Read Psalm 127 and 128 at Bible Gateway.
The paragraph divisions:
Psa 127:1a Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; {n}
1b Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2a It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, {n}
2b To eat the bread of sorrows; {n}
2c For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
5a Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; {n}
5b They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. {p}
Psa 128:1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways;
2 When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you;
3a Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house; {n}
3b Your children like olive plants all around your table;
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord;
5 The Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life;
6 Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel! {p}
The repeating patterns:
THEME ONE: Bread of sorrows / labor of hands (Psa 127:2 and 128:2).
The fascinating thing about this repeating theme, is that “bread of sorrows” in Psa 127:2 comes from the same root as the sorrowful labor and hardship that Adam and Eve earned for themselves upon eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden (Gen 3:16-19). In fact, it became Adam’s lot to eat the bread of sorrows, for God said:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil (sorrowful labor and hardship) you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground …” Gen 3:17-19
But then in Psa 128, for the man who fears the Lord and walks in His ways, the element of sorrow has been removed, and he shall eat the labor of his hands in happiness.
THEME TWO: Fruit of his wife’s womb / His wife a fruitful vine (Psa 127:3 and 128:3).
THEME THREE: Children are a heritage from the LORD / Like olive plants around your table (Psa 127:3-5 and 128:3).
Then another thing I noticed, is that Psa 127 begins in the city (of Jerusalem) and moves toward the single family house. Psa 128 ends with the blessing on the single family house, and moves out to the city (May you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life, vs. 5). The foundation of the blessed city, is the blessed home. And the blessing of the home comes upon one, seemingly without working for it, who concerns himself with the LORD and His ways. I am keeping in mind that we may not have yet left the theme of the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem that we were looking at last week. ♥
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