서론
Psalm 128 Introduction
繁體中文
英文原文
The author of this psalm is unknown, as is also the occasion on which it was composed. It is not known, either, why this psalm was placed among those which are called "Songs of Degrees." The scope and design of it, however, cannot be misunderstood. It is intended to show the advantage of religion on the affairs of this life, and especially on the domestic relations; in a numerous family, in the character of children, and in being permitted to see numerous descendants. In connection with this, the possessor of true religion would be permitted to see the prosperity of Zion - the good of Jerusalem, and peace upon Israel. Of course this is to be regarded as a general statement, or as indicating what will commonly be true as the restilt of religion. See Psalm 37:9, note; Psalm 37:33, note; Psalm 112:2-3, note. Thus industry, temperance, prudence, tend to promote health and long life, so that health and a long life are the general result; but it would be unfair to regard one who should assert this as meaning to say that it is universally true, or that people who are industrious, temperate, and prudent, are never sick, and never die.
The psalm states, in general Psalm 128:1, the blessedness of those who fear the Lord. This blessedness is seen
(1) in their success in life, Psalm 128:2;
(2) in a numerous and happy family, Psalm 128:3;
(3) in being permitted to see children's children, Psalm 128:6;
(4) in being permitted to see the prosperity of religion - the "good of Jerusalem," and "peace upon Israel," Psalm 128:5-6.
1
Psalm 128:1
繁體中文
「凡敬畏耶和華的便為有福」——即尊敬神的人；真正敬虔的人。參見 Psalm 1:1 的註釋，以及 Psalm 112:1 的註釋。那福是什麼，以下的經文有所說明。
「遵行他道」——即神所命令、所指示的道路。關於「遵行」一詞，參見 Psalm 1:1 的註釋。
英文原文
Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord - That honors God; that is truly pious. See the notes at Psalm 1:1; Psalm 112:1. What that blessedness is, is indicated in the following verses.
That walketh in his ways - The ways which God commands or directs. On the word "walketh," see the notes at Psalm 1:1.
2
Psalm 128:2
繁體中文
「你要吃勞碌得來的」——你必享受你勞碌的收益；你的權利必得保障。參閱 Isaiah 3:10 的註釋。這是關乎敬虔所帶來興盛的一般應許。若人人都真心敬虔，就人而言，這應許必成為普世的。財產必得保障；並且，除非豐收因神直接的護理——因災殃、霉爛、暴風與乾旱——而受攔阻，人人都必不受攪擾地享受他們勞碌的收益。奴役——即一人被迫為他人勞碌——必告終結；如今為奴的人個個都必「吃親手勞碌得來的」；財產也不再被戰爭捲走，或淪為強盜劫掠者的獵物。敬虔若普遍盛行，必在我們的權利上產生普世的保障。
「你要享福，事情順利」——直譯為「你是有福的，且順利臨到你」。意思是說，幸福與安穩乃是真敬虔的結果。
英文原文
For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands - Thou shalt enjoy the avails of thy labor; thou shalt be secure in thy rights. See the notes at Isaiah 3:10. This is a general promise respecting the prosperity which religion affords. If all people were truly religious, this would be universal, so far as man is concerned. Property would be secure; and, except so far as abundant harvests might be prevented by the direct providence of God - by blight, and mildew, and storms, and drought - all people would enjoy undisturbed the avails of their labor. Slavery, whereby one man is compelled to labor for another, would come to an end; every one who is now a slave would "eat the labor of his own hands;" and property would no more be swept away by war, or become the prey of robbers and freebooters. Religion, if it prevailed universally, would produce universal security in our rights.
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee - literally, "Happy thou, and well with thee." That is, happiness and security would be the consequence of true religion.
3
Psalm 128:3
繁體中文
「你妻子在你的內室，好像多結果子的葡萄樹」——在東方，如同別處一樣，沿着房屋的側面培植葡萄樹並非罕見——一則節省地面；二則那是結果實的好向陽處；三則作為裝飾；四則保護它免遭偷竊。這樣的葡萄樹，以其秀美和其上纍纍的果穗，成為眾多兒女之母的美麗象徵。在東方最切慕、最看重的福分之一，就是後裔眾多；在亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的事上，這是神應許他們的主要福分之一——後裔多如海邊的沙、天上的星。參 Genesis 15:5；Genesis 22:17；Genesis 32:12。這兩件事——享受自己勞碌果實的權利（Psalm 128:2），以及眾多的家庭——是首先被具體指出、構成敬虔家庭之幸福的福分。
「你兒女圍繞你的桌子，好像橄欖栽子」——比較 Psalm 52:8 的註釋。美麗；結實豐盈；發出幼株，在老樹衰殘枯死時接替其位。湯姆遜博士（Thomson）在《聖地之書》（Land and the Book, vol. i., pp. 76, 77）中的下面這段摘錄（連同其前的插圖），可為本段提供良好的例解：「大衛在第一百二十八篇說『你兒女圍繞你的桌子，好像橄欖栽子』時，指的是甚麼具體情境呢？請隨我進入樹叢，我要指示你那可能引發這比擬的景象。我們在此遇見了一個美妙的例解。正如你所見，這棵衰老殘敗的樹，被好些從老樹根萌發的幼嫩茁壯的新枝環繞着。它們似乎扶持、護衛並擁抱着老樹。我們甚至可以想像，它們如今正承接着那原本要由衰弱的母樹結出的果實的重擔。善良而孝順的兒女就是這樣圍繞着義人的桌子。每人都為全家的富足與福祉有所貢獻——這是一幅美景，願神以它使每一位我朋友的眼睛得着舒暢。」
英文原文
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house - It is not uncommon in the East, as elsewhere, to train a vine along the sides of a house - partly to save ground; partly because it is a good exposure for fruit; partly as an ornament; and partly to protect it from thieves. Such a vine, in its beauty, and in the abundant clusters upon it, becomes a beautiful emblem of the mother of a numerous household. One of the blessings most desired and most valued in the East was a numerous posterity, and this, in the case of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was among the chief blessings which God promised to them - a posterity that should resemble in number the sands of the sea or the stars of heaven. Compare Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12. These two things - the right to the avails of one's labor Psalm 128:2, and a numerous family - are the blessings which are first specified as constituting the happiness of a pious household.
Thy children like olive plants round about thy table - Compare the notes at Psalm 52:8. Beautiful; producing abundance; sending up young plants to take the place of the old when they decay and die. The following extract and preceding cut from "The land and Book," vol. i., pp. 76, 77, will furnish a good illustration of this passage: "To what particular circumstance does David refer in the 128th Psalm, where he says, Thy children shall be like oliveplants round about thy table? Follow me into the grove, and I will show you what may have suggested the comparison. Here we have lilt upon a beautiful illustration. This aged and decayed tree is surrounded, as you see, by several young and thrifty shoots, which spring from the root of the venerable parent. They seem to uphold, protect, and embrace it. We may even fancy that they now bear that lead of fruit which would otherwise be demanded of the feeble parent. Thus do good and affectionate children gather round the table of the righteous. Each contributes something to the common wealth and welfare of the whole - a beautiful sight, with which may God refresh the eyes of every friend of mine."
4
Psalm 128:4
繁體中文
「看哪，敬畏耶和華的人必要這樣蒙福」——彷彿他說：「請看這幅圖畫。看那農夫耕耘自己的田地；看他收割穀物；看他在自己的餐桌前，平靜、安恬而感恩地享受自己勞碌的果實。看那幸福家庭的景象——人丁興旺、活潑快樂、彼此相愛——預示着日後家族之名得以延續——並看明這一切都是出於主——這樣，你就得着一幅圖畫，說明隨敬虔生活而來的福分。」
英文原文
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed ... - As if he had said, "Look upon this picture. See the farmer cultivating his fields; see him gathering in the grain; see him at his own table calmly, quietly, and gratefully enjoying the fruit of his toil. Look upon that picture of a happy family - numerous, cheerful, beloved - giving promise of upholding the name of the family in future years - and see all this as coming from the Lord - and you have an illustration of the blessedness which follows a religious life."
5
Psalm 128:5
繁體中文
「願耶和華從錫安賜福給你」——祂不僅在田間、在屋中賜福給你，還要加上那些似乎是更直接從錫安而出、或似乎與信仰更直接相連的福分：要以信仰上的感化賜福給你的家；要容許你看見教會的增長與靈魂的歸信，藉此賜福給你。
「願你一生一世看見耶路撒冷的好處」——即耶路撒冷的繁榮、耶路撒冷的福樂：也就是教會的益處、純正信仰的進展。這希伯來文可以譯作命令式的「你要觀看耶路撒冷的好處」；這樣譯，便是一個命令，要人在這種境況中顧念耶路撒冷的福祉，或說教會的興旺；但這話也可以容納另一種譯法，而文脈似乎正要求後者。這樣理解，這便是一個應許：這裏所指的人將蒙允准，得享看見信仰在世界中持續興盛的景象。
「一生一世」——直到生命的終局。對一個敬虔人來說，再沒有比這更大的福分可以應許給他了：他能常看見信仰興旺；他對世界最後的一瞥，所見的是信仰的迅速進展；他能在信仰的復興之中離世。
英文原文
The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion - Will not merely bless thee in the field and in the house, but will add blessings that seem to come more directly out of Zion, or that seem to be more directly connected with religion: shall bless thee with religious influences in thine own family; shall bless thee by permitting thee to see the growth of the church and the conversion of souls.
And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem - The prosperity, the happiness of Jerusalem: that is, the good of the church; the advancement of pure religion. The Hebrew might be rendered, "And look thou upon the good of Jerusalem" - in the imperative; and, thus rendered, it would be a command to regard, in these circumstances, the welfare of Jerusalem, or the prosperity of the church; but the language will also admit of the other construction, and the connection seems to require it. Thus understood, it is a promise that he who is referred to would be permitted to enjoy a view of the continual prosperity of religion in the world.
All the days of thy life - To the very close of life. No higher blessing could be promised to a pious man than that he should see religion always prospering; that the last view which he would have of the world should be the rapid advances of religion; that he should die in a revival of religion.
6
Psalm 128:6
繁體中文
願你看見你兒女的兒女——這是繼續前述與眾多後裔相連的福樂觀念——那是希伯來人極為關切的事（見 Psalm 128:3 的註釋），並有其人性上的根基。
願平安歸於以色列——見 Psalm 125:5 的註釋。這是加冕之福；是高於世事亨通之福、也高於看見眾多而幸福之後裔的祝福。神的愛是敬虔人心中至高的情感；願他的事業昌盛得勝，是他至高的願望。人只有在宗教裏，才得著真實而完全的福。
英文原文
Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children - This is a continuation of the idea of blessedness as connected with a numerous posterity - an object of so much interest to the Hebrews (see the notes at Psalm 128:3), and having its foundation in our nature.
And peace upon Israel - See Psalm 125:5. As the crowning blessing; a blessing above that of success in worldly affairs; above that of seeing a numerous and happy posterity. The love of God is the supreme affection in the mind of a pious man; the desire that his cause may prosper and triumph is to him a supreme desire. Man is truly and completely blessed only in religion.
這篇詩的作者不詳，寫作的場合也不詳。同樣不知的是，這篇詩為何被置於稱為「上行之詩」的那些詩篇之中。然而，其主旨與目的不可能被誤解。它是要表明宗教在今生事務上的益處，尤其是在家庭關係上——子孫眾多、兒女的品格，並蒙准看見眾多的後代。與此相連，真宗教的持守者也必蒙准看見錫安的興盛——耶路撒冷的福祉，以及以色列的平安。當然，這當視為一般性的陳述，或指明通常作為宗教的結果而成立的事。參見 Psalm 37:9 的註釋；Psalm 37:33 的註釋；Psalm 112:2-3 的註釋。正如勤勞、節制、審慎趨於促進健康與長壽，以致健康與長壽是一般的結果；但若認為如此斷言的人是說這普遍真確、或說勤勞、節制、審慎的人永不生病、永不死亡，那便有失公允。
這篇詩概括地陳明（Psalm 128:1）敬畏耶和華之人的福氣。這福氣見於：
（1）他們在人生中的順利（Psalm 128:2）；
（2）兒女眾多而美滿的家庭（Psalm 128:3）；
（3）蒙准看見兒孫（Psalm 128:6）；
（4）蒙准看見宗教的興盛——「耶路撒冷的福祉」與「以色列的平安」（Psalm 128:5-6）。