Solid and Secure Foundation (Psalm 127)

Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Let’s give some more thought to Psalm 127, verse 1

“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; “

The main thought is that we are entirely dependent on God for the entire process of building in our lives….for everything!  Everything that man builds will eventually crumble and disappear. On what are we dependent?

What would you list?  How about:

·        Life

·        Health

·        Strength

·        Wisdom

·        Ability

·        ……or to put it  plainly:  Everything!

Where do you think our breath comes from?  It is from the Lord.  Finances?  Sure, we work and earn a paycheck.  But who provided the job?  Oh, you say, “I got the job.”  You may have, but ultimately it was the Lord who provided.

We work hard…..but, it can all be gone in an instant…..destroyed by fire, wind, water, earthquake, war, or some other disaster.

We are completely dependent on the Lord.  He supplies all we need to live our lives.  We must acknowledge this.

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.”  (Philippians 4:19-20)

So what is this all about when it comes to spiritual progress?

It is about TRUSTING the Lord.  You can trust Him because He will do what He says He will do!

Can He provide for me in these tough financial days?

I can certainly say “Yes” to that.  The Lord has supplied all we have needed over 40+ years of marriage.  He has supplied finances when we needed them; healing when we have needed it; health when we went years without any hospitalization insurance; strength when we thought we’d not make it through the day.  I could go on and on and on.  God is faithful. 

Let the Master Builder build your life.  He will teach you how to build your life.

For example, Hebrews 3:4   “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. ”

On what do we build our lives?  It is on God’s Word.

Hear the teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 7, the story of the two foundations:

Cross references:

    ²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Obey the Master Builder (Jesus) and the foundation of your life will be solid and secure.  

The Solid Rock

Words:  Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

Chorus:

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand


When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand by Avalon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7vodGhOaE&feature=related

Here is a "sing-a-long" version:

 

My hope is built on nothing less

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWdNgXSd46Y&feature=related

Story behind the hymn The Solid Rock

“One morn­ing it came into my mind as I went to la­bour, to write an hymn on the ‘Gra­cious Exper­i­ence of a Christ­ian.’ As I went up Hol­born I had the chor­us,

‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.’

In the day I had four first vers­es com­plete, and wrote them off. On the Sab­bath fol­low­ing I met bro­ther King as I came out of Lisle Street Meet­ing…who in­formed me that his wife was ve­ry ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an ear­ly tea, and called af­ter­wards. He said that it was his usu­al custom to sing a hymn, read a por­tion, and en­gage in pray­er, be­fore he went to meet­ing. He looked for his hymn-book but could find it no­where. I said, ‘I have some vers­es in my pock­et; if he liked, we would sing them.’ We did, and his wife en­joyed them so much, that af­ter ser­vice he asked me, as a fa­vour, to leave a co­py of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fire­side com­posed the last two vers­es, wrote the whole off, and took them to sis­ter King…As these verses so met the dy­ing wo­man’s case, my at­ten­tion to them was the more ar­rest­ed, and I had a thou­sand print­ed for dis­tr­ibu­tion.” 

Edward Mote
Let­ter to the Gos­pel Her­ald

Except the Lord Builds (Psalm 127)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

Another step in the progress of the spiritual life is to realize that unless the Lord builds the house, you labor in vain.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
   its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
   the watchmen stand guard in vain.
² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
   children a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
   are sons born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Theme:  Build

Key thought:  Children are God’s Gift

Key verse:  “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”

  

How is God revealed?  The Lord builds and watches; the children He gives to families are a heritage from him.

What an amazing Psalm! It deals with a number of key areas in our life:  understanding that "unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."  One area of interpretation is the building of the family.  The home must be built up on the Lord and He must be the architect and builder of your family.  He also gives rest to His people and he blesses families with children.  For, children are a heritage from the Lord!

Enjoy reading the Psalm.....meditating on what the Lord does.  Allow Him to build in your life.

Below are a couple of fine quotes which will be helpful to each of us.  Then scroll to the end and enjoy some music.

Verse 2 tell us that God gives sleep to those He loves:  “In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.”  The King James Version translated it:  “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809-1861) used this verse is her poem:

Of all the thoughts of God that are
Borne inward unto souls afar,
Along the Psalmist's music deep,
Now tell me if that any is,
For gift or grace surpassing this—
"He giveth his beloved sleep."
—

“God's blessing on his people as their one great necessity and privilege is here spoken of. We are here taught that builders of houses and cities, systems and fortunes, empires and churches all labour in vain without the Lord; but under the divine favour they enjoy perfect rest. Sons, who are in the Hebrew called "builders", are set forth as building up families under the same divine blessing, to the great honour and happiness of their parents. It is THE BUILDER'S PSALM. "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God", and unto God be praise.”  (Charles Spurgeon; http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps127.htm

"This Psalm puts together two proverbs (v. 1-2; 3-5) on God establishing “houses” or families. The prosperity of human groups is not the work of human beings but the gift of God."

⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

“At the gate: the reference is not to enemies besieging the walls of a city but to adversaries in litigation. Law courts functioned in the open area near the main city gate. The more adult sons a man had, the more forceful he would appear in disputes, cf. Proverbs 31:23 (Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.)  http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/127/

Charles Spurgeon ways of verse 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD.

 

“This points to another mode of building up a house, namely, by leaving descendants to keep our name and family alive upon the earth. Without this what is a man's purpose in accumulating wealth! To what purpose does he build a house if he has none in his household to hold the house after him? What boots it that he is the possessor of broad acres if he has no heir? Yet in this matter a main is powerless without the Lord. The great Napoleon, with all his sinful care on this point, could not create a dynasty. Hundreds of wealthy persons would give half their estates if they could hear the cry of a babe born of their own bodies. Children are a heritage which Jehovah himself must give, or a man will die childless, and thus his house will be unbuilt. And the fruit of the womb is his reward, or a reward from God. He gives children, not as a penalty nor as a burden, but as a favour. They are a token for good if men know how to receive them, and educate them. They are "doubtful blessings" only because we are doubtful persons. Where society is rightly ordered children are regarded, not as an incumbrance, but as an inheritance; and they are received, not with regret, but as a reward. If we are over crowded in England, and so seem to be embarrassed with too large an increase, we must remember that the Lord does not order us to remain in this narrow island, but would have us fill those boundless regions which wait for the axe and the plough. Yet even here, with all the straits of limited incomes, our best possessions are our own dear offspring, for whom we bless God every day.

 
http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps127.htm


Here is a "happy" arrangement of a song entitled Unless The Lord builds the House.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Mv1AyfncY 

The late Keith Green:  Unless The Lord Builds The House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qULtV42ft7s

Restoration (Psalm 126)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

Psalm 126

¹ When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
³ The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.

⁴ Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South. 

⁵ Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. 

⁶ He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Theme:  Restoration

Key thought:  Sow in tears…reap in joy.

Key verse:  :1  When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,

How is God revealed?  God brings back the Israelites from captivity.

“This psalm does not give us this joy as a package or as a formula, but there are some things it does do. It shows up the tininess of the world’s joy and affirms the solidity of God’s joy. It reminds us of the accelerating costs and diminishing returns of those who pursue pleasure as a path toward joy. It introduces us to the way of discipleship which has consequences in joy. It encourages us in the way of faith to both experience and share joy. It tells the story of God’s acts which put laughter into people’s mouths and shouts on their tongues. It repeats the promises of a God who accompanies his wandering, weeping children until they arrive home, exuberant, “bringing in the sheaves.”

— Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction  (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980), 97–98

Sing Psalm 126

(L. M. Sing to the tune of When I Survey The Wondrous Cross or Just As I Am)

 

1 When God restor'd our captive state,
Joy was our song, and grace our theme;
The grace beyond our hopes so great,
That joy appear'd a painted dream.

2 The scoffer owns thy hand, and pays
Unwilling honours to thy Name;
While we with pleasure shout thy praise,
With cheerful notes thy love proclaim.

3 When we review our dismal fears,
'Twas hard to think they'd vanish so;
With God we left our flowing tears,
He makes our joys like rivers flow.

4 The man that in his furrow'd field             
His scatter'd seed with sadness leaves,
Will shout to see the harvest yield
A welcome load of joyful sheaves.

Psalm 126:2. C. M.

(Sing to the tune of Amazing Grace, O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing,

O God Out Help In Ages Past)

1 When God reveal'd his gracious Name,
And chang'd my mournful state,
My rapture seem'd a pleasing dream,
The grace appear'd so great.

2 The world beheld the glorious change,
And did thy hand confess;
My tongue broke out in unknown strains,
And sung surprising grace:

3 "Great is the work," my neighbours cry'd,
And own'd the power divine;
"Great is the work," my heart reply'd,
"And be the glory thine."

4 The Lord can clear the darkest skies,
Can give us day for night,
Make drops of sacred sorrow rise
To rivers of delight.

 

5 Let those that sow in sadness wait
Till the fair harvest come,
They shall confess their sheaves are great,
And shout the blessings home.

6 Tho' seed lie bury'd long in dust,
It shan't deceive their hope;

The precious grain can ne'er be lost,
For grace insures the crop.

The Lord Surrounds His People (Psalm 125)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

 This 6^th step in the progress of the spiritual life deals with the confidence we have in the Lord.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
   which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
   so the LORD surrounds his people
   both now and forevermore.

The scepter of the wicked will not remain
   over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
   their hands to do evil.

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
   to those who are upright in heart.
But those who turn to crooked ways
   the LORD will banish with the evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel.

Theme:  Trust

Key thought:  Trust in the Lord and abide forever  

Key verse:  “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people
   both now and forevermore.”

How is God revealed?  Protector of His people; banisher of evildoers.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem…

A note about the topography of Jerusalem:  

“Two peculiarities of its topographical position are both taken here as symbols of spiritual realities, for the singularity of the situation of the city is that it stands on a mountain and is girdled by mountains. There is a tongue of land or peninsula cut off from the surrounding country by deep ravines, on which are perched the buildings of the city, while across the valley on the eastern side is Olivet, and, on the south, another hill, the so-called ‘Hill of Evil Counsel’; but upon the west and north sides there are no conspicuous summits, though the ground rises. Thus, really, though not apparently, there lie all round the city encircling defences of mountains. Similarly, says the Psalmist, set and steadfast as on a mountain, and compassed about by a protection, like the bastions of the everlasting hills, are they whose trust is in the Lord. Faith, then, gives inward stability, and faith secures an encircling defence.”       http://www.ccel.org/ccel/maclaren/psalms.iii.xxxix.html

Shall be as mount Zion

"Some persons are like the sand—ever shifting and treacherous. See Mt 7:26. “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

Some are like the sea—restless and unsettled. See Isa 57:20 “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.”

 Jas 1:6 “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Some are like the wind—uncertain and inconstant. See Eph 4:14. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

Believers are like a mountain—strong, stable, and secure. To every soul that trusts him the Lord says, "Thou art Peter."                           —W. Hr. J. Page, of Chelsea, 1883.

We can have great confidence in the Lord to keep up "now and forevermore" because He surrounds us like the mountains surrounding Jerusalem.  Talk about stability!  

But there is one key:  we must TRUST the Lord!

Do you trust Him?  He is trustworthy!

Escaped (Psalm 124)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.  In this Psalm the individual has escaped whatever has imprisoned him. 

Watch this song:  "Our God" by Chris Tomlin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlA5IDnpGhc

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ If the LORD had not been on our side—
   let Israel say—
² if the LORD had not been on our side
   when men attacked us,
³ when their anger flared against us,
   they would have swallowed us alive;
⁴ the flood would have engulfed us,
   the torrent would have swept over us,
⁵ the raging waters
   would have swept us away.

⁶ Praise be to the LORD,
   who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
⁷ We have escaped like a bird
   out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
   and we have escaped.
⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

Theme:  Escaped

 Key thought:  God is on our side

 Key verse:  “We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken and we have escaped.”

How is God revealed?  God is our helper

“I do not boast that God is on my side,” wrote Abraham Lincoln. “I humbly pray that I am on God’s side.”  Lincoln seemed to paraphrase the words Azariah spoke to King Asa of Judah after the Spirit of God came upon him:  “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

Because God is FOR us...."we have escaped like a bird our of a fowler's snare."  

I am reminded of Romans 8:31b:  "If God is for us, who can be against us?"


The text of the song link above:  "Our God" by Chris Tomlin

Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There's no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shining
Out of the ashes we rise
There's no one like You
None like You

CHORUS
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God...

Into the darkness you shining
Out of the ashes we Rise
There's no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God...
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God...
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/chris-tomlin-our-god-is-greater-lyrics.html ]
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

To the above lyric I say "Amen!"

The Message states Psalm 124 in a very graphic way:

^1-5 If God hadn't been for us —all together now, Israel, sing out!—
   If God hadn't been for us
      when everyone went against us,
   We would have been swallowed alive
      by their violent anger,
   Swept away by the flood of rage,
      drowned in the torrent;
   We would have lost our lives
      in the wild, raging water.

 ⁶ Oh, blessed be God!
      He didn't go off and leave us.
   He didn't abandon us defenseless,
      helpless as a rabbit in a pack of snarling dogs.

 ⁷ We've flown free from their fangs,
      free of their traps, free as a bird.
   Their grip is broken;
      we're free as a bird in flight.

 ⁸ God's strong name is our help,
      the same God who made heaven and earth.

God is gracious to us (Psalm 123)

"Songs of Ascent" = ("Degrees") steps, stages, gradations, or ascending up a mountain, climbing"

The spiritual life is one of progress.

The fourth step in the progress of the spiritual life is to keep our eyes on the Lord because He is gracious.

Psalm 123

To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens!
² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
Until He is gracious to us.

³ Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled with contempt.
⁴ Our soul is greatly filled
With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud. (NASV)

Cross references:

1. Psalm 123:1 : Ps 121:1; 141:8
2. Psalm 123:1 : Ps 2:4; 11:4
3. Psalm 123:2 : Prov 27:18; Mal 1:6
4. Psalm 123:2 : Ps 25:15
5. Psalm 123:3 : Ps 4:1; 51:1
6. Psalm 123:3 : Neh 4:4; Ps 119:22
7. Psalm 123:4 : Neh 2:19; Ps 79:4
8. Psalm 123:4 : Job 12:5; Is 32:9, 11; Amos 6:1
9. Psalm 123:4 : Neh 4:4; Ps 119:22

Psalm 123

I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help.
   Like servants, alert to their master's commands,
      like a maiden attending her lady,
   We're watching and waiting, holding our breath,
      awaiting your word of mercy.
   Mercy, God, mercy!
      We've been kicked around long enough,
   Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,
      kicked when we're down by arrogant brutes.

         The Message

Theme:  Gracious

 Key thought:  Plea for the mercy of God

Key verse:    (:2)  “As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God,  till he shows us his mercy.”

How is God revealed?  The One Who provides mercy (grace).  He is the Master whose throne is in heaven.

The time of this writing of this Psalm is uncertain.  The people were in a very difficult time.  Yet, in this midst of this they had their eye on the Lord.  The picture is of the servant looking to his master, the maiden to her lady.  They wait for the slightest back and call.

I am reminded of my days as a “bus boy,” as we were called in the late 1960’s.  I worked in the Rosewood Room of the North Star Inn in downtown Minneapolis. If I remember correctly, it was on the 20^th floor. It was an exquisite dining facility.  One of my jobs was to keep my eye on Fred, our maître d’.  He was the manager of the dining facility, the one greeted and seated the guests.  I had to keep my eye “glued on Fred.”  I learned to know what his slightest motion meant.  I had to focus and be ready when he needed me.

In the same way, we are servants of the Lord.  We have volunteered for this position.  We are to keep our eyes on the Lord and wait for His call so we can serve Him.  

“My eyes…”

In Psalm 121:1 the writer said:  

(:1) I lift up my eyes to the hills—
   where does my help come from?

In Psalm 123:1 the writer knows where his help comes from:  

(:1) I lift up my eyes to you,
   to you whose throne is in heaven.

The Psalmist continues with a picture of concentration and focus of his eyes.

(:2) As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
       as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

Where do our eyes look?  

(:2) …so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his grace.