Anticipating Worship: Motivating Obedience
Psalms 128
June 5, 2022
You know that we’ve been studying these Psalms
Which have the common distinction: “A Song of Ascents”
• As those songs which were sung by the caravan as they traveled to Jerusalem and anticipated the coming corporate worship of the saints.
• We are learning a lot about the blessings and benefits of those moments when we gather with the saints and worship the Lord together.
Without a doubt, the most popular verse in regard to attending worship
Is the one often quoted from the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
The writer of Hebrews was clear on a number of points.
1) Is that we were to be committed to our personal confession of hope in the Lord and were not to waiver.
• It was a call to personal faithfulness.
• That each of us should individually remain faithful to the Lord and not to abandon Christ.
2) Is that we were to be committed to pushing one another to that same end.
• The writer actually said, “let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
“stimulate” there is an interesting word choice.
It is PAROXYSMOS (pair-ox-oos-mos)
It comes from a root word that means “to sharpen”.
And it carries the ideas of being poked by a sharp stick.
In fact, the word can be translated “to irritate” or “to provoke”
(Which I think is why I really identify with this verse)
You see it used in:
Acts 17:16 “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”
• It is also the word used when Paul and Barnabas had a “sharp disagreement” in Acts 15 regarding whether or not they should take Mark along on the second missionary journey.
The NIV actually translates it “consider how to spur one another on”
And perhaps the spur is a better analogy for our part of the world.
It’s not always pleasant, but it is effective.
It brings to mind:
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”
• The process of sharpening can be painful.
• There is friction.
• Metal is removed.
All of these sort of paint the same picture that
As we assemble part of the calling is to prod one another forward Even if our encouragement can seem a little irritating.
We are not to just allow one another to sit back comfortably,
But we are to goad one another on;
We are to grind away one another’s complacency;
We are to spur toward obedience.
THAT IS THE CALLING.
And of course the writer of Hebrews pointed out that
It is impossible to do that if we don’t assemble together.
3) So he wrote that we were to “not forsake our own assembling together…but encouraging one another”
In short we were to understand that
One of the reasons we are commanded to gather together
Is that we might be constantly evaluated by one another.
Our world loves to throw out their favorite verse:
“Judge not lest ye be judged”
BUT YOU DO REALIZE THAT
WE HAVE NO BUSINESS QUOTING THAT
TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE CHURCH.
Remember Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians regarding the sinful brother?
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”
Paul rhetorically asked there: “
Do you not judge those who are within the church?”
And the implied answer is “YES”.
Part of assembling together for corporate worship
Is for the process of judgment.
Certainly we DO NOT do it to condemn one another.
• We do it to sharpen one another.
• We do it to poke or goad or spur on one another.
• We examine one another and we push each other to love and good deeds.
And you can’t do this if you stay home,
And you can’t receive this if you stay home.
If you hide yourself away in your closet,
I don’t care how many tv preachers you watch,
It’s not the same as having a brother who knows you
Spur you in a personal and specific way.
IT IS IMPORTANT.
And, as I said, Hebrews 10 is undoubtedly
The most quoted in regard to corporate worship.
Well TONIGHT I bring it to your attention because
Psalms 128 deals with that very issue.
Now Psalms 128 DOES NOT come across like a sharp stick.
It hardly feels like one is being spurred or poked or irritated here.
However, the purpose behind it is very much
That of corporate exhortation, or to motivate obedience.
The entire purpose of the singing of this Psalm is
To push those around you to fear God and to walk in His ways.
It is the Old Testament equivalent to the hymn we sing today:
“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way! Let us do His good will; He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.”
And that seems to also be the very motive of our Psalmist
Who is promising happiness to those around Him.
In fact you read in verse 1 “How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD”
And you read in verse 2 “You will be happy and it will be well with you.”
“blessed” (1) and “happy” (2) are the same Hebrew word.
And it means “happy”.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
That’s the corporate motivation here.
That’s the gentle spurring of this Psalm.
It takes the man who is not walking in obedience
And pokes him with a stick
And says, “Hey, that path will not lead to happiness. Come walk over here.”
So tonight we talk about motivating obedience
And we talk about the result of happiness.
And we see the role that corporate worship has in this process.
There’s two main points tonight.
#1 THE REALITY
Psalms 128:1-4
What the first 4 verses have in common is that
They speak of a basic reality.
They speak of what are spiritual realities for
“everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways.”
And you see that the reality for that person is blessing or happiness.
“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD”
So the issue right out of the gate is
The promise of blessing or happiness.
Incidentally, Jesus preached this way as well.
Matthew 5:3-10 “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 gentle, 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 have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The same is true there.
That word “blessed” can also be translated “happy”
It sort of changes your mindset about happiness, doesn’t it?
Our world is always seeking happiness and rarely finding it.
• They seek for it in sin and selfishness and it can’t be found there.
God is the author of happiness.
God is the distributor of happiness.
He determines when mankind can be happy and when they can’t.
Jesus said happiness is found through
• Understanding spiritual poverty,
• Grieving over sin,
• Being submissive,
• Pursuing righteousness,
• Being pure,
• Being merciful,
• Being peaceful,
• And even through being hated.
The world wouldn’t say that any of those were avenues to happiness.
But those avenues lead us to
• Enter the kingdom of heaven,
• Find comfort,
• Inherit the earth,
• Find satisfaction,
• Receive mercy,
• See God,
• And be called sons of God.
It is where true happiness is ultimately found.
Well the Psalmist is preaching the same.
“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”
Do you want happiness?
Then “fear the LORD…walk in His ways”
INCIDENTALLY, you also learn there what it means to fear the LORD.
OBEDIENCE.
So the point is simple.
Do you want to be happy?
Do you want to understand blessing?
THEN DO WHAT GOD SAYS.
That’s a really simple premise.
The God who created you knows what happiness is
And how it is achieved.
If you want to be happy, it will NOT be found in rebellion or sin,
It will ONLY be found in obedience to God.
DON’T LISTEN to the SERPENT at the tree who’ll tell you that
Sin is delightful to the eyes and desirable to make one wise.
You’ll never find happiness outside of the will of God.
There is only SHAME and REMORSE and GRIEF
And SUFFERING and PAIN and TOIL and ENMITY.
Well, the Psalmist here starts by reminding of that simple reality.
“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”
And then he begins to get even more specific
About the happiness he is talking about.
(2-3) “When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.”
What he is speaking of there is very simply the happiness of life.
(It’s almost the flip-side of the message of Ecclesiastes)
You might be TEMPTED TO ASSUME he is saying:
That obedience to God only brings frustration in this life, but if you’ll just push through it, then in heaven you’ll finally be happy.
You know, obedience today is not fun at all,
You have to wait for heaven before obeying God will make you happy.
That’s the way Satan offers it.
No, the Psalmist talks about the happiness of this life.
He talks about the temporal blessings
That are ENJOYED TODAY by those who obey God.
And by the way, these are grounded in the word of God.
Let me show you real quick.
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14
• You read there of the detailed blessings of obedience.
• And it ranges from your children to your crops, to your battles and so on.
God will bless and prosper your life.
In short, if you obey God, He’ll make you happy.
(I understand that suffering is also a part of this life and we are definitely anti-prosperity gospel, but don’t let that cause you to think that God is out to make life miserable)
God is not some sort of cosmic kill-joy.
He has “good will toward men”
IT’S SATAN WHO TELLS YOU THAT
God is trying to keep you from having any fun.
God’s way has always been the way of happiness.
Our Psalmist lists 3 of those happinesses!
1) FRUITFUL LABOR (2)
“When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.”
It is the blessing of reaping the benefits of your labor.
It is the happiness of the harvest.
It is the satisfaction of the paycheck.
WHEN YOU work hard and plant your field
Or do your job
AND THEN YOU are given your reward which is the harvest
Or your pay
There is a deep satisfaction with what you’ve accomplished.
YOU KNOW THAT FEELING.
It’s NOT that we mind work.
In fact, if truth be told, we enjoy it.
WHAT MAKES WORK FRUSTRATING
Is when we work and our labor produces no fruit.
When you labor and get no crop.
When you work and the wages aren’t enough.
That is when frustration sets in.
But God promises if you walk in His ways then your labor will be fruitful.
• He is the provider.
• He is the one who makes plans succeed.
• So He is more than capable of making your labor succeed or fail.
I told you last week how it is apparent to me that
God won’t let me make money building furniture.
And that’s ok, I’ve always related to that story in John 21
• When Peter tries to go back to fishing, but Jesus re-routed all the fish in the sea of Galilee so that he caught nothing all night.
• The next day Jesus told him to cast on the other side and it nearly sunk his boat.
• When they got on shore Jesus told Peter 3 times, “Feed my sheep”
• “You’re not a fisherman anymore Peter, you’re a shepherd.”
• You may fish some for fun.
• You may catch a fish or two to eat.
• But you’ll never make a living fishing any more, I won’t allow it.
I SEE THAT IN MY LIFE.
But I’ve also seen the other side of that coin.
I’ve seen how God caused my family to sell furniture like crazy when we weren’t good at it at all.
• We used to build cedar beds and cedar furniture.
• I cringe to tell you how bad they were.
• We didn’t have tools, we didn’t know what we were doing.
• And we couldn’t keep from selling the stuff.
It’s because God had determined that we would
“eat the fruit of our hands, and we would be happy and it would be well with us.”
GOD CAN DO THAT.
• He can provide with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
• And He can make you starve to death on a 6 figure salary.
Happiness is up to Him.
And that includes the happiness of fruitful labor.
He gives fruitful labor.
2) FAITHFUL LOVE (3a)
“Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house,”
There’s a couple of ways to look at the analogy of your wife being a “fruitful vine”
On one hand it can be a reference to children.
• And based on Psalms 127 which reminded us that “children are a blessing of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward”
• We can certainly see how that can be true.
There’s also the Song of Solomon fruitful vine mentality.
• Who likens the beauty of his bride to the beauty of the vine
• And ponders the beauty and joys of intimacy with her.
The point there of course being that you will be satisfied
And even enamored with the beauty of your wife.
And not only that but he says she will be “within your house”
This is IN CONTRAST to the sinful woman of Proverbs.
Proverbs 7:11 “She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home;”
There is no satisfaction in having a beautiful wife
If she is prone to wander.
BUT YOU GET THE PICTURE HERE AS WELL.
It’s the absolute satisfaction and joy of marriage.
Even in the glory of the garden
God saw that it was not good for man to be alone.
Even then
God determined to give him a suitable helpmate.
She certainly was not meant to be one who irritated him or whom he’d always want to get away from.
• She’d be one who would complete him.
• She’d be one he’d be willing to leave his father and mother for.
• She’d be one who would bring him joy and happiness.
Proverbs 31:10-12 “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.”
Proverbs 31:28-29 “Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”
And so the picture here is the happiness of the marriage.
In a day when marriage is seen in a negative light.
When people would just as soon live together.
And when marriage is thrown aside at the drop of a hat.
I’ve got to say:
“I’M A SATISFIED CUSTOMER!”
I thank God that He tucked Carrie away in the middle of nowhere
So that I could marry her before she had a chance to see all the other fish in the sea!
“Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house”
We live in a culture that throws God’s commands behind their back
And then they can’t figure out
Why 50% of all marriages end in divorce.
Marriage was never meant to be the burden of your life.
IT WAS MEANT TO BRING YOU HAPPINESS.
And people know this.
• Weddings are happy affairs.
• People get married because they want to be “happily ever after”
And God delights in giving that.
You should enjoy your spouse.
You should delight in your spouse.
That is a happiness that God gives to
Those who fear Him and who walk in His ways.
• When husbands love their wives…
• When wives submit to their husbands…
• When the Lord builds the house…
It’s amazing how fun marriage can be!
Fruitful labor Faithful love
3) FUTURE LEGACY (3b)
“Your children like olive plants Around your table.”
The picture here is one of new life and legacy.
• It is not uncommon in an olive grove to see an old gnarly olive tree
• Surrounded by small saplings ready to grow and bear fruit of their own.
That is the picture.
A man gains children and not just children
But faithful children and enjoyable children.
Boy could our culture stand to learn this today.
The Bible says children are born with foolishness
And that foolishness must be extracted with the rod of discipline.
The Bible says children are born with ignorance
And so you must teach them and bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
And if you’ll do that you’ll find that children are a blessing,
In fact they are a tremendous happiness.
But today I see parents who WON’T DISCIPLINE their kids
And I see parents who WON’T INSTRUCT their kids.
It’s no wonder you also see parents
That don’t even appear to like their kids.
Their kids are no fun to be around.
They are wild and misbehaved and disrespectful.
That shouldn’t happen.
But it happens all the time when people fail to obey God or fear Him.
AND I MUST GIVE TESTIMONY HERE
I don’t work for a living – but God continually meets my needs.
• God even meets so many of my “wants”
• I’ve traveled the world, I’ve seen Victoria Falls, The Great Wall of China, The Giant Sequoias, and I’m about to see the College World Series!
I was never a heart throb, and I’m kind of a pain to be around.
• But I have a great wife whom I love and enjoy as much today as I ever have. And she loves Jesus so she’s stuck with me!
And even in the kid department.
• I’ve heard all these stories about how by the time your kids graduate you’ll be ready for them to go.
• I can tell you that wasn’t the case with Zek at all.
• We are proud of him and excited for what God will do in his life,
• But there was no eagerness on our part to push him out the door.
Now, that’s not because there’s something special in us.
It’s because God has granted happiness to our home.
We love to be at home with our family.
And the Psalmist says:
(4) “Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.”
That’s just a simple reality.
That’s just a theological truth.
And as these pilgrims travel toward Jerusalem
They sing about how there is happiness in obedience.
And then comes the second point.
#2 THE EXHORTATION
Psalms 128:5-6
Now the song moves from generic to personal.
Now, as you sing, you turn to the person walking on the right and you sing:
“The LORD bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!”
That is that spurring on!
That is the sharp stick poking each other.
That is to look at your neighbor and remind them that
• There is a blessing for them.
• They too can experience God’s happiness.
BUT IT ALL COMES FROM ONE SOURCE.
And it does not come from the world.
“The LORD bless you from Zion”
That is where the blessing comes from.
From God and from His temple.
It is God alone who grants prosperity (or at least the ability to enjoy it)
It is God alone who grants posterity (or at least the ability to enjoy it)
Only God can grant happiness and He grants it to those
Who fear Him and who walk in His ways.
And the song of the caravan is to spur each other on to it.
And this is one of the great realities of the corporate worship.
We “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
We poke one another. We perhaps even irritate one another.
We spur one another on.
• We spur on one another to obey God.
• We spur husbands to love their wives.
• We spur wives to submit to their husbands
• We spur fathers to discipline and teach their children
WE DO SO BECAUSE
We know there is happiness found in obedience to God.
You push them toward obedience to God
So that God might bless their life and make them happy as well.
This is a genuine reality of corporate worship.
We push one another toward the blessing which God promises.
And not only do we spur one another on,
But we look at the happiness of one another
As a testimony and an encouragement.
This is one of the ways that the body operates.
You take a man and wife and their family.
And those who are in the church,
Their marriage should be fulfilling and their kids should be delightful.
And when you come, you should be able to see that God’s blessing is resting on their family and it should prompt you to say, “I want that too”
That is a basic encouragement of gathering together.
The promises of God are that He will allow you to eat the fruit of your hands.
If you are not able to then you should want to know why.
We see that all throughout the Old Testament.
We read it last week in Haggai where God told them
I’m withholding rain from you because you have neglected My temple.
The promises of God are that your wife shall be a fruitful vine within your house.
If she isn’t then you should want to know why.
Why is my marriage miserable?
Why do I not enjoy my spouse?
The promises of God are that your children will be like olive plants around your table.
If they aren’t you should want to know why.
And it is the church that helps you right that ship.
It is the church who spurs you back on the right path.
God has promised happiness to His people.
Now DON’T turn that into something greedy or sinful,
We AREN’T talking about the prosperity gospel here.
I’m not saying God promised you a Corvette or a swimming pool.
But God did promise that you wouldn’t have to worry about what you will eat or what you will wear.
And God did say that marriage should be a testimony to the world and satisfying to you.
And God did say that children are supposed to be a blessing.
And all of those things are true
When we fear the Lord and walk in His ways.
I can picture the congregation walking to Jerusalem
Singing this song and encouraging one another to obey God
So that they might find the blessing and happiness they seek.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
