Steve Webb 0:00 Life is not just about those moments, is it? Steve Webb 0:03 It's the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, my name is Steve Webb, and I'm your OG Godcaster. It's Psalms Wednesday, and we'll read chapters 128 through 130. This is the last day of our vacation. So Lord willing, I'll be back with you tomorrow with a fresh episode. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I'll share some highlights from our trip. Before we read, let's pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for this time together. We thank you for your Word, and we pray that as we read today, you would touch our hearts. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, are you ready? Let's begin. Steve Webb 0:42 Psalm 128 is one of the fifteen Songs of Ascent which were sung by those who were making the journey to Jerusalem during one of the three feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Steve Webb 0:55 Psalms, chapter 128. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel! Steve Webb 1:32 Psalm 129 is another Song of Ascent and commentator Derek Kidner wrote of this one, “Whereas most nations tend to look back on what they've achieved, Israel reflects here on what she has survived. It could be a disheartening exercise, for Zion still has its ill-wishers. But the singers take courage from the past, facing God with gratitude and their enemies with defiance.” Steve Webb 1:58 Psalms, chapter 129. “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say— “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms, nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!” Steve Webb 2:41 Psalm 130 is also another Song of Ascent. And this one begins with a remembrance of God's rescue from the darkness of guilt, and then it rises a step at a time to a place of encouraging a trust in God. This is one of the seven penitential psalms, the others being Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102 and 143. These are psalms that speak of sin and the assurance of forgiveness. James Montgomery Boice wrote of this one, “On the afternoon of that same day, which his heart was strangely warmed, and he truly trusted in Jesus for salvation, John Wesley attended a Vespers service at St. Paul's Cathedral. In the course of which Psalm 130 was sung as an anthem. Wesley was greatly moved by the anthem and it became one of the means God used to open his heart to the gospel of salvation.” Steve Webb 3:36 Psalms, chapter 130. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Steve Webb 4:21 Well, Beloved, let's talk for a bit about Psalm 128. Verse 1 says, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!” You know, I don't think I've ever really talked much about what it is to be blessed. The verse said, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.” Well, what does that actually mean? I mean, that's a pretty inclusive statement, right? Blessed is everyone. Well, you've probably heard that blessed means happy, but just in my own experience, I can tell you that I have not been, nor am I always, now, happy. The human experience is never one of continual happiness, is it? I mean, all of us have times of trial, tragedy, and heartbreak whether or not we fear the Lord and walk in his ways. Perfect example is Job. He feared the Lord and walked in his ways, but I can't think of any point in the first 41 out of 42 chapters that we could say, “Yeah, he should be happy right now.” So to be blessed must mean more than to just be happy. But wait a minute, maybe we need to look at the definition of happy. Well, the Cambridge dictionary definition of happy is “feeling, showing or causing pleasure or satisfaction”. Merriam-Webster says, “favored by luck or fortune; enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment, glad or pleased.” Okay. And let's do one more. Dictionary.com says “happy” is “delighted, pleased or glad as over a particular thing, to feel joy; be glad; or rejoice.” So from these we can say that to be happy is more than just a light, giddy feeling that comes as a result of some sort of an event, right? A recent event in my life that made me happy was the birth of my latest grandchild. When Penny was born, I was happy that she and her mom were healthy and doing well. It makes me happy when a Lifespring family member sends an email or comments on the show notes page. That makes me happy when you do that. But life is not just about those moments, is it? We all have times of loss, the illness, disappointments, and in those times, happiness is nowhere to be found. But the verse says, “Blessed *is*...” Now “is” conveys the meaning of *constancy*, an enduring state of being. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they asked me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” And God said, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Well, “am” as in I AM is a form of the word “is”. In a very simplified way, God was saying that no matter when or where he is there. I am. He is. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and walks in his ways. So how can we be blessed no matter when or where? The Greek word “makarios” is translated in the New Testament as “blessed”. It means fortunate, happy, enlarged, or lengthy. And it's used in connection to the kind of happiness that comes when we receive favor from God. So you could say “makarios” can mean “favored”. In Luke 1 we're told that Mary, the mother of Jesus was “blessed among women”. She was favored by God. Jesus used the word “blessed” many times in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Let me read the Beatitudes for you, Matthew 5:3-11. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Well, I think we could say that these are not things that usually bring happiness, are they? What Jesus was describing was something much deeper. It was a spiritual state of well-being and even prosperity, a deep joy-filled contentment that cannot be shaken by outward circumstances because God is with us through them. And he blesses us in those times. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and walks in his ways. When we're walking with God, when we honor him for who he is, in all circumstances, he favors us with a fully satisfied soul. David wrote in Psalm 63:1-5, O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name, I will lift up my hands. Oh, Beloved, to walk with God and receive this kind of blessing is so much more than happiness. No matter our circumstance to have a fully satisfied soul in the peaks and valleys of life is something that is worth so much more than gold. To know that God's favor rests on you brings a joy and a peace and a contentment that cannot be taken away. I pray that you know, this kind of blessing, Beloved. Tomorrow will be Poetry Thursday and our reading will be Ecclesiastes 5 and 6. If you've got a comment, a question, a prayer request, or a praise report, send a boostagram. Or leave a voice message at +1-951-732-8511. If you have a praise report or a prayer request, you can also go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. And for comments or questions go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. If you'd like to send an email my address is steve@lifespringmedia.com. Steve Webb 11:12 Lifespringmedia.com/support. Steve Webb 11:26 Today's show art is courtesy of Brother Scott. Thank you, Scott. And also thanks to Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittany. And, of course, thank you, Beloved, for inviting me to be a part of your day. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Steve Webb 11:46 Lifespring! Media bringing the message of hope, love, and good news since 2004. Transcribed by https://otter.ai