Singing Psalm 128

It may seem that I have gone “Psalm-crazy” from my recent posts, and that assessment would not be altogether inaccurate. Over the years as I have discovered how generations of Christians were nurtured on the Psalms and have seen various historical examples of the faith that blossomed from such nurturing, I have longed for this for myself and my children. Oh, to be like those who, having grown up singing the Psalms, know all 150 Psalms by heart! If I did not know of real examples of this I might doubt the possibility.

This, then, is not merely an academic or abstract issue for me. My wife and I took a Trinity Psalter a couple of weeks ago and worked through it looking for Psalms set to tunes we know (a key point of this Psalter is to provide familiar hymn tunes for Psalm settings). In the process we came across Psalm 128 in a version adapted from the Scottish Psalter.

Blessed the man that fears Jehovah
And that walketh in His ways.
Thou shalt eat of thy hands’ labor;
And be prospered all thy days.
Like a vine with fruit abounding
In thy house thy wife is found
And like olive plants, thy children
Compassing thy table ’round

Lo, on him that fears Jehovah
Shall this blessedness attend
For Jehovah, out of Zion,
Shall to thee His blessings send
Thou shalt see Jerus’lem prosper
All thy days ’til life shall cease
Thou shalt see thy children’s children
Unto Isr-a-el be peace.

When I sang these words with my wife, it hit me that this is particularly suited to the family setting. So, for the last two weeks my family has sung this Psalm to the tune of “Come Thou Fount” at meal times. It has been a wonderful experience, and my children have about memorized this Psalm just from our singing. And we all have enjoyed it.

I commend it to you.