets. They are cheered and hapified by the love of God that was placed in their hearts through his fear.

And so there they are. They're like olive plants and likening children to olive plants. It confirms everything you read in the Bible about the blessedness of children. And first of all, the olive trees, they were thought to be blessings in Israel. They weren't cash crops, but they were used for oil and things that made life wonderful.

Second of all, they lived a long time. Olive trees can live for centuries. If You go to Israel, the tour guides will tell you that this olive tree was probably here when Jesus walked. They live an awful long time. But one of the things that we should recognize about olive trees is that they take a long time to bear fruit, like about 15 years.

You plant an olive tree and you don't see any fruit for 15 years. You're cultivating, you're taking care of it. This is just like children. You sow and you sow, but then there's a time of reaping. But the years of sowing are long, sometimes difficult.

And you do it in the heat of the day and amidst all kinds of adverse circumstances and distractions, but you continue to nurture and bring them up in the training of the Lord, nourishing them and caring for them. And as a result, they're useful and they're productive. They're producing things of blessedness. You know, one of the great tragedies of our current society is the fact that so many youth waste their lives playing games and doing nothing productive. You know, I've waged a personal war against adults and youth who want to waste their lives just playing games.

It's a very poor use of the kingdom of heaven and I don't know how you can fear God and live that way. But these children are not that way at all. They are like olive plants all around your table. They're productive, they're vigorous, they're happy, they're going to bear fruit in due time. And then fifthly, The fear of God makes for a happy Father.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. Now, you notice the word behold? Behold, thus. Behold, thus shall the man. The word behold in the Hebrew means, hey, check this out.

Look at that. Pay attention. This is amazing. And what's amazing is you get a happy man out of his fear He fears God, but you get a happy father every home needs a happy father and You get it with the fear of God. We should pray that God would fill our whole souls with his fear, that we would grow in it so that this kind of father that we have would be happier.

You know, you children, do you pray for your father that he'll fear God? Pray for your father that his fear would increase, you're gonna get a happier father out of it. Because those who fear the Lord will be blessed. And then, sixthly, the fear of God creates a bright future for the church, for the city, and for many generations. That's verses 5 and 6.

The Lord bless you out of Zion, verse five. And may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children's children. And here you find that the fear of God blesses everything. The church, the Lord bless you out of Zion.

You know, the Bible makes it clear that the church is your mother. The church is the place of the caring and the feeding of your soul. And when you have a church where there's the fear of God, it'll be a happy church. And then the city, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Now he's talking about The days of your life when you're living in a city, those years, and the fear of God has an impact on civic life, in particular your civic life.

And then he concludes with this matter of peace. The fear of God brings peace. Isn't it interesting that the fear of God equals peace? Because it's that filial kind of fear of God. And so the fear of God brings peace.

Peace be upon Israel. The peace that he's speaking of is a comprehensive peace, head to toe, front to back, top to bottom, through and through. It's that word shalom. It means soundness and completeness. In every part, tranquility.

And so this psalm gives us a great illustration of this filial fear that God plants within the soul. And do you see how comprehensive it is? It starts out so wide with everyone, and it cascades down into every particle of life to the smallest degree, and then it expands out again to the church, to the city, and to the family. This is the fear of God at work in the world. And so just to reiterate, the fear of the Lord makes you happy, verse 1.

Secondly, the fear of the Lord makes you happy in the simplest things. Number three, the fear of the Lord makes a fruitful and fearless woman. Verse three. Fourth, the fear of the Lord makes for a productive and happy children. Fifth, the fear of the Lord makes for a happy father.

Sixth, the fear of the Lord creates a bright future for the church, for the city, and for all generations. And finally, the fear of God brings peace. And the fear of God is one of the greatest gifts of salvation. And what would it take to acquire the fear of God? What would it make?

What would it take to make you delight in his fear? And the Lord Jesus Christ gives us the answer. John Newton communicated it when he said, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed." and so in order to understand the fear of God and how you get it and how it grows It's very simple you get it from Jesus Christ Jesus Christ our Savior delighted in the fear of his Father. And in Isaiah chapter 11 verse 3 and Hebrews 5-7, you see this, that there shall come forth from a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord.

And there's really only one way to acquire the fear of the Lord, and that is to trust in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ did everything perfectly. He obeyed every law. He feared the Lord perfectly. He delighted in the fear of his Father.

And in the days of his flesh, he demonstrated his victory over fear that you and I have never been able to have. Because we do struggle with the fear of man. We do struggle with ungodly fear. We struggle fear from within and fears from without But for those who trust in Jesus Christ they know this one thing that Jesus Christ suffered for all of their ungodly fear He knew how to grow in the fear of his father like you and I don't. He knew how to fear his father like you and I don't.

And so he offered his life as a sacrifice for sinners so that sinners might have an implanted fear that would sweeten everything in their lives. And it comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the most important question that anyone will ever ask is, do you know that fear? And do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you believe that his wrath was poured out upon his son, and have you fallen upon the word of his grace and received him.

This is the fear of God. This is that darling grace that comes through repentance and faith. Would you pray with me? Oh Father, I pray that you would take your own words and help us all. That you would convert, that you would comfort, that you would make happy.

And I pray that the legacy of our time would be so many happy fathers, so many fearless women, so many productive, sweethearted children who don't need anything in this world but your fear. About the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, where you