Walking through the Book of Psalms.
For
those that are still home, I would like to invite you on a walk through the
Book of Psalms. A
study of any portion of God’s Word is profitable, for, it is breathed upon by
the Holy Spirit, and it is designed to communicate the love, and instructions
of God to mankind.
Psalm
127. Wisdom for the Labourer.
The
psalmist teaches that man is utterly dependent upon God. These verses are to be
the activity of God in human experience. The psalmist can see that God is
working in human affairs, and that he believed that only when man’s efforts are
in harmony with the divine purpose can true success be achieved.
Human
failure to recognise the divine basis of life, leads to vain, purposeless and
ineffective lives, the psalm came to be associated with Solomon chiefly because
the word “House” in verse one, which was taken to mean the Temple.
Solomon
had in mind the capital city that he built when he came to the throne and obviously,
he included the Temple.
And
other buildings seen in 1 Kings Chapter 7. At that time, he was
sincerely devoted to God, as his prayer in 1 Kings 8:20-21 shows, and he
knew that God was with him in his work.
1. Verse
one.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in
vain who build it; unless the LORD
guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
The
efforts of the builder, the watchmen, or any labourer will fail to achieve
their purpose apart from the blessing of God seen in Psalm 33:16-17.
This implies that man should undertake only that which is in harmony with the
will of God. God the builder all creation, man, and the Church.
The
psalmist is not saying that human beings are unable to design and create a
building without help and guidance of God. Yet men “doing their own thing”
today have left us with a lot of waste, disease, and death, etc. But without
God’s help the whole project becomes an exercise in worthlessness. To have any
lasting results, human labour must be instructed, guided, and inspired by the Spirit
of God.
You
cannot “do your own thing,” for we are in Christ. 90% of all man’s problems:
drink, drugs, marriage, etc. are because God is left out of their plans, even
among some believers. See it is “the Lord that will build His house.”
The
psalmist says that without a spiritual foundation the house may eventually
collapse and the whole enterprise end in nothing worthwhile. House, home, marriage
often fail when we leave God out of our plans and building bricks. The whole
structure of the home and marriage today is built on soft sand, because
families leave God out of their plans.
The
“watchmen of the city,” Where is our Security? The good job, a wage, the
bank manager, etc.? Or the Lord? The watchmen by themselves are not enough, for
only when man’s efforts are in harmony with the divine purpose come true
success be achieved.
In
1953 W.E. Sangster titled a sermon “What would a religious revival do for
Britain?” He then gave 10 points.
One. It would pay off all
old debts.
Two. It would reduce
sexual immorality.
Three. It would disinfect
the theatre, the cinema, and the TV box.
Four. It would lessen and
cut the divorce rate.
Five. It would reduce juvenile
crime.
Six. It would lessen the
prison population.
Seven. It would improve
the quality and increase the output of work.
Eight. It would restore
to the nation a high sense of destiny.
Nine. It would make us
invincible in the war of ideas.
Ten. It would give
happiness and peace to all the people.
Things
may have moved on today, but revival changes a nation for the better. A revival
leads eventually to a reformation of manners and that in the defence of society,
the Church is just as important as the law courts of the land. More so when God
moves again in the land. “But unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen
stay awake in vain.”
2. Verse
2.
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.”
Hard
work from early morning to late evening does not always achieve its good apart
from the trust of the labourer in God. God’s blessings rests upon the person
who labours in the land and so trust Him that he also rested Him. The psalmist
gave no invitation to sloth or idleness but warns against worrying see Matthew
6:25-34; Luke 12:22-31; Mark 4:26-29.
The
Bible never places any quality on idleness, all glorifies slackness or lack of
effect seen in Psalm 128:2; Proverbs 24:30-34. Not to take work out of
life, but only the worry. There is God’s part and man’s part. God helps those
that help themselves, so goes.
Whether
out labour be mental or physical it is easy to overdo it by working all the
hours of the day and night, so that we wear ourselves out. Even Solomon
eventually knew the benefits of relaxation
“He
gives to His beloved sleep.” This makes good sense,
instead of becoming so burdened that we suffer from a lack of sleep, let us
look for a quiet confidence in God so that sleep refreshes us. If He is behind
our building work, we can relax. For God goes on working on our behalf even why
we must stop, shown that the work is ultimately His.
Are
we building the house, a city, or a church? Or is God building it?
The “sleep” is the peace
of God. The peace of God is the sleep of a good conscience, of contentment, of
freedom, from anxiety. For the promise is that while we rest, God works on our
behalf. For He gives us peace and strength in our sleep, the spiritual
resources to cope with the problems we must face tomorrow.
Conclusion:
God
is involved in human affairs and that our common ventures will succeed only
when we bring our efforts into the harmony with His divine purpose. If we
recovered that confidence and took it seriously into the building of our homes and
into our families, and even into the defence of a community and the
performances of our daily work.
We
should surely discover the rich, purposeful, productive quality of life for
which God in His love has created for us.
