WWUTT 1254 Unless the Lord Builds the House? (Psalms 126, 127, 128)

Psalm 127 .1 says, Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

You still must work, but unless the Lord blesses the work of your hands, it's all for nothing.

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Thank you, Becky. Greetings, everyone. We continue with our study of the Psalms, and we're going to start here in Psalm 126, still in the

Songs of the Ascents, as the children of Israel would be ascending

Mount Zion to go to that place where together they would worship the Lord. This is Psalm 126, all six verses.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, the

Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.

He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

So the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion. That's the first line that we have there in verse 1.

And it would be easy to read that and think that this is a psalm that's post -exile, after Judah had been punished and exiled into the hands of their enemies, and then they were allowed to come back, rebuild the temple, rebuild the walls of their city.

Surely that would be a cause for singing unto the Lord that he had restored the fortunes of Zion.

See here, we're rebuilding the temple right here on Mount Zion. But this is actually a very general expression, and we've seen it before in the psalms.

In Psalm 85, which was a psalm of the sons of Korah, so that definitely would have been before a time of exile.

It says right at the start of Psalm 85, Lord, you were favorable to our land, you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

And you have another statement of restoration in Psalm 14 as well. So this is actually a very broad expression.

It's not specifically stating of a particular time in which

Israel had been driven off the land and then allowed to come back. That isn't necessarily the meaning of the statement here.

But any time that there was some sort of a punishment, maybe there was a drought, maybe there was a famine or a plague of some kind, and the people cried out to God and he healed the land, then he restores the fortunes of Zion.

And that's the expression that comes from the Hebrews. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue was shouts of joy. So the statement we were like those who dream would be as if saying,

I remember when things were good. Like, can you remember when things were really, really good for us?

And it doesn't have to be like it was in the way distant past. Just when you're sick, you have a high fever and you're sitting on your bed, haven't you ever been so sick that you're laying there and you're thinking to yourself, man,

I forget what it was like to be well. I just feel like I'm sick all the time and this misery is all

I've ever known. What was it like to be healthy? I can't wait till I can be healthy again. So it doesn't have to be something in the way distant past.

When you're going through a really, really difficult trial, all you see is that trial. And you are like one who dreams of when those trials are lifted and everything was full of joy again.

So you have the statement in verse 2, Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.

Then they said, among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.

So this is a statement that comes from the nations. They are observing how

Israel, how Judah, the children of God, are so very blessed by their

God. They see the fortunes of this land and in this territory. And following the writing of this psalm would have been the age of Solomon and perhaps could have been even written during that time of Solomon when

Israel was the greatest and wealthiest empire on earth at that particular time. So other people are looking at Israel and it is the envy of the world.

They wish that they could be like them. The Lord has done great things for them. Now you could even put this in a gospel context to see how somebody who is outside of Christianity would look at that faith and see what wonderful things have been done for that people.

Here I am in my sin. Here I am trying to find an answer, a meaning, purpose, in all of these things that I do, in the place where I live, in the future that is before me.

And these Christians, they seem to have it all figured out. And so looking from the outside in and wondering what is this thing that makes a

Christian be able to endure these days, be able to endure hardship and yet continue to proclaim faith in a

God above. And so it's in that state of vulnerability, that time of questioning that a person even outside the faith may say, the

Lord has done great things for them. You and I as Christians, we have come from the world.

We've been called out of the world to be followers of Jesus Christ. So for us, there was a time when we were on the outside looking in, but we have come to this faith as inheritors of the kingdom of God through the grace and mercy that has been shown to us in Jesus Christ our

Lord. And now through Christ, we've received adoption. And as I said, we become inheritors of his eternal kingdom.

The Lord has done great things for them. And then verse three, the Lord has done great things for us.

We are glad we as the people of God, we know that God has done great things for us.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev, or also the

Negev, I think is the modern name for it. It's an area of southern Israel and a very fertile region at this particular time where crops were very abundant and very producing.

And so this is kind of anticipating the result of fortunes restored.

We're going to have awesome crops. The Lord is going to bless our land. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.

They did their work when it was difficult, but now in a time of harvest, it is going to produce abundantly.

We labored when it was hard, but now we're going to enjoy the fruits of that labor with shouts of joy.

He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

The Lord will send us out in trial. It will be difficult. It will be hard. But what results from this is a wonderful, bountiful harvest.

We read in Galatians 6, beginning in verse 9, Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

So then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The Apostle Paul instructs the Galatians to endure through trial and hardship, especially not to follow after false teaching, which was the problem with the

Galatians, but endure in the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ through any trial that comes our way, and we shall come home to our heavenly reward with shouts of joy, bringing a harvest with us.

Endure. Endure in the faith, looking to Christ, holding fast to Him. He will deliver you.

Let's go to Psalm 127, a song of ascents of Solomon. This is five verses here.

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.

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.

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.

Pretty popular psalm. You've heard at least a couple of verses from this before, especially this first verse.

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. Not too unusual to read about vanity in a psalm that has been attributed to Solomon.

Right? If you've read the book of Ecclesiastes, then you know how often Solomon refers to work and labor as being vanity.

It's all vanity. And it would be in vain. It would be just for ourselves. It would be of no good at all, because eventually you yourself, you're going to die.

And even the structure that you have built is going to perish and come to ruin and become nothing. So nothing lasts.

It's all in vanity, unless the Lord is the one who builds it. The Lord who is eternal.

The Lord who is working out all things for His glory. In which case, that labor is not in vain.

It's to the glory of God. And we even store up our treasures above where Christ is.

And where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. Our reward is rich in heaven.

We get no reward from the things that we store up here on this earth.

So again, unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Now, this is not saying that we shouldn't work. Like, you don't have to work. God is going to take care of you.

He's going to provide. So there's no need for you to labor at all. In fact, it's implied here that you do have to labor.

You must labor. But unless God blesses your work, then the work that you do is vanity.

If it's not to the praise of God, then it comes to nothing. Unless the

Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Does the watchman still have to watch?

Yes, he must do his job. But remember that Colossians chapter 3 says that we work first for the

Lord before we work for man. So the praise goes entirely unto God. If it is not

God's will that the city be sustained, then even though the watchman watches, and even though he warns of an approaching enemy, it is

God who ultimately sustains all things and accomplishes his will through us.

Philippians 2, 12, and 13 say this, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is

God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So we have the instruction there, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

There is a work, there is a labor that you must do. We've been talking about this in our study of Romans 7 this past week, that you must submit yourselves as slaves to righteousness, no longer being controlled and dominated by unrighteousness or sin having dominion over you, which is a statement, of course, that comes out of chapter 6.

But we must endure in Christ, walking by the Spirit, pursuing those things that are spiritual in obedience unto

God. That's a work that you must do, but ultimately it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

You hear God's call to you, his commandment given to you, you obey it because the

Spirit of God has compelled you to. The Spirit that is working through you to follow

Christ with fear and trembling, but it is God who works in you to will and to work for his good pleasure.

So the Lord works through the laborer to build the house. The Lord works through the watchman to sustain the city.

Verse 2, it is vain that you rise up early and go to rest late, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved sleep.

If you're anxious, uncertain about tomorrow, trying to control things on your own, it isn't going your own way, everything you're doing is vanity.

It's never going to resolve itself. You're never going to come to the end of this anxiety that you feel if you think that you sustain it and hold it up yourself.

But notice here that it says, he gives to his beloved sleep. Those who rest and those who are at peace are the ones whom

God loves and grants that peace to. So if you're feeling anxious, if you're struggling in these days, turn to the

Lord. Ask him to grant you peace, and maybe it doesn't come tomorrow, but continue to submit yourself humbly before the

Lord, and the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, as Paul says in Philippians 4.

Verse 3, behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Now, it almost seems like we've shifted gears here and we've started a completely different psalm. But again, this is still all according to the blessing of God.

A person has a household, has a family by the blessing of God, and his children are raised in the fear and love of God by the blessing of the

Lord. Children are a heritage from the Lord, that your family line continues, that the blessings of God may continue to be demonstrated in posterity.

The fruit of the womb is a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, are the children of one's youth.

And it's interesting that it's stated there, the children of one's youth, not like the kids you would have when you're 40 or 50 years old, but the children you have, the younger you are, the more beneficial that is, because by the time you hit that age of 30 or 40, you've got strong children who are able to labor with you, work with you, who are able to protect with you.

Think about the time in which this is written. You've got the potential threat of raiders and bandits coming in and robbing you of the stuff that belongs to you.

We saw that happen at the beginning of the story of Job. In chapter 1, it was reported to him that there were these raiders that came.

Well, it says the Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword.

And a servant who was coming to tell Job this said, I alone have escaped to tell you.

So this is a real threat at this particular time. Even a person who is wealthy has a lot of property and a lot of servants that might help to protect that property.

It's better to have children that are equally as invested in protecting what belongs to you because it also belongs to them and they're going to be inheritors of it.

So it says here like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.

And this goes with the next statement as well. 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.

Such a person who has a large family is less likely to be intimidated by enemies.

And it's not just because of the number. Even pagans believed that a lot of children was a blessing of God.

Now, they may not have believed in the Hebrew God, but they believed in their own gods. And they would pray to their gods and asked that, you know, their fertility

God would bless them with all kinds of children and posterity and so on and so forth. So if they had lots of kids, they knew that they had been blessed by their gods.

Well, even looking at the Hebrews, if the Hebrew children had lots of children, then they knew that their

God was blessing them. Their God was on their side. So it would be less likely for an enemy to be able to intimidate somebody that has a lot of kids.

They're like arrows in the hand of a warrior and a quiver full. You can look at that guy.

You can see he's armed. He's got plenty of arrows there. We're not going to be able to fight that guy.

So they can see the arrows in your hand. They can see them in your quiver. That's kind of the illustration there. But again, all of this comes from God.

The Lord builds the house. The Lord watches over the city. Those who labor in anxiety, labor in vain.

But God gives rest to his beloved. He gives children to his own that they might be like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

And the enemy will not be able to intimidate one who knows that they are so blessed by God.

And, my friends, as we think about this in a spiritual context, maybe you don't have physical offspring.

But we as Christians are told to produce spiritual offspring.

And you do this by going out and sharing the gospel. Or even being a mentor to somebody else that you may raise them up in the faith.

And as you see the fruit of this labor, many who come to faith and come into the kingdom of God because you share the gospel with them, the

Lord has blessed you. And the Lord is protecting you and granting you peace. Let's look at one last

Psalm here. Psalm 128, a song of ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears the

Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. You shall be blessed and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel. And we see again the fruit of the blessing of God given to those who fear him.

All of these Psalms that we've looked at today interconnected and it begins with when the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion.

We were like those who dream. Our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.

And you see the evidence of the Lord having given fortunes to one when you see the fruit of their labor, whether that's offspring that God has blessed a person with or even children of God that have come into the kingdom because a person was faithful to the sound word of the

Lord Christ and preach the gospel to others that they may hear and believe and become adopted into this household of faith.

Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good news that was preached to us that we may turn from our sin and our wickedness and cling to Christ and now be grown in his holiness.

Keep our eyes from wicked things. May our hands be motivated to do that, which is giving glory and honor to Christ, our king that is pleasing unto you.

We give our whole bodies as a spiritual act of worship. Bless us. Oh God, bless us with fruit of the work that we do in the name of Christ.

It's in his name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes.

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