Bible Commentaries

The Happiness of the Pious.

A song of degrees, setting forth the temporal blessings of true piety. Cf Zechariah 8.

v. 1. Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, his entire life being arranged in conformity with God's holy will, in childlike reverence; that walketh in His ways, his entire behavior agreeing with the Word of the Lord.

v. 2. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands, being, by God's blessing, supplied with the fruits of his industry, especially the produce of garden and field; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee, real good fortune being found in a house which thus enjoys the blessing of Jehovah, where temperance and frugality are combined with contentment, and no one is compelled to eat the bread of charity.

v. 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, not on the outside, however, in club and society life, but in the rear, the inner rooms of the house, not a mere clinging vine, but a sturdy plant, leaning on her husband and happy in the midst of her family; thy children like olive-plants round about thy table, known for their luxuriant strength and promising rich returns at the time of their maturity.

v. 4. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed, with the rich blessings of God's kindness, that feareth the Lord, whose faith works in him the true reverential regard for Jehovah and the willingness to walk in the path of His will.

v. 5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, the throne of His gracious presence in the midst of His people, just as He now lives in the midst of His congregation, in His Word and Sacraments; and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life, witnessing both the temporal and the spiritual blessings which the Lord grants to His Church and its members. Every true believer takes part in the well-being of the Church, the gift which God dispenses in His mercy.

v. 6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, along and happy life being considered one of the Lord's special blessings, and peace upon Israel, rather, in the form of a prayer: "Peace be upon Israel," that is, God is invoked to grant the blessing of peace to His Church and to all its members, according to the promise of His Word, the blessings of this peace then resting also on the homes.