Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 128-130 ESV

Podcast Introduction

It’s Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 128-130. I’m calling this episode “Beyond Happiness.”

S13E312ArtSWS1400-man outdoors reading bible — Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Ben White on Unsplash

Summary

Psalm 128 says those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways are blessed. “Blessed” means more than just fleeting happiness; it’s a constant state of favor and contentment. Walking with God brings deep joy and peace, unaffected by life’s challenges. May you also experience this profound blessing in your life.

Listen to the episode for more!

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The Team

Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting 2.0 Chapters
Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

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 ...

S2E312-Psalms 128-130: Beyond Happiness