I am always perplexed at how evangelical ministers minimize the fruitful vines in their midst. Parents who out of conviction believe that children are blessings from the Lord find themselves uncomfortable in most evangelical churches. They are looked upon as “rural,” “naive,” “primitive;” to name only a few of the expressions I have heard over the years. Evangelicals (many in the Reformed community) who adore the devotional nature of the Psalms, and who believe wholeheartedly in the authority of the Psalms, ignorantly overlook how Psalm 128 ties the fear of the Lord with the blessings of child-bearing. In fact, the blessing that accompany reverence of God is that your wife will be a “fruitful vine.” Unfortunately, even that expression loses its meaning in our modern culture. Christians do not drink wine…or they do not drink enough wine to appreciate its goodness. But wine represents all that is good in the life of the faithful Old Covenant saint. If wine is properly understood, yea, properly appreciated (tasted), then we can begin to restore the blessing of the olive shoots. When the wife is addressed as the fruitful vine, she is associated with what God calls a delight and that which gladdens the heart (Psalm 104:15). The godly fruitful vine puts to shame the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of this world–that is those who despise the message of blessing in Psalm 128– is as a tasteless fruit. It is compared to what Eve tasted when she ate of the fruit. It is dry; there is no sweetness therein. The tasteless fruit (the wisdom of this world) despises the fruitful vine because her fruit will never gladden the heart, but the fruitful vine will see and rejoice over her offspring. Indeed, she will see her children’s children and she will be at peace (Psalm 128:6).
