Psalm 127

One might be surprised to find included in the Pilgrim Songs a family emphasis.  After all, isn't this journey personal?  Yes, it is.  But if you think about it, our personal journey is always in the context of family.  That is where we start our lives; family shapes our lives to a great extent; and we are never free from the memory and impact of family.  Remember that the typical journey to Jerusalem in Bible times involved the entire family (Luke 2:41).

So this Psalm has some great family truths.  1) Overwork is a waste. 2) Children are special. 3) Large families are not a sin. These are important.  Yet, as in each Psalm thus far, what is important here is what the Psalm says about our pilgrimage, our journey to God.  And the point in this Psalm is simple: a building, be it our home or our business, not built by God, is empty. 

The principle is in vs.1-2 and might be stated thus: Your efforts are futile if God is not in it.  It's not that builders and watchmen are not needed.  After all, by God's design, Solomon built the temple, and Ezekiel was a watchman (Ezek. 3:17).  But the point is that you cannot do the job if God is not in it, even if you stay up late and rise up early (v2), even if you are the workaholic husband or the soccer mom rushing here and there to get every kid to every practice and game and event. 

Scripture illustrates this.  The tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4) was a monument to man's greatness, but it became useless (empty) because God was not in it.  David did not build the temple, though he wanted to, because he knew God was not in it (1 Chron. 22:8).  The rich farmer planned to build bigger barns but it was a plan of pride, God was not in it, and so it never happened (Luke 12:18).

The Bible also contains positive illustrations.  Solomon did build the temple that his father had wanted to build.  The reason?  God was on his side (1 Chron. 22:18).  And while David was not permitted to build the temple, the Lord did build David's house (i.e. his lineage, 2 Sam. 7:27).  The people of Israel successfully established themselves in Babylon when they were held captive.  The reason: God was in it (Jer. 29:28). Thus they experienced the kinds of benefits of which our Psalm speaks (vs. 3-5).

Look at your life.  Does it seem that you are busy, too busy to make time for your Creator?  You deceive yourself in thinking that success depends on your feverish activity.  The pilgrim understands that his journey is to a temple whose builder and architect is God (Heb. 11:10,16).

We have seen that if God is not in the building then the building is in vain.  The watchman will do his duty, but if God is not with him the enemy will come from a different direction or he will miss some little detail and the city will suffer attack.  How can I be sure that God is involved?  From different Biblical building sites we can find our answer.

A.            Set your heart and soul to seek the Lord.

This is what David told Solomon: Set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore and build the sanctuary (1 Chron 22:19). First seek God.  Don't be in a big hurry to build. 

B.            Strengthen your hands for the work.

Nehemiah first told the people how the hand of God had been on him (i.e. God was in it).  Then it says they strengthened their hands for this good work (Neh. 2:18).  Even in training our children we must be willing to be prepared or trained.  A parent will seek to strengthen his hand from his own upbringing, but also from the Scriptures which have much to say on the subject, and then from the advice and example of others.

C.            Seek the Lord in prayer.

In Scripture prayers were regularly offered in the context of building.  Nehemiah prayed at the beginning and during the building of the walls.  In Psalm 51:18 David, as part of his prayer of confession, asked God to rebuild what David, by his immoral example, had torn down.  If you want God in it, ask Him to be in it.

D.            Stand the building on the foundation of Christ.

An essential issue in building anything that lasts is that it have a good foundation (Matt. 7:24-27).  In our spiritual buildings the foundation is always Christ (1 Cor. 3:12).  In fact the Bible says that what Christ is doing today is building His Church (Matt. 16:18).  When Christ is the foundation of our homes then our homes are part of what He is doing.  This happens when Christ is Lord of the marriage and then of the life of the family.

E.            Establish the building with the word of grace.

According to Acts 20:28 the word of grace is able to build you up.  God is brought into the building of our homes when His Word is brought into the home. Like Timothy (2 Tim 1:5; 3:14-15) whose mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures from his childhood, and as commanded in the law (Deut. 6:4-9) so the word of grace brings God into all He has given us to do.