HAPPY FAMILIES

This brief psalm contains a classic expression of one aspect of the core beliefs of ancient Israel, that reverence for God and a determination to obey his will are the foundation of human well-being and happiness. Elsewhere this conviction is related to large issues concerning the peace of a city or the security and prosperity of an entire nation, but here the focus is narrowed right down to the domestic sphere of family life. The psalmist wants us to recognize that simple, taken-for-granted pleasures and joys are the consequence of the life of faith, so that the gifts of God are bestowed ‘in the little happinesses of everyday life.’*

Of course, the psalm does not address situations in which godly people encounter tensions and breakdowns in family relationships, although this reality is clearly recognized elsewhere, and the Bible is completely realistic about experiences which seem to contradict the scene of intimate family joy depicted here. Nonetheless, the basic conviction of this text is that the family unit, when shaped by the love of God and his righteousness, is both the sphere within which children experience joy and security as they mature into adulthood and the basis upon which wider social harmony and communal well-being rest. The psalm may take a restricted view of things, but it serves to remind us that the blessing of a nation begins at the place where the family eats together ‘round your table’ (v 3). **