In the ancient world the city gate was the center of business activity and civil affairs. Verse three also says that children are a “reward” and verse five clearly states that children are a “blessing.” While these are wonderful truths on their own, how do they relate to being unashamed when speaking with enemies at the gate? In verse three, the second section begins by saying that children are a “gift” from the Lord. Tying the two sections together is the principle that God gives to His own.
Surely then when we read Psalm 127:2 it is not a prohibition from work, “It is vain for you to rise up early,” but rather an admonition to not put our trust ultimately in our efforts, “For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Put your hope in God alone.įinally, we come to the subject focus of the second section of our psalm, the concept of God at work in our homes.
9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? There is a divine cooperative as we observe the other instructions given in the Bible for work and godliness.Ĭonsider this passage from Solomon found in Proverbs 6.Ħ Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. “Unless the Lord guards the city” their work is in vain. But Solomon does remind us that we shouldn’t trust in the guards, no matter how good they are. He also doesn’t say that the watchman shouldn’t be at his post. On the contrary look at the end of verse 1, “The watchman keeps awake in vain.” Solomon doesn’t say there isn’t a watchman looking over the city. Does this mean that it doesn’t matter what we do? We don’t need to build our homes or work for food? Three times in these two verses we are reminded that all our efforts are in vain unless they are covered by the blessing of the Lord. As we build our homes, guard our communities and work for our provisions, there is a greater power at work than our human effort. Verses 1–2 deal with the concept of God at work in our public lives. This leads to our second observation as we look at the subject matter of each section. After all, how does defending a city relate to raising a family? In reality, we will discover that Psalm 127 is entirely cohesive in how it speaks about the hand of God and how He relates to our daily lives. In fact, at first glance it might appear that there are two completely different categories being discussed without any connection. One observation is that Solomon is considering two separate subjects within this one psalm. As the author of Ecclesiastes and much of the book of Proverbs, Solomon seems to address themes in Psalm 127 which are also mentioned in these other books.Īs we begin to study the passage we can make a couple of observations rather quickly. Psalm 127 is also one of the two psalms attributed to Solomon. The futility of action without the Lord is explained in both lines, but the message is strengthened when viewed together as a whole. 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. An example of this poetic device is found in verse one of Psalm 127. The use of parallelism is evident throughout, building the main idea with corollary examples in a similar theme. While many psalms in this compilation have references to Zion, Jerusalem, and deliverance, Psalm 127 in many ways takes on similarities found in other passages of wisdom literature. Psalm 127 lies in the heart of the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120–134) which are believed to have been sung by pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem for religious festivals. Photo by Gunnar Ridderström on Unsplash Introduction
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