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2.
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For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands. This
phrase is difficult; what king ever labored in such a way? It is not true
universally that the man who fears the Lord is blessed in these ways which the
psalm now describes. Therefore, the words are to be read regarding a particular
man and in particular circumstances. The words are especially appropriate to
Hezekiah in his writing his own copy of the Law (Deut. 17:18-20).
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3.
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Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine
house. Hephzibah (2 Kings 21:1) lost her husband through his unclean
disease, and then was “married” to him again (Isa. 62:4) after his
recovery (note also Isa. 54:1), and in short order gave birth to the prayed-for
child.
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Thy children. Compare Isa. 39:7. This blessing shows
that the denunciation in Isa. 39 was cancelled, or at least deferred for a
century, by Hezekiah’s repentance.
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Olive plants promise rich fruitfulness in days to come.
The olive is proverbial for light, prosperity, peace, and joy (Psa. 52:8; Jer.
11:16). This was a true description of Manasseh only in his very last days when
he emulated his father’s repentance. And it was true of Josiah. But all
the others proved to be spiritually worthless, so this promise was cancelled and
the earlier judgment of Isa. 39 came back into force.
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We are told by naturalists that often an aged and decaying
olive tree will be found surrounded by several young shoots. These have sprung
from the root of the older tree; they seem to uphold, protect, and embrace the
parent. They offer promise to carry on in the production of fruit even after the
progenitor has died (W.E. Shewell-Cooper, Plants, Flowers, and Herbs of the
Bible, p. 63; M.R. Wilson, Our Father Abraham, p. 13). They
contribute materially now, and offer hope for the future. In like manner must
many a righteous man have viewed the bright young faces round his
table.
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5.
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The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion. Again, as in our
previous cycles, the closing psalm of the group of three speaks of peace and
blessing out of Zion, God’s chosen dwelling place (122:6-9; 125:5).
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Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem. Especially true
of the years of unexampled “prosperity” (RSV) in Hezekiah’s
reign, and never really true thereafter (2 Chron. 32:27-30).
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6.
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And peace upon Israel. Isa. 39:8 refers to this. Link
this with the word see (above), to recognize the play on Jerusalem
(= The Lord will see, or provide, peace).
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1.
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Can it be said that any besides Jesus have fully feared the
Lord and walked in his ways?
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3.
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Thy wife = the church, of course (Eph.
5:22-32).
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A fruitful vine is a symbol which combines both natural
and spiritual Israel.
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Thy children like olive plants, shoots of the wild
olive which, contrary to normal practice, have been grafted into the other (Rom.
11:16-24). These young olive plants may not be very fruitful now (in this
twentieth century), but assuredly they will be one day!
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About thy table. A strange mixture of literal and
figurative here (see note, previous paragraph), yet marvelously appropriate to
the spiritual idea. The young plants thrive and grow to fruitfulness by means of
their regular presence at the Memorial Table of the Lord.
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5.
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The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion... all the days of
thy life. Everlasting life to be bestowed at Jerusalem (not at Sinai): see
on Psa. 133:3, and Psalms Studies, Psa. 68, Par. 8.
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And what a promise it is to us! If we are alive and remain,
when these things appear, how wonderful! But even should we come at last to beds
of death, still His word will not fail: ‘You will see all the good
things spoken of Jerusalem; it will happen in your days, and before
your eyes; for you shall rest and afterward stand in your inheritance at
the end of the days.’ Whether we sleep or wake we are the Lord’s and
His words are our hope and prayer: “the good of
Jerusalem”.
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6.
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Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children.
‘Prospects of fruitfulness may seem to be meager at present, but the
future is bright.’ The numerous conversions in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41; 5:14;
etc.) were really the converts of Christ, not of Peter.
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In Gal. 6:16 Paul appears to quote this verse and v. 1 (cp.
notes, 125:5).
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To see their children’s children was the experience of
two great men who emerged from extraordinary trials, Job (42:16) and Joseph
(Gen. 50:23). Did Hezekiah literally see his grandchildren? It is just barely
possible (see Par. 3 above). But in prospect Hezekiah surely did see his
descendants to the second generation and beyond, for he recognized God’s
hand in preserving not only himself, but thereby also the dynasty of David
through Hezekiah. Down through the ages and the generations, the righteous king
by the eye of faith saw the day of the coming Messiah, his seed and
David’s, and he rejoiced (cp. Abraham in John 8:56).
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And peace upon Israel becomes a blessing in the RSV:
“Peace be upon Israel!” Just as in Psa. 122:8 and 125:5, this
is a prayer and a wish. It is the rallying cry of the saints of God, who pray
individually and collectively for the peace of Jerusalem. The section of these
psalms that began with the captivity of Zion (126:1) now ends with a prayer
destined soon to be a reality, first for Israel, and then for all the earth:
“Shalom!”
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