WEEK 45

psalms this week
"On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the grace and light of God and then form our resolutions, without being in any pain about what success they may have."
     - John Wesley
​Psalms 127. 128. and 129

introduction to the Series

Most of what we learn how to do, we learn from other people. Sometimes it is the learning that comes from specific and deliberate instruction. At other times it is the learning that comes by way of example and imitation. During 2023, our endeavor is to learn how to pray from the Psalmist.*

The Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it is mostly a book of prayers. We will spend the year going through the book, beginning to end, and letting the Psalmist teach us by example how to pray.
In this endeavor, we cannot benefit from his deliberate instruction, of course. What we can do, however, is take full advantage of his example.  We will observe how he prays, and we will learn to imitate him.

Our approach will be week by week. The recommended practices and exercises are not daily, but rather suggestions for an individual to implement throughout the whole week. ​

Exercises for this week

Psalm 127
Psalm 128
Psalm 129
Read Psalm 127.  This brief Psalm is comprised mostly of a series of declarative statements.  Make a list from 1 to 5, representing the five verses of the Psalm. Next to each number, jot down your personal reaction to each of the Psalmist's statements.

Review the verses and your responses to them. Talk to the Lord about each, one at at time.

Verse 1 uses two metaphors to portray a certain principle. How would you articulate that principle?

What biblical characters and/or stories illustrate that principle?

What experiences from your own life illustrate that principle? 
  • Make a list.
  • Talk to the Lord about those experiences. ​

​Read verse 2 in a variety of different translations in order to gain a full sense of its meaning. Then:
  • Read Exodus 20:9-10.
  • Read Proverbs 10:4; 18:9; 20:4; and 24:30-34. 
  • Read 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
  • Talk to the Lord about what you see in Scripture concerning the goodness and value of work.
  • In light of what Scriptures affirm about the goodness, importance, and value of work, talk to the Lord about the point the Psalmist makes in 127:2.
  • Taken all together, what do you hear as the Lord's word to you today about work?

Read verse 2 again in your favorite translation.  Then:
  • Read Genesis 2:2.
  • Read Exodus 20:8-11.
  • Read Psalm 23:2.
  • Read Psalm 91:1.
  • Talk to the Lord about what Scripture says about the goodness of rest.
  • Talk to the Lord about these additional Scriptures in light of Psalm 127:2. 
  • What do you understand to be the Lord's word to you today about rest? 

Verses 3-5 are about children, and, broadly speaking, the attitude of the Psalmist is different from the attitude of contemporary culture.
  • Identify the individual claims that the author of Psalm 127 makes about children.
  • What do you understand or imagine to be the reason behind each claim?
  • How would you characterize the contemporary culture's response to each of the Psalmist's claims?
  • What do you understand to be the reasons behind the culture's counter-claims?
  • Talk to the Lord about the differences between what you read in the Psalm and what you discern in the culture. 
  • Talk to the Lord about the implications of those differences.

Psalm 127 is often printed as featuring two parts: verses 1-2 and 3-5. Having reflected on the parts of this Psalm, talk to the Lord about how those two parts are related to each other.
Read Psalm 128.  Strictly speaking, this Psalm is not a prayer inasmuch as the author is not really addressing himself to God. Yet God is very much a part of the Psalm and of the Psalmist's thought and understanding. As you read, jot down a list of observations about what the author of Psalm 128 believes about the Lord.

The theme of Psalm 128 is the Lord's blessing. As you read, identify:
  • What sort of person enjoys the blessing of the Lord?
  • What does His blessing look like and include?
  • What do the answers to the previous two questions tell you about the Lord's will?
  • Talk to the Lord about what you discover from Psalm 128 about His will.

Read verse 1 in a variety of translations in order to gain a full sense of the meaning. Then:
  • Read Exodus 9:23-30.
  • Read Deuteronomy 6:1-3, 24.
  • Read 2 Chronicles 19:8-9.
  • Read Psalm 25:12.
  • Read Proverbs 9:10.
  • Read Proverbs 19:23.
  • Read Acts 9:31.
  • Read Colossians 3:22.

​Reflect on verse 1 in light of the other passages of Scripture just read.
  • How would you define what it is to fear the Lord?
  • What is the look and lifestyle of a person who fears the Lord?
  • Conversely, what might be the look and lifestyle of a person who does not fear the Lord?
  • What is in store for those who fear the Lord?
  • Talk to the Lord about how you have been at different times in your life with regard to fearing Him. 

Verse 2 expresses the first aspect of the blessing of the Lord.
  • Is this what you would think of first when you think of the Lord's blessing in a person's life?
  • If not, what would be your first thought? 
  • To what extent have you enjoyed the blessing described in verse 2?
  • Talk to the Lord about it.

What do you take to be the implication about work in verse 2?

There are other passages in the Bible which give much longer lists of what the Lord's blessing looks like.  Read, for example, Deuteronomy 28:1-13.

We observe that the blessings of God in Psalm 128 are considerably narrower in scope than in the Deuteronomy 28 passage. What do you understand to be the significance of the particular emphases found in this Psalm?
​
Once again, as we have see in several recent Psalms, Psalm 128 concludes with a concern for blessing and peace for Jerusalem and Israel.
  • To what extent is this concern an expression of the author's will or an expression of God's will?
  • To what extent does this concern and theme influence your own prayer life? 
Read Psalm 129.
  • How would you describe the mood of the author?
  • How would you describe the experience of the author?
  • How would you describe the faith of the author?

Psalm 128 is full of images and picturesque language. Make a list of all of the imagery that the Psalmist uses. Then, for each image, describe what feeling or emotion the Psalmist is trying to convey.

Verses 1-3 suggest that Israel is being personified in the first-person-singular. Focus on verses 1 and 2, and make several thoughtful lists:
  • Make a list of the times and ways recorded in the Bible that Israel was afflicted by others.
  • Make a list of the times and ways in history since biblical times that Israel has been afflicted by others.
  • Talk to the Lord about those two lists and about what thoughts and feelings they elicit within you.
  • Reflect on the two lists in light of the claim of the Psalmist that "they" have not prevailed against Israel.  To what extent and in what ways has that been true?

​Make a list of individual characters within Scripture who might have said the same thing as the Psalmist says on Israel's behalf in verses 1-3.

Reflecting on the list just made:
  • What are some things that those individuals have in common?
  • What are some things that their opponents or oppressors have in common?
  • What do you conclude about the Lord's work in the lives of those individuals?
​
Read verse 4 in a variety of translations in order to gain a full sense of the meaning of the verse. 
  • What does the Psalmist believe and affirm about God?
  • To what extent does his faith resonate with your own belief and experience?

​Verses 5-8 fall under the category of "imprecatory" -- that is, Psalms that curse or wish ill or pray for bad things to happen to other people. 
  • When have you felt similarly?
  • To what extent have those feelings become a part of your prayer life?
  • To what extent should such feelings be a part of a person's prayer life?

Reflect on the specific wishes expressed by the author in verses 5-8. 
  • Make a list of the things he expresses. Rewrite them in more prosaic sentences, without the picturesque language. 
  • Given his (or Israel's) experience, what other things might he have wished that he does not express here?
  • To what extent does the list of things that the Psalmist wishes coincide with your understanding of God's will?
  • To what extent does the list of things that the Psalmist wishes coincide with God's actions at various times and places in Scripture.

What impact does Psalm 129 have:
  • On your understanding of God? 
  • On your understanding of Israel?
  • On your prayer life?
* We will refer to the author as “the Psalmist,” though of course not all of the Psalms were written by the same person. A significant number are attributed to David. Others are associated with Asaph, the sons of Korah, and an assortment of other individuals. Also, several dozen Psalms have no name attached to them.  For the sake of ease and uniformity, we will simply refer to “the Psalmist.”