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Psalm 127-128

When the Lord Builds the House

  • Rich Jones
  • Weekend Messages
  • June 30, 2024

The great theme of many of the Psalms of Ascent is the help of the Lord. We saw that last week in Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.”

But what does the help of the Lord mean in the practical reality of life? If we do rely on the help of the Lord, then what is our part and what is God’s part?

That’s what Psalms 127 and 128 are about, our part and God’s part of that help. It also speaks of the blessing that comes to those who live their life relying on the help of God.

  • Sermon Notes
  • Scripture

When the Lord Builds the House
Psalm 127-128

June 29-30, 2024

     The great theme of many of the Psalms of Ascent is the help of the Lord. We saw that last week in Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.”

     But what does the help of the Lord mean in the practical reality of life? We know that the great figures of the Bible relied on help of the Lord. There was David, who was perhaps the greatest example of God’s help. In fact, it was David who wrote, “God’s help makes be great.”

     There was Joseph, from the book of Genesis, who endured so many difficulties and troubles, yet God used those very troubles to pour out His favor on his life and calling.

     Then there was Moses, and Joshua and Elijah and Elisha. There was Daniel and Jehoshaphat, and on and on; great characters of the Bible who lifted their eyes and looked to God to be their help. But what about us? Can we rely on the help of the Lord? What does it look like in the practical reality of life?

     If we do rely on the help of the Lord, then what is our part and what is God’s part?

     That’s what Psalms 127 and 128 are about, our part and God’s part of that help. It also speaks of the blessing that comes to those who live their life relying on the help of God.

     Psalm 127 was written by Solomon, who was David’s son through Bathsheba. He was the great king after David in what could be considered the glory days of Israel. It was Solomon who was given the privilege of building the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem.

     The first verses of this psalm set the theme, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”

     When Solomon had completed the building of the great house of the Lord, he called all Israel together and stood before them to dedicate that marvelous house, the place where God’s glory would dwell amongst them in Jerusalem. He then lifted his voice in an amazing prayer, dedicating that house to the Lord. And he said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is none like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart…” On and on Solomon continued in his beautiful prayer of dedication.

     God responded, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself… My eyes shall be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place for I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there always… But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot you from this land, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among the people.”

     In other words, if the words of that prayer become the substance of your heart, I will fill this house with My heart and my glory. But if your heart becomes empty, and your faith turns into empty religion. If you honor me with empty words and your heart moves far from Me, then this house will become empty also and I will cast it out of my sight.

     That brings the words of this Psalm to the forefront; “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” The word that stands prominently in Psalm 127 is that word vain or vanity. It means empty or void of meaning. And it is directly connected to rightly understanding the help of God.

     This is one of the greatest Psalms to understand the help of the Lord. What is your part and what is God’s part?

I. God will Meet You in Your Insufficiency

  •  Verse 1 – 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.
  • In both examples, you can see that there are two parts, your effort and God’s hand in it. Some are building a house. It can represent the building of anything, a life, a ministry, a business, even a relationship.
  • Another is a watchman, guarding the city, protecting whatever it is they have built. You don’t want to lose whatever you have gained, so you watch over what you have built.
  • But unless the Lord’s hand is in it, they labor in vain who build it; empty of meaning – meaningless.
  • No one wants to come to the end of their life, or whatever they have built and then realize that they wasted their life or their time in emptiness.
  • But that doesn’t mean that you don’t do anything. If God has something for you to build, then build it.

A. Be men of action

  • First, we must see in the verse that someone is doing the building. There is effort put forth by those who build the house, or the ministry, or the business, or the relationship.
  • There is a boldness to act, to move, to build, to believe great things can be accomplished. Be men of action.

Illus – When David was a teenager, his father sent him to check on his brothers who were with all the men of Israel fighting the Philistines in the valley of Elah. When David arrived, he heard the shouts of that philistine giant, taunting the ranks of Israel, daring them to send out a man to fight.

           When David arrived in the camp, he became incensed, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”

           David then became the one to face the Philistine. Later, standing in front of that giant, he would declare, “The battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” Notice that David didn’t go back to watching the sheep. He didn’t say, “The battle is the Lord’s, so let Him fight the battle, I’m going home.”

No, what he said was this, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have just taunted.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.

  • During the days of Israel’s captivity, Nehemiah was serving as a cupbearer to the king of Babylon. A friend returned from visiting Jerusalem and Nehemiah asked him concerning the Jews and the holy city. When he heard that the city was in great distress and reproach, and that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates burned with fire, he sat down and wept and prayed day and night, interceding for the Jews and the city of Jerusalem.
  • When the king saw his sad countenance, he released Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem as he felt compelled to go there himself and lead these people to rise up and build! When things are broken down, you rise up and build. They were so discouraged that they did nothing. This psalm is a call to rise up and build!
  • If you want to build this thing, then rise up and build. Be men of action.

1 Corinthians 16:13, Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

B. If God isn’t in it, it’s empty

  • Verse 2 – It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors…
  • He’s speaking of the emptiness, the vanity of self-effort and self-reliance.
  • It’s kind of the mantra of our age to believe that you could just man up and pour yourself into this thing and do it by your own self will and determination. “I’m going to do this thing. I’m going to get up early and build this thing. I’m going to go to bed late. I’m going to work and work, and I’m going to sweat this thing out, and I’m going to eat the bread of painful labors and I’m just going to grind my way through this thing by my own self will and determination.”
  • …And it’s empty, and its vanity, and it will come to nothing. That’s what self-effort does.

Illus – One of the most famous rock songs of all time came out of the 60s. It was 1965. This song by the Rolling Stones became an icon of the 60s because people could relate to it. “I can’t get no… satisfaction.  But I try and I try, and I try.” People loved that song because they could relate to it.

  • Maybe the problem was that they didn’t understand the difference between a rolling stone and a solid rock.
  • The phrase, “I can’t get no… satisfaction, but I try, and I try, and I try,” is the same as saying, its vanity. It’s meaningless. It’s empty.

Illus – Many of you know the story of my dad, that he was an alcoholic, angry, cantankerous and abusive. He left his wife and family and became alone and empty. Finally, at 75 years old, he said, “I’ve wasted almost all my life. Whatever I’ve got left, I want to make something of it. Would you help me?” Those were the words I had waited all my life to hear. “Yes, of course I will help you.” Not long after, he came to church and gave his life to Christ. That changed everything. We had four more years with him. When he died, his family was there at his side, restored and renewed. When he breathed his last, I closed his eyes in death and prayed, “Father, into your hands, I commend his spirit.” It’s never too late to change your life. You can move from emptiness and wasting your life, to purpose and meaning.

C. God’s help changes everything

  • Verse 2 – Unless the Lord build the house…Unless the Lord guards the city…
  • The Lord builds and the Lord guards when you do all in the name of the Lord.
  • David said, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God of Israel.”
  • In other words…

Colossians 3:17, Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

  • One of the greatest lessons in life is to understand how to rely on the help of God. How God’s hand rests on your efforts to show Himself strong in your behalf.
  • God takes faith and God takes character and builds upon it. God is looking for those who have a heart fully His.
  • If vanity is emptiness, then the opposite is fullness. When you are moving in God’s purpose, and filling your heart with God’s glory, God delights to show Himself strong in your behalf.

2 Chronicles 16:9, The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the whole earth in order to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is completely His.

  • In other words, there are no self-help programs in the kingdom of God. There are only God help programs.
  • All your self-effort can only bring you as far as your self-effort. But God will meet you in your insufficiency and make His power known.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Power is perfected in weakness… I would rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Illus – I mentioned last week that when I was going to Bible college, I put all my effort into my classes, learning all that I could to give honor to God for providing for me so miraculously. But I remember one summer, when I was taking two Greek classes at the same time, along with theology and other classes, that it was physically impossible to prepare well for all my classes. One class was rapid Greek reading where we would be asked to translate several chapters directly from the New Testament in Greek. I simply could not prepare all the chapters assigned. But in that entire semester, I was never asked to read from a section I had not studied. For me, it was a small miracle in every class.

  • I have come to believe that God’s power is perfected in weakness. When you rely on the help of the Lord, God will build the house.
  • If the Lord is in your heart, and you seek His glory in your life. There is something of God’s glory and character arising in you.
  • How many times have people heard people say of them that they are nothing, that they are failures and will never amount to anything?
  • But if God is in you, if faith is rising in you, if God is building hope and purpose in your life, you’re not nothing. He calls you His own. You are His son, or His daughter and He is the one who makes something out of nothing.
  • When we started the church, we started with nothing. I’ve come to understand that the only thing you may have is the vision God gave you, and the promise of His word. But if God is in it, then God will lay His hand on your efforts, and He’ll build it.

II. How Blessed are Those Who Honor the Lord

  • Verse 3-5 – at first it may seem like an unusual change of topic for him to speak of family.
  • But it flows beautifully from the early verses, emptiness comes from self-effort and self-reliance and focus on self, but meaning and purpose comes from your family and the relationships around you.
  • Then, in Psalm 128, the theme continues… How blessed is everyone who reveres and honors the Lord. It’s that same word for blessed we have seen in several of the Psalms. He means a deep, residing peace when your heart is right with God.

A. It will be well with your soul

  • Verse 128:2 – “When you eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you.”
  • This speaks of the blessing that comes to those who honor God in their life. God has blessed the fruit of their hands, and it is well with their soul.
  • In other words, when you honor God in your heart, it comes back to you.

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

  • The fruit of the Spirit is the results of God’s presence in your life. It is a great blessing to those around you, and it is a great blessing that comes back to you as well.

B. It is well within your house

  • If the Lord builds the house, then it will be well in that house and the blessings extend to the generations.
  • Verse 3 – Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
  • Imagine a young man who decides early in life that he will take God at His word. He believes that if he would revere and honor God in his life that God’s help and God’s favor and blessing will be over his life. What kind of wife would he choose? What kind of husband would he be?
  • If the Lord builds the house, then it will be well in that house because of what is filling their hearts.
  • Verse 3 – Your children will be like olive plants around your table.
  • That’s a picture of the children bearing the fruit of the Lord as the Lord is building that house. It is well with your soul within it.
  • Verse 4 – Behold, thus shall be the man who reveres and honors the Lord.

Psalm 127-128    NASB

127 1Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

 

128 1How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

The Lord bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!

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