Psalms 128:1—Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord.
The special phase of blessedness here, is that of the home life. The Jews have always been distinguished for this. A recent writer, describing the Jews of the middle ages, says: "The sanctity of the home was an affectionate tradition, linking them with a golden chain to their fathers before them; and amidst the degradation heaped on them, they were emancipated in at least one spot on earth, and learned from their domestic peace to look with pitiful rather than vindictive eyes upon their persecutors."
Our religious life, when it is genuine, will always cast a halo of blessedness on the home. Not lightly does Wordsworth blend "the kindred points of heaven and home," for the man who fears God brings heaven into his home. We must not be sullen or self-absorbed there. We must divest ourselves of business cares and anxieties; of irritation and fretfulness; of the brooding clouds that have gathered on our faces; we must carefully maintain the courtesies of home, and be our sweetest, gladdest, loveliest selves.
What a charming cluster of images! The wife as a vine twining round the carved trellis work of the inner court of the Oriental home—as though the woman gives the rich wine of life, which is love, as well as shadowing fertility and graceful beauty; children as olive plants are sources of perennial joy. Would you have such a home? Its key-stone is the fear of grieving the Spirit of God.
The work and watching will be very sweet
Even in an earthly home,
And in such an hour as you think not
He will come."