Psalms 128 – 130
Verse 128:1 is the theme for the first Psalm:
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
We read fear and often apply different definitions to the word. Most of the time I think we tend to apply the tradition definition of believing something is dangerous. God is not dangerous in any way. We do not need to fear him in this way, but rather give Him a healthy dose of respect. If we look into the translations we find that our one word translation is actually 8 different words in Hebrew and I am sure a few in Greek and Aramaic.
We need to give God respect and understand that He could rain down wrath if we blow it. But I really think we should fear Him like we fear our fathers. Now I know there are should who rightfully fear their father, but most it’s more a fear of the punishment for the error we did and not an underlying fear, but love. When we do wrong we should pray for kind and loving correction and be joyful that God to the time to do so.
Verse 129:2 is something we start thinking in our old age:
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
I read this and wonder if the pain they are talking about is growing pains or pain of our age. This past weekend was spent hacking brush with a machete for hours each day. I was worn out and tired each day and felt accomplishment for the work done. The thing I noticed this morning was not sore muscles but sore joints. I never notice that in my “youth” so is this what the Psalmist is talking about?
One looks at verse 3 talking about their backs being plowed reminds us of the damage Israel’s enemies have done. Not fatal, but constantly there as a reminder. Much like Jesus’ “stripes” from the whip, that remind us of the suffering He endured for our salvation. The Psalm could be read from many points of view, an individual, a nation or as Jesus. We all tend to feel the pain of our youth as we get older. The joints that hurt the most on me today are the ones I injured racing motorcycles when I was younger.
Verse 130:3 reflects on petitioning God:
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
None of us could stand the test before God if it wasn’t for the sacrifice of Jesus. The Old Testament is there for us to fully understand the implications of what happened on the cross. We can hear this story a thousand times and unless we understand the context of the time, it’s difficult to understand why God sacrificed His son. We live in sin no matter how good one may be on the outside. Personally, “mental attitude sins” are my problem. On the outside I may appear to be living right with God, but pride, envy, greed and lust raise their ugly heads often in my mind. That may be the same for others, we all fall short of a true relationship with God.
This is why it’s important to understand the significance of the “blood sacrifice” from the OT. We get caught up in today and how we would never kill a defenseless lamb to cover our sins, because we have lived under the grace of Jesus for 2000 years. But live in their time and all is more easily understood. They symbol of Christ on the cross is clear to the people of that time. We need to read and learn so it is clear to us today. Make the first source of information and truth the Bible, not your second, third or last.