The Psalm of Life (Psalm 127)

Psalm 127 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. ²  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. ³ Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. ⁵ 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.

The Game of Life – Board Game – Your life. Your Way. Spin a wheel to navigate through life – university, career, marriage, children, and retirement. And the person who has the most wealth – the most money and “life tiles” – major milestones/achievements – at the end wins.

It’s just a game – but it’s how a lot of people actually approach life. Just give it a go and see what happens without any kind of real direction or vision for their life. OR If you’re really type A, you have everything all planned out – every step of the way. Goal – Win at life.

But are you actually living life with purpose? Or is life just happening to you? 

How many of you at the end of your life – if you continued living the  way you are today – could honestly say – I lived my life with no regrets. I lived a good, fulfilled life. – VS. – I wish I could do it over again. I spent too much time worrying and anxious. I spent too much of my life on things that didn’t really matter. 

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. – Solomon, the wisest person to ever live wrote this psalm. – Hits on every area of importance in our lives: work, family, security, rest, trust in God – How to live your life so it counts. 

¹ 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. 

1. The good life is built on the promises and purposes of God. Ps.127 – A psalm that speaks to us about our lives – starts not with us, but with God…Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain. Fill in the blank. Unless the Lord shows up, unless the Lord blesses, unless the Lord allows you, unless the Lord provides, unless the Lord saves, whatever your efforts – no matter how hard or how long – for nothing.

Solomon – Built the Temple – Magnificent structure unlike anything we have in the world today. It required over 180k men over 7 years. It was made of the best and most expensive stones, timber, (~3.5m kg) pure gold, (35m kg) silver, iron, bronze, and gemstones. Just the material costs to build the temple in today’s money in MYR would be quadrillions. That’s over 15 0s. (My phone almost broke…) 

Solomon – X – Look what I built! Look how awesome I am! Look at me! Rather – We would’ve built in vain if not for God. It was all God. – All the details, specs, wisdom and skill to build the temple were given by God. And God’s favor and blessing for all the materials.

This is the wisdom Solomon had – More important than the physical beauty was the purpose of the Temple – It was to be the dwelling place of God. God’s presence – gift of grace. God does not dwell in a Temple made by the hands of men. How could a building possibly contain him? – And eventually, because of the disobedience of Israel’s kings and God’s people – God’s presence would leave the Temple. And the Temple served as a reminder of what was lost. But also as a symbol of hope of God’s promise – He will not leave his people forever.

Solomon had his sights on a greater promise. – 2 Sam. 7 – King David, Solomon’s father, wants to build a house for God at the end of his life so that God’s presence had a place to reside on earth with man.. It’s an honorable gesture. But God says, “No, I’m going to build you a house.” It was a promise that one of David’s descendants would be the messiah, the true king of Israel, whose kingdom would never end. And this king, who would be a son to God the Father, would build a house for God’s name. It was a work God would do by his grace apart from any human contribution.

God’s plans were so much greater than dwelling in a physical temple. He wanted to dwell in the hearts of man by making a way to restore the broken relationship. And that restored relationship in an everlasting kingdom/city would provide man with all the security he could ever dream of.

The people of God would sing this song of ascents – As they fixed their eyes on the Temple as they journeyed to worship and meet with God. So imagine yourself – an Israelite journeying to the temple. You’re going to meet with God, but you couldn’t enter into his presence because of your sin. And you’re singing this song of hope in God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promise to David for a king who would rescue them from their sin and give them eternal security.

Is this how you live your life? With your eyes and heart set on the promises and purposes of God? Is that what you’re building your life on? Your safety. Your security in life – Is it in your bank account? Your health? Your skills/ability? Your career? Or is it in God? – That’s how you live a good/wise life – On what God is doing/building. And if you’re not joining God in what he’s building, then you’re trying to build your own life and kingdom, in vain – apart from God.

Prov. 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

The plans you make for your life should be built on the sure promises  and established purposes of God. All the things we are looking for are ultimately found in God. His promises are good – Do you know them? You can’t build on what you don’t know. Promises – Love. Presence. His kingdom.

Any other way of living is a tiring, exhausting, waste of your life…

²  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. 

2. The good life is letting go of our anxious toil. We can’t build our lives on God’s promises, for his purposes, while at the same time try to live our own lives our own way.

In the beginning, God created man and gave them a job to tend to the garden. That’s right – Work was a part of God’s good created design. There was work before the fall. Work was a good gift given to man to imitate God. But work was always fruitful. 

But then we decided – I don’t want God’s ways. I want my own ways. I’ll do what I want, when I want, how I want. Part of the curse in addition to losing God’s presence and the introduction of death – Ge. 3:17, 19 – Man is cursed with anxious toil – physical pain and emotional sorrow/discomfort – hard excruciating labor with little to show for it. Things don’t always work as they should and things break. 

And it has always been – That this way of me-centered living results in anxious toil – because it wasn’t how God created us to operate.

Recognize – Your plans – How fragile? You have such little to no control over so many things in your life. – You can even always choose what time you will arrive at a certain place or where you go to eat – the traffic is so bad or the queue is too long. (Chili’s)

Ge. 11 – What does man try to do? They try to build a great big tower to reach up to the heavens – to make a name for themselves. This is always our fallen human tendency – to build our lives – try and do things our way for ourselves. But God ultimately comes down and puts an end to it. It was in vain. It was pointless. And God did this out of love because man’s way was not good, unlike his purposes.

Does your life look more like anxious toil or rest? – Early mornings, hectic days, late nights, always stressed, not enough sleep, trying to climb the ladder, trying to get to the next level, with no end in sight.

What worries you the most? What do you work the hardest for? What are you anxiously toiling over? For a lot of people – it’s money. If they can have enough, they’ll be happy. They can do what they want, buy what they want, and live the life they want. It’s their security/protection. But when the things of this world become ultimate – you anxiously toil in the never ending cycle of striving for bigger, better, newer things. You’re ever satisfied. – Prov. 18:11 – A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. VS. Prov. 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man run into it and is safe.

God’s agenda in your life is not primarily your comfort or what you think is the good life. Because the good life is not having money, good fortune, etc. The good life is God growing and building his kingdom in you – so you live it out.

An easy place to look – Toil vs. Rest – Sabbath. A lot of Christians, maybe even most, treat the Sabbath with such low regard. They treat it as a good but optional suggestion. Sabbath – Creation order. Salvation order. – To trust, enjoy, rest in God and serve others.

Why would you willingly work on a day off – even if you enjoy and love your work? Cause ultimately – You don’t trust God – You don’t trust him to work so you have to toil to get it done.

Jesus – Matt. 11 ²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Not more work.)

Israel – in the promised land, the land of rest. Enter my rest. But rest was never a location or status to attain to, but a God to trust in. 

Heb. 4 ⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest…

Another like Sabbath – How do you know you’re trusting God and not in yourself? – Sleep. Sleep is a good gift God gives you. Rest is not an issue of completion – all the work is done – but of trust. There’s always more to be done. There’s never an end to work. But there’s always a choice to trust where we are weak, that God is strong and able.

God designed us in such a way that we are sleeping ⅓ of our lives. Why? Seems like such a waste. How much more productive could we be if we slept less? But research has found – That’s actually much more detrimental to our health/lives. – God created us to trust in him through rest. Just do nothing. Your ability to rest shows whether you truly trust in God or if you trust in yourself.

Rest – Comes when you recognize – You’re not in control. You’re not God. Can you take your hands off your life and let God work for you? He will definitely do a much better job. He doesn’t make mistakes. His timing is perfect. But like the farmer – You do the work. You do your part. – Goes to sleep and there’s growth. And he doesn’t know how.

Is that the kind of complete dependence and humility you have when it comes to your life? I’m going to do my part but at the end of the day, it’s all up to God. Your rest starts when your trust in God begins.

To be clear, trust in God to work and you working hard are not mutually exclusive – they’re not at odds with one another. Human Responsibility. Divine Sovereignty. It’s hard work AND complete trust. Hard work and no trust is anxious toil. Trust and no work is laziness. We’re going to do everything we possibly can and then humbly pray that God establishes the work of our hands. 

Not – No hard work. Some people are allergic to hard work. – Change.

Not Greed. Not restless anxiety. You can work yourself into the ground – And it all be “in vain” – for nothing. Repeated 3x. Unless God is helping you build, unless he’s ultimately building, all your work is in vain. Unless God watches over and protects you, all your efforts for security and safety are in vain.

This is all coming from a man that accomplished so much in his life. – Solomon – Look, I have it all. I’ve done it all. – But it’s only because of God’s grace. – It doesn’t matter how smart, rich, powerful, you will get nothing of significance done in your life apart from his grace towards you. Everything that succeeds is because of him. – If you build your life on God’s promises and purposes – you’ll build something great.

And the psalm takes what seems to be like a strange shift…

³ Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. ⁵ 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.

3. The good life is raising up and sending out our children.

How many parents right now feel like their children are a reward? If we’re honest, they feel more like a punishment sometimes don’t they? – What did I do to deserve this? – Any parents ever play the game – What if? What if I didn’t have kids? Or less kids? – How wonderful my life would be. So much free time. Kids – Inconvenient. Selfish. Leaches – Take. 

But – Only true when your life is centered around you. If your life is all about you, then yes, children are a huge problem. Children get in the way of your comfort, your pleasure, your life. They always have their own agenda and are imposing on you. 

Why – They are truly a gift to you. They are God’s reminders for you every single moment that your life is not your own. Your life is not about you. Raising kids – transformative work – To give your life for another so they can have life. Isn’t that the very picture of the gospel? 

So who wants to have more kids? – Usually determined by finances, comfort – This is how many we can have. How many we can afford. – Some wisdom.

Scripture – Blessed. Richness – To have many kids. Now – How does this have anything to do with vvs. 1-2? Everything…Husband/Wife have to engage in certain activities to have a baby. Doesn’t happen without – Unless you’re Mary. But at the end of the day, you’re not in control of when or how many kids you have. It’s not just biology or a scientific formula. It’s never a guarantee. – Unless God builds your family, it’s not happening. It’s completely dependent on God who creates and gives life. 

Well – I don’t have kids so this doesn’t apply to me. Yes it does… 

Historical benefit of having lots of kids – Security/stability from within/without – justice and attack. But what if you weren’t able to have kids or you remained single? What then? Who would come to your defense? 

The Family of God – The weak, poor, and vulnerable were to find their security in the strength of the city as a whole. The community/family of God was crucial for the well-being and security of God’s people. 

Adoption – Families in the church should be actively involved in adoption. This is not a second tier, back up option, or last resort. – God himself filled his quiver through adoption. He took a bunch of lost, disobedient, and messed up orphaned kids and made them sons and daughters. This is how God builds his spiritual family – through spiritual adoption. It’s not biological. 

PJD – The family of God supersedes even our biological families. We tend to think that “biological family is best,” and if you can’t have that, you can have spiritual offspring. In the Bible, marriage and family are temporary, eternal family is ultimate. In heaven, we are not married, and no one calls me dad. But in heaven we will call each other brother and be with our eternal spiritual offspring forever. Having spiritual children is not settling. Having biological children is a calling for some, but we are all called to have spiritual children. Quivers full of them.

This is the most important task we have as a church – to teach the next generation to love Jesus, his church, and his mission. The kids in our families, in our church, are the first ones God has given us to win for the gospel. 

Two Gardens in which we raise our kids. The home is the primary garden. Home is the first mission field. Now matter how awesome our kids’ ministry is, the time we have with them on the weekend pales in comparison to what happens in the home. The home is the place where our kids will hear and learn and see the gospel lived out.

The other garden is the church. Kids ministry – Partner with families. Even if you don’t have kids – We need you. We need your help discipling our kids. Everyone in the family of God has a role to play.

Children are the mission and are also for the mission. Purpose – Arrows? – To shoot them out to serve God and his purposes and his mission. Not you! The good life is not having your kids orbit around your life, center around your life. It is to send them out to build their lives on God’s promises and purposes. (Can’t wait to be empty-nesters!)

Parents – God did not give us children to sideline us from the mission. I see this all too often. – I can’t because of my kids. No. – You should especially because you have kids. Disciple.

Going into the Promised Land – An entire generation missed out God’s promises because they were fearful for their children. They were even  willing to go back into slavery. And after that generation passed – God sent in their children anyways.

Don’t use your children as an excuse for not following God. Don’t put that on your kids as if it’s for their good. It’s not. It’s not really our children that are the obstacles/barriers, it’s our own hearts.

Our primary job as parents is not protection but training. Discipleship. Pastor (Dhati Lewis) – Arrows are not meant to be protected; they are meant to be shaped and prepared. Have we missed our call as Christian parents? Is our call to give them the best we can with what we have? The best education, best experiences, best opportunities, best set of friends, best clothes to help them fit in, gadgets what will best prepare them for this technological world? Or is our call still the same one from back in Deut. 6? Is it to teach them about God, inform them of his faithfulness, all them to seek him in every scenario and to make his name known? Is it to train their hearts to seek the Lord, to depend on him? Is it to shift their dependence from me as parent to him as Father? Is it to prepare them for battle?” Arrow – Dangerous not for the arrow but for the enemy.

All comes down to this – Do you trust God with his plans and purposes for HIS kids? – We don’t have to anxiously toil for our kids to give them experiences and stuff, all worried about their future. Our children are first and foremost God’s. He loves and cares for them far more than we ever could. So we can trust God for their future. They’re on loan to us as stewards for a short time – to train them up and let them go to be shot out for God’s mission.

Is this how you’re building your life? Your kids’ lives?

Ps. 90 – Moses – Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom – Delight in God’s love. – Establish the work of our hands. 

If you only had a week/month/year to live…what changes would you make? If you were at the end of your life, what would you have regretted not doing? Well – Make those changes now. Make changes to your life in light of eternity.

The wise man – builds his life on Jesus and his words – hears and obeys. The house Jesus is building – The church, God’s spiritual family – with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And each one of us is now the temple of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God. (1Cor.3, 6)

Not about us doing something for God. – Building something for him. But what God has done for you in Christ. And a life rooted in the promises and purposes of God is a life well lived.

You can plan every detail of your life and you achieve and attain all there is in this world. But if you miss this, you’ve built and lived your life on the wrong things. But if you devote your life to these things – You won’t have missed out on anything. – Good life.

Conclusion/Gospel: Psalm 127 is promise that one day God would be faithful to keep his promise to build a house through his son, Jesus. God the Father would let go of his Son, Jesus, and send him out to make us his sons and daughters. We – Anxious toil in our sin. Separated from God.

But Jesus – accomplished what we could not do for ourselves. His work was fully effective. He lived the perfect life. Died the death we deserved. And rose from the dead defeating sin and death. – To give us eternal rest in God’s presence.

Trying to save yourself in the epitome of anxious toil. You can’t strive or work your way into heaven. Jesus has already done everything necessary to save you. Invitation – Come and enter his rest.