Psalm 127 - Except the Lord Build the House

 

Psalm 127 A Song for Solomon

by Dennis Edwards

The psalm is credited to either David or Solomon. Some believe it is David giving a message to Solomon who is instructed to build the house of God. Others see the similarity between the ideas of the Psalm and Solomon’s own Ecclesiastes and therefore accredit the Psalm to Solomon. We will take the former position, David writing to Solomon.

Psalm 127:1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

In whatever we are building in our lives, unless the Lord is in it, unless we are acknowledging Him in all our ways, unless we are seeking Him first, our labour is in vain. Jesus gave us the parable of the wise and foolish man.

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever hears these saying of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Jesus is the rock of offense that the builders, the Jewish political and religious leaders, rejected. If we build our lives on obedience to His words, no matter what winds and rains the enemy sends against us, our house will stand.

Like the old song says, “On Christ, the solid rock , I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.” Jesus’ parable continues.

Matthew 7:26-27 “And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

We cannot build our house in our own strength. “Not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord,” Zechariah 4:6. Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing,” John 15:5b.

Apostle Paul tells us the only foundation we should build our lives upon is Jesus. He wrote,

“For other foundation can no may lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so by fire.” ! Corinthians 3:11-15.

It sounds as if God is going to test our works which we’ve done, whether they were really done for Him or for ourselves and our own glory and gratification. If our works are not done in love and built on truth, or built with mercy and truth, they will not stand.

In Habakkuk 2:12, we read, “Woe to him that builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity.” In our own families, if we are using force and threatening to subdue our children, the moment they are free from our authority they will abandon the belief system we tried to teach them. We used authoritarian methods instead of love and gentle persuasion. We chastened our children after our own pleasure and profit, that we might look good to others. They may stray from the Lord as a result of  our unrighteous and ungodly methods.

Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep.

It is pride that causes to work in our own strength to save ourselves. God doesn’t want us to be overly laboured and heavy laden. He wants us to come unto Him and He will give us the rest we need. We need sufficient rest to do our best. We need to take His yoke upon us and learn of His meek and gentle ways. “For His yoke is easy and His burden is light,” Matthew 11:30.

When facing life’s toughest trials, if we rely only on our own power and strength, we won’t make it. Like Martin Luther wrote, “Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing. Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing.” We can do all things through Christ which strengthen us, but we need to come unto Him. In Isaiah we find the same warning and admonition.

Isaiah 30:15 “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength: but you would not.”

The author of Hebrews writes, "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief," Hebrews 4:11.

God is asking us to return to fellowship with Him, to come into His arms for the physical and spiritual rest we need. It is in those quiet moments of rest and prayer and meditating on God’s word that we will find the strength we need to carry on.

Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”

We have got to do the “waiting.” We got to come to Him in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving and He will transfer His peace to our hearts and minds, to enable us to go forward in His Spirit and might to victory.

Psalm 127:3  Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

The children we bring into this life, are our reward. They are an inheritance we receive from the Lord. Don’t waste that inheritance. Apostle Paul warns us,

Ephesians 6:4 “And, you fathers, provoke not your children in wrath (or anger): but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

In Colossians 3:21 we find, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”

God wants us fathers to be “nursing fathers,” and “carry our children in our bosom.” In other words, he wants us to be gentle with them, as their mother would be. He doesn’t want us to rule them with force and cruelty, but with mercy and truth. Depending on how we train them, will determine whether they reject or accept the Lord. If we are cruel hypocrites, we will drive them into unbelief in their rebellion to ourselves.

Jesus warned, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he be cast into the sea, than that he offend one of these little ones,” Luke 17:2. In Matthew 18:6, we find the same warning. “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believes in Me, it were better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Psalm 127:4-5  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

However, if we bring them up with grace and truth, they may depart from the Lord for a time of testing, but, like the prodigal son, they will return. Why? Because they know that their father loves them. Fathers, love your wives and your children. If you do, they will stand up for you and fight in your behalf in your time of need.

Why is it that we see grandparents and grandchildren often so connected? Could it be the grandparents have seen that their parenting of their own children had much to be desired? Could it be that the grandparent wants to do better with his grandchild than he did with his own child? He wants to make up for what he lacked with his own sons and daughters. It’s never too late to learn a lesson sorely needed. It's never to late to learn to love.