I'd like to thank Reverend McKee for the invitation and the welcome he has given. And I do trust tonight that as we come to the beginning of this Bible conference, you will know the help and blessing of God. These are uncertain times given the calamity that has come into the world and has come also into these parts. But we do trust that in the midst of all of that, this week will truly be a blessing to your heart and to your soul. Will you turn to that Psalm 128? As you're doing that, our brother did mention to me the Mars bar. I said, well, desperate times call for desperate measures. But anyway, I didn't bring a Mars bar with me. But nonetheless, these are the situations. And well, we bear with those things. But we trust together around the word, we will have a spiritual food. And the Lord indeed will bless our heart and fill our souls with His great truth. Returning to Psalm 128, I know we've been singing the words. I hope you are following them very carefully. We're going to read that psalm together. Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands. Happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee. My wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel. Let's join together for prayer, and we'll seek the Lord. Father in heaven, we do pray that as we join together now, thou wilt help us We pray that though there may be grave situations developing around us in the world and coming very close even to our homes, yet here as we center and focus our thoughts upon Thy Word, close us in with Thee. Make Thy Word a treasure and a blessing, a stay, a comfort, a guide. We pray that in Thee, and in Thy Word we will hope. And we cry to Thee that You'll be near to us. Help, fill with Thy Holy Spirit, even now as we both contemplate and as we endeavor to minister Thy truth. To each one, come near. Bless Thy Word. Stir the heart and stir the soul. We know this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And we pray that His work will be evident even in this house, in this meeting place this evening. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. A brother has mentioned to me that you have in your last year studied the Psalms of Degrees, the first part or section of them. And so in many ways we're breaking into them. It's a joy to be able to come always to the Word and to preach. I have to say, I have not preached upon this psalm ever before, so this is a first. And therefore, in that account, it's always a good thing when you're asked, given a subject, and told this is where you're preaching from, because that gives you a little bit of a prompt and forces you to look to the Lord and look to the Lord for guidance and help. But another reason I kind of pounced, I have to say, on this particular psalm is because in my late teens, As a young man, I was greatly challenged by this psalm in the sense that I believed the Lord placed it upon my heart and gave me a great promise. And in an old Bible that I have, as a young man, probably around 17, I think, I have this transcribed and it's full in the front page. And I believe that was providential. The Lord had given me this psalm and it has been a treasure to me all my days. And much of what is contained in it, I can look into and say, well, the Lord in his mercy has gifted and promised me. many things out of this psalm. So it's a very special psalm to me in that sense, devotionally before the Lord and my own personal walk with the Lord. And I trust that as we look upon it this evening, the Lord will indeed minister to our hearts through it. It is a psalm, as you can readily understand from reading it, as Matthew Henry pointed that the only way to see the prosperity of our homes and our families is to have the blessing of God upon them. That is the theme of this particular psalm. And so straight away, whenever we begin to think of our life and we begin to think of our home and we begin to think of our families, This psalm should have special attraction. What I said earlier, as a young 17-year-old looking to the Lord that he would guide and lead a wife and looking to the Lord for days ahead, you can see readily how special this psalm really is. And what Matthew Henry said concerning this truth, that the only way to see the prosperity of our homes and our families is to have that blessing of God upon them. And I trust that every believer in this house here has a sense of that, that of all things in your life, you need the blessing of God. I need the hand of God upon my life. And so in this psalm, you have much by way of direction, much by way of promise, encouragement to believers to give thoughts to our walk with the Lord in terms of our home and our family. And so in many ways, I wish to speak therefore upon the godly home, for I believe that's what this psalm here is speaking about. And there is much in it that God has to say concerning our homes and concerning our families. You will notice that the happiness of the home is alluded to here. It says here, and let me just go through some of the verses, so follow them carefully. Verse 1, blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. Happy shalt thou be, verse 2 says, in the middle of the verse. Again, verse 4, blessed, behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. Look at verse 5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion. Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children and peace upon Israel. And that word blessed is very important and happy. You will see that they occur several times here. And so, in the context of a godly home, the godly home is a blessed home. Blessed by God. We can think of texts of Scripture that allude to the blessing of God. It maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it. A man or woman. Who knows the Lord is a blessed person, a blessed individual. The phrase blessed, occurring here as it does in verse 1, has a particular meaning. It has the idea of thinking of yourself as blessed. We had a man in our congregation in Banbridge. I got to know him several years ago. And the more I got to know him, the more I could see his godliness. Sadly, a short number of weeks ago, Wilby passed away. Wilby was one of those individuals, didn't like being to the fore. But nonetheless, a man who put his hand to the plough, and seeking to serve the Lord wherever he could, in his own quiet way. If you'd have asked him for something, he would have willingly done it. He was a man greatly respected, loved the Lord. In his home, I suppose particularly over these last times especially, he would tell me when he was in hospital, at the end of life's journey. You know, I said to my wife just the other day when he was still at home, we are blessed. We are blessed. He had much ill health in these latter months, difficulties. And yet in the midst of all of that, he could say those words and he meant it. He counted his blessings. He thought of himself as blessed. Why did he think that? Well, with every believer, we have the right to think of ourselves as blessed, to have a soul that is saved. That's a treasure. that cannot be compared to all the gold or any of the riches that are found in this world, to know that God is our Father, to know that we are upon His heart. As not one sparrow falls to the ground, but our heavenly Father knows it, so the Lord says, ye are of more value than many sparrows. We're the object of the love of God in Jesus Christ, so much so that Christ has gone to the cross to die for us, to save our soul, and to bring us to heaven. No wonder the hymn writer said, solid joys, lasting treasure, none but Zion's children know. Do you think of yourself like that as a child of God? Blessed of God. There's a psalm, Psalm 34, going back in the Psalms, I think it expresses these thoughts. And remember what the psalmist is doing here? The word here is, blessed is everyone. That is, here is a man, an individual who knows God, thinking of themselves as blessed. In Psalm 34, it says, Verse 4, I sought the Lord. He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Verse 6, this poor man cried. The Lord heard him, saved him out of all his troubles. Have you got it, child of God? In this world, when there is so much turmoil, When we look at what is happening all around us, we see men's hearts trembling for fear. In the face of all of that, do we count our blessings that we have that which is a treasure, that which is solid joy, a soul washed in the Redeemer's blood, saved forevermore We are to think of ourselves as blessed. We have the right to do so. I said in verse 1, the word blessed has the idea of thinking of yourself as blessed. But if you go down the passage in verse 4, it says there, Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion." And there's a different emphasis there because it's not the same word that is translated blessed. In this instance, it has the idea of being declared blessed. Thus shall the man be blessed. The Lord shall bless thee. Now it is one thing for an individual to think of themselves as blessed. But this means much, much more than even that. If you think of what is said here in verse 5, the Lord shall bless thee out of Zion. Why is that expression used? Because Zion is the place of worship. It's the place where the temple is. These are the songs of degrees rising toward the temple. And as the pilgrim is making their way up to Jerusalem, their thought is going up to the house of the Lord. And what is special about that place? The Lord has been pleased to put His name there. The presence of God is there. It is there where all the symbols of worship are. More than that, it's where the Lord is. It's the place of sacrifice. It's the place where the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies and there makes intercession, all speaking, remember, of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here the pilgrims are reminded, the Lord shall bless thee out of Zion. That is, declare you blessed. And when we carry that thought over into the truth of the gospel message as it is fully revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament gives us language here that we are to indulge, if you like, ourselves in and think often upon. Let me turn you to that end, to Ephesians 2. It says there, you have he quickened, in verse 1, who were dead in trespasses and in sin. And if you will write down these words, even through to verse 7, you will see what the Apostle Paul is saying. In verse 4, God who is rich in mercy, for his great love for which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." And you have those beautiful words quoted often, for by grace are you saved. through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." Do you see what the Scripture here is outlining? It is showing us the standing that we have the place where we now reside in Jesus Christ. We're under the blessing of God in Jesus Christ. In the ages to come, we are told, God will show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. And that has come now to our heart, to our soul, so that one day we will stand in glory. We have the right to think of ourselves as blessed, because God in Christ has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. The Lord has blessed us out of Zion. Can I say a word to those in the meeting tonight without Jesus Christ? We've been thinking here of this psalm, this word blessed, and we're thinking of the happiness of the child of God. blessed of God, a soul safe, secure. But what of you? Do you know the Bible says about you, outside of Christ, that you are under condemnation? If you died, your soul would be eternally lost. Right now, you're under the wrath of God, not the blessing of God. There may be many things by way of blessings, let's call them, material blessings that you may enjoy, but you do not know spiritual blessings. You do not know sins pardoned, forgiven. You do not know God. You do not know Christ as Lord and Savior. In reality, you're under the curse of God. You say, but I'm happy in my sin. What happiness is it to be under the wrath and the curse of God, that your soul at any moment could go out into an eternity and be without Christ, without God, and without hope forever? There is no happiness in that. No, this is the blessing you need to seize, the blessing of God's pardon and forgiveness. Blessed is the man. that feareth the Lord." So, we can see that in the godly home, there's a happiness, and that happiness fixes upon Christ and all that the Savior has given to us in forgiveness and pardon and having peace with God. In the psalm, we also see the holiness. of this home, because we learn that blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. In fact, that is mentioned in verse 4 again. It's repeated. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. Now, that's a common phrase, fearing the Lord. The context has to do with this home that is blessed of God, and you can see that in verse 2 and verse 3. Verse 3 says, thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine. But remember, this home is a home that is God-fearing. Blessed is the man everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways." Verse 4, "'Behold, that thus shall a man be blessed, that feareth the Lord.'" So we have to take time with this phrase, fearing the Lord. Interesting to take note of some of the earliest mentions of this phrase. In Exodus chapter 1, one of the early times that this phrase is used, was the midwives who feared the Lord. Read it. God, of course, blessed them because they sought to save those infants that Pharaoh had designed to have slain. We might even make a comment there and bring this very much up to date. Isn't it sad to see the way our nations are going? I was reading lately of two midwives in Sweden who are not able to perform the office of a midwife because they refuse to take part in abortions. Isn't that a tragedy? Exodus chapter 1 records midwives who sought to save the children, and it says of them that they feared God. The book of Genesis also, 22 and 12, speaks of Abraham, and remember how he was prepared to offer up his son Isaac You might think what I've said is a contradiction, but remember, Abram believed that God would raise Isaac up again. And God did stop him. But it was to prove the love in the heart of Abraham for God. But it says of him, God said that he knew he'd fear God. Now, why have we mentioned those things? that shows to us what this phrase actually means. Fear in this passage and in Scripture has the meaning here when it speaks of fearing God, of doing what God desires over and above what the flesh would necessarily want. And it's visible in our life in our walk, in our deeds, and in our behavior. Oftentimes the word conjures up the idea of being petrified, but that's not the meaning here in Scripture. It has to do with reverence for God, respect for His Word. It is indeed the preference of the godly individual here in the home to go the way of God. to take His Word and walk in the light of it. That's what it means to fear the Lord. And here is an individual in the context of family life, in the context of the home, and the thought is of respecting God's Word, going the way that God requires, putting the Lord first, setting the Lord apart. Here's the home. where the Word of God has priority over everything else, and there is a desire to walk in the ways of God. I started out by quoting Matthew Henry, saying that this is a psalm for families. And he said, the only way to see the prosperity of our families is to have the blessing of God upon them. Well, now we're learning a little more about the godly home. The godly home is a place where God is feared. Not a home where individuals are petrified of God, but a home where God is reverenced. His Word has priority over all else. We live in a world, of course, that says this. We're in charge. No one will be Lord over us. I will do whatever I want to do. But the godly home says, no. I have set the Lord before me. I'll walk in His ways. I'll do His bidding. I'll stand upon God's Word, everything else I will set aside that would desire me or encourage me to walk another way. I'll put the Lord before me." If we're looking for the blessing of God upon our homes, our homes have to be holy. And holiness demands fearing the Lord. You will notice embedded in this psalm is the thought, while mention is made of the wife, embedded in this psalm is the thought of the father. And he is considered the head of the home. Because it says here, thy wife, verse 3, shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, thy children like olive plants around about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. Is the woman not blessed? Of course she's blessed. But you can see what the scripture is doing here. It is identifying the man as the head of the home. He is the one who is looking for the blessing of God. Not that the wife isn't, but this psalm is identifying the man and saying, to the man, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. He's endeavoring, therefore, to command his home. He's endeavoring to look to the Lord that his home will be blessed of God. He's endeavoring, put it like this, to give the lead. Desirous that the Lord would come in and stamp his blessing upon his household. And if you go to the New Testament, there's much teaching in this regard. Let me give you a few verses, the book of Colossians, for instance, and also in the book of Ephesians. Quickly, let me point those texts of Scripture to you. Now, they remind fathers of that duty and that responsibility that we have in our homes to lead and to guide in regard to spiritual matters. In Ephesians chapter 6, We learn there concerning children, and it says in Ephesians 6 and verse 4, Now, if you go back to Psalm 128, it speaks of a wife being a fruitful vine, children like olive plants round about the table. So we're in context here. It's speaking about the home. It's speaking about children in the home. And in that context it then says in verse 4, Behold, that thus shall a man be blessed that feareth the Lord. New Testament teaching is the man in the home is seeking to bring his children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I could turn you also to Colossians chapter 3 just to reinforce that thought. Colossians 3 verse 21. Colossians chapter 3, and there we read in that verse, fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Now children are called upon to obey their parents in all things, but fathers here are specifically pointed at. and encouraged to guard their conduct and guard their ways, their walking, are to walk in the fear of the Lord. And in the context of children in the home, they're encouraged, reminded, counseled to bring up those children in the fear of the Lord, not to provoke them, but rather to guide them, to lead them, to nurture them, as a husband man would train a tree, for instance, to make it grow in a certain way, so the Father is to nurture the children in the things of God. Therefore, there's a challenge here, isn't there? Can I put that challenge out to fathers here? It is not to every home that the Lord gives children, but it is a general rule, and if God has given to you children, godly father, Christian father, What are you doing with those children? You may do many things with them by way of recreation. That's good. But I'm asking spiritually, what do you do with your children? Do you encourage them in the things of Jesus Christ? Do you desire their salvation? Do you pray over them? Do you watch your very conduct so that you endeavor to be Christ-like towards them? Or are you provoking them to wrath? You must answer. I must answer this. It's a challenge. I often say those who wish to adopt children. They have to go through so many hoops and they have to go through so many procedures and yet generally it is the case young people come together and they're married and then children come into the home. We've never been through anything like it and we have to go through trying to raise these children. But the Lord does give you guidance. The Lord has set before us His Word to guide and direct us in regard to how we raise our children spiritually, teaching them to fear the Lord, to walk in the ways of God. Do you see the awesome responsibility that lies upon the Father? Oftentimes, that duty seems to be offloaded by the father to the mother. That should not be the case. The Scripture here in this psalm does put the man in this duty to the fore. We're going through the psalm, looking at this home, picking out those things that the Scripture identifies. See, also here, there's an honorableness to the home. What do I mean by that? Well, if you look at verse 2, it says, thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Now, I don't want to labor the point, but it's very clear what the Scripture here is alluding to. In the godly home, it's a place where there is health and strength and ability then there should be work. Thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. I am not saying at all that the man alone is to work. Virtuous Woman in Proverbs speaks of her industry and what she does and she helps, but I'm making it clear The godly home, there needs to be an ethic in it and an ethic of work where there is health and there is strength. Then God is pleased to bless the labor of the hands. And there are many scriptures to this. 2 Thessalonians mentions how that if we do not work, we should not eat. We're to give ourselves to industry. Romans 12 speaks of doing that which is honest. And so it stands to sense, therefore, that as a child of God, we should be known for our work ethic. And I say this by way of encouragement, especially to young people setting up their home. These are days when finances are stretched. These are more than difficult days right now. And you might think, you know, if I'm ever going to get ahead, I'm going to have to put the Bible aside. I'm going to have to go in another direction. I don't want to go completely in another direction, but I'm really going to have to put the Word of God aside. And there are things that I'm going to have to do in order to get financially ahead. Let me encourage you with the Word of God. If you fear the Lord, and as if you walk in His ways, God will give you a promise here. You'll eat the labor of your hands, and happy shalt thou be. Trust the Lord, There are jobs, there are tasks, there are opportunities that you'll have to turn your back on because they're not of God and they're against God's Word. And the devil will tempt you, you could have made it. I remember my father, he had a young family. At that time, four boys, there may have been a girl as well at that particular stage. We hadn't much, but he was involved in a job, had been gotten a job driving a lorry. I can't tell you the whole details, no point, but there was a dodgy maneuver going on, and it involved receipts. And the idea was that instead of getting paid for one load, you would get paid for two. My father found out that this was part of the procedure, and he went to the individual concerned. He said, I can't do this. Man said, look at that young family of yours. You need the money. This is easy. No one will ever know. Take it. Well, I thank God for my dad that he was of such a spirit. No way. No way. Men and women, our homes are to be honest homes. Homes that respect God and his word. And if we wonder how we're ever going to be provided for in our home, remember we're resting upon God. Thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. Not only do we have the honorableness of the home, but we have the household, the structure of the home here identified It's family life. Notice what it says here. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Remember, these are general promises. It may be that God will not give each individual a wife or children. That is up to the Lord. But what this psalm does set out is this is what ordinarily will take place. It has to take place because this is the structure. This is the household that God gives. And right away we can make a mark here upon the dreadful society that we have today. The family life, the bond and marriage, the children that are born. They're held together by the bounds and by the counsels that God gives. There is no place for the despising of marriage or for the willful disintegration of it that takes place today, nor is there any place for the corrupting that takes place through so-called same-sex marriage. This is the structure, this is the household that God gives. And God in his providence, therefore will say to a young man, thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine, your children as olive plants, as the young olives will grow up near to the trunk off the olive tree and spring up around it, so God in His providence will provide you. And it's in His providence, according to His will, He will provide you with offspring. But this is the structure. This is the household that God gives. This is the godly home. That needs to be stressed in these days. My time is really gone, but I will close by speaking about the heritage of the home. Look at what it says at the end. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children in peace upon Jerusalem. And I use the word heritage wisely, because to such a home as this, God gives a rich heritage. When I read this psalm, and I read these words, my mind is taken to a young man. He's 19 years of age. The year is 1912. He lives not far out of a small village in County Cavan called Coote Hill. He's lost his father and his mother. They've both died. His brother and sister have both died also in their teens, I believe through TB. Also into that, of course, was the fact that he at that age had come to know Christ as his Savior. He had an uncle, a little bit of land, but he watched it being sold off by his drunken uncle so that he soon realized there wasn't going to be much left. It was also a difficulty in that his uncle would want him to take him to the public house in Coote Hill. And he said as a Christian, I'm not doing this anymore. Folk called Brethren were instrumental in my grandfather's conversion. And so they, using their influence, a few, got him to a place called Ohore. You may have heard of it. There's a brethren assembly there. And that's where my grandfather grew up. In due course, in his late 20s, he married and had a family of six. And they all grew up. They were married, and so on and so forth. So I'm sure there must be 100 of us now. Many have gone into the Lord's work. Many are believers. I would say if there's a hundred, three-quarters of them know Jesus Christ the Savior. When I read this psalm, I think on Him. I think of how He stepped out with God. and depended upon God. God saw to it that he would see the good of Jerusalem, that he would see his children's children, and he would see the blessing of God come upon them. Ah, here are promises, believers for our homes. Take this psalm, plead it before God. If you're not saved, let me say to you, happiness, blessedness, it is in Jesus Christ. Oh, forsake sin. Seek the Savior. Step out with God. You'll never regret it. The Lord does not abandon His promises. He keeps them. And I trust that if you're not saved this evening, you will come to Christ. You will know the blessing, the blessing of God in saving grace and the blessing of God upon your home. May God bless His word to each of our hearts. We thank our brother for ministry tonight, and certainly if you would like to speak to him afterwards, we know he'd be willing to minister to you. We're turning to hymn number four, and we're going to sing verse one, verse three. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Let's stand and worship the Lord, verse one and verse number three. Stay, stay. me. Praise thy faithfulness. Praise thy faithfulness. Glory, thy glory, to mercy's eye see. All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Praise Alleluia. Alleluia. ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ ♪ Morning by morning new mercies I see ♪ ♪ All I am need thy hand hath provided ♪ ♪ Great is thy faithfulness ♪ Let's unite our hearts in prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee and we praise thee for this opening night of our Bible conference. We thank thee that our hearts have been brought to this wonderful truth and this blessed reality that if we know God or if we go through with God, then we will be blessed. Oh Lord, so many people tonight and they're searching in this world for things that cannot satisfy. So many people going after ideologies and Lord, they realize that they do not give what they promised, but we thank thee that Jesus is no disappointment. Thank you, O Lord. He's a friend that's sick and closer than a brother, and he will pour out his blessing upon his people. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Lord, we look over the congregations or the families of this congregation. and we pray that they will be blessed, blessed in Christ. Oh, Lord, give household salvation, we pray. Give our fathers, Lord, that leadership in the home, and we pray that our homes will glorify thee, and a generation will be raised that know God. Oh, Lord, be merciful tonight. Maybe there's one not saved. Lord, will you speak to their heart tonight? Show them that nothing else matters, and be right with thee. Bless us, we pray. Take us to your homes in safety. Continue thy blessing upon us this incoming week and thy will. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.