Psalm 127
Unless the LORD Builds the House
A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF SOLOMON.
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
We recall another encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees in Matthew 12:22-26: 22Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”
Someone in the crowd made the somewhat desperate claim that the reason why Jesus was able to heal the demon-oppressed man in question was because He was casting the demon out by Satan / Beelzebul, the prince of demons. To this, Christ, in His grace and wisdom, responded that every house, city, and even kingdom or nation that is divided against itself is both laid waste and cannot hope to stand permanently. You take that, and you read the words of Solomon in Psalm 127, and you eventually end up with saying that it’s the Lord who not only builds the house, but also watches over the city… AND it is only the Lord that can keep a nation from dividing against itself.
15 (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.Colossians 1:15-17
Indeed, we can only say that no matter how we’re led to watch and believe in a kingdom or a nation’s internal struggles leading to as bad as civil war… it is ultimately through Christ (who builds the house and watches over the city) that it is all held together. It makes sense, considering that on our own, we ultimately end up like we began in the Tower of Babel (in confusion), and even further back, in the garden of Eden – where we started playing the blame game as Adam blamed Eve, and where sin lay at the door, and we started killing each other – as Cain killed Abel.
Only by the reconciliation we receive through Christ can we take a step back before we take a swing against each other. Only through the love we receive through Christ do we have peace with each other, and love one another. And through it all, we recall how we ourselves have been re-built, reborn as New Creations, always under the loving and watchful eye of our Father, to whom we can cast all our anxieties, because He is always thinking about us.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
On our own, all that we do is vanity. We’re getting some vibes of the book of Ecclesiastes here – and I’m not surprised, considering Solomon was mentioned in this Psalm. In fact, as early as this Psalm, I am led to believe that Solomon already had what he eventually shared in Ecclesiastes in mind – of how everything is meaningless, and how, in the end, our ‘ultimate’ role as creation is to fear God, and obey His commandments.
Here we see another perspective to his train of thought, as we read of how all toil is meaningless, ‘for He gives to His beloved sleep.‘; As David writes in a more widely known Psalm, ‘He causes us to lie down in green pastures‘; Ultimately, our building, our laboring, our staying awake to watch, or our efforts to hold things together… Our rising and our toiling is ultimately useless and vain, without the Lord who does the actual building, without He who watches over us, and through whom we are held together.
We need the Lord, who, in all our efforts, gives us sleep. Indeed, He calls to us – Come to me, and I will give you rest. He does not offer more work. He does not offer for us to toil. He offers rest, and what work He does give is easy, and His burden is light.
Our work is of no value, and our plans remain uncertain until we in the body of Christ take advantage of the privilege He bought for us, with His flesh and blood – for us to acknowledge Him in all our steps, that He would establish our thoughts. Christ paid the ultimate price, so we are able to acknowledge Him in our plans and paths – and He directs our steps.
And, ultimately, no matter how it all turns out – He is faithful to cause all things to work for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose – He causes all things to work for the good, not necessarily for us according to our limited perception of what ‘good’ is, but definitely encouraging just the same, because all things do work for the good of the body of Christ.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Hitting a more personal chord here, especially considering how it’s recently dawned on me how I’m back to square one with regards to what I’ve pursued in terms of starting a family of my own.
I get it. We should all get it, actually. First and foremost, our greatest blessing – what I’ll call the blessing of blessings – is Christ Himself. We have the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords on our side, no matter what, now and forever. We have the Alpha and Omega, we have the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, always on our corner, for us and not against us, reminding us by way of His Spirit poured out upon us that we are always in right-standing with our God, and our God is our loving, everlasting Father.
It is by Christ that we learn to be content, even when we have nothing – because we have Christ, and He is our Everything.
It is because of Christ that we realize further, how our own works are as filthy rags, and how, actually, it is in Christ we live, in Christ we work, and in Christ that we have our being.
Any and all efforts we have to ‘retain’ and ‘improve’ our salvation are a slap to the absolute and final work of our Savior.
Any assumptions we make that have us question our standing with God are deceptive because they bring the focus back to our own pathetic works, instead of our celebrating the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ – which guaranteed not only reconciliation but permanent right-standing and favor with God – so much so that we call Him our Father.
Sorry, I’m just so frustrated that recently, social media has decided to bombard my Mom’s fyp with all these endtimes videos that are doing more harm than good. In fact, right now I’m tempted to log into her devices and to block these pages. But yeah, what I really dislike about these videos and posts was mentioned earlier – they bring the glory back to our works, citing reasons to stay in fear: That we need to be in ‘right standing’, without stain or blemish (when we know that it’s Christ’s blood that we have been washed white as snow permanently), and/or that we need to stay pure, staying within ‘the Will of God’, or doing ‘the works of God’ when He returns (when we know that Christ is our purity and our unblemished garment, and through Him we are always within His will, giving thanks at all times; and, in light of Christ’s finished work, He causes all things we do or done to us to work, again, for the good of the body of Christ).
These folks seem to glorify the darkness and the fires of hell and its demons more than appreciating the Light, the absolute presence of God and the wonder-working power of the Holy Spirit. I say that because Christ has saved me, Christ has made me a new creation. Because Christ died, so ALL of me that was filthy and sinful died; He became sin, and died.
Christ rose again because death could not hold Him down, and because He obeyed the Father unto death – It was His obedience that resulted in His resurrection, and guaranteed the complete death of sin, and our being righteous unto eternal life, now and forever, inseparable from the Father – God with us, and us with God.
Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and we have consequently been seated in the heavenly places – and the proof of this, the evidence of our reconciliation and of our reality now eternity, is no less than the Holy Spirit, poured out upon us just as it was poured out upon the disciples in the upper room.
How could any darkness stay in the presence of everlasting Light? How could we be touched, our how could our hair and clothes be singed by fires made seven times hotter, when Christ is with us? How can the enemy hope to harm us when even Satan himself could only roam around and roar, a lion made powerless because of the resurrection of the King of Kings?
Christ has built us. Christ watches over us. Christ holds us together. Christ gives us rest.
And here we establish – by Christ’s finished work, and by ONLY Christ’s finished work, does our own work have any true value.
Having children is the epitome of work – the greatest celebration of our reconciliation with God. We have children in celebration of Christ, and when we celebrate Christ, we have children.
I may not have a wife (yet), I may not have known her and have had children from her (yet), but I have been given people to care for, to pray for, to minister to and to share to.
And until such a time as I would enjoy the fruit of the womb (soon), these folks are my heritage. They are my arrows, and my quiver is full of them.
And as for my frustrations, my concerns, and all I’m led to focus on… as for my struggles, my conflicts – Well, I cast all of them upon my Savior, laying them down at the throne of grace, for indeed, this is my time of need. I acknowledge my everlasting Father in all of it… and I know, that through it all, He shall be glorified.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
John 12:27-28
Let us stay vigilant. The Lord is with us, for us and never against us, willing and able to give the best, be the best for us… now, and forever.
Praise Him!
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