Housing, Security, work and family… These are the areas of
human concern and endeavour that Psalm 127 addresses. AS Leslie Allen says the
psalm tells us that “God is the immanent Lord of the home, the city, the field
and the family."
These areas have changed since the time this psalm was
written. Housing concerns are more about
affordability than simply construction, we have a whole generation wondering if
they will ever be able to own a house amidst sky rocketing property
values. Security; is not simply a matter of an armed
guard on the city wall staring at the horizon or into the dark night, but of
Policemen, customs agents and those people in intelligence who stare at the new
digital horizon and the dark recesses of the Internet. Work, for most is not hands
on toiling to grow the food we eat, but to make ends meet, in our increasingly
complex and costly society. Family; Psalm 127 reflects a male dominated
agrarian society where to have many sons was a real blessing, they would work
hard, carry on one’s legacy and were able to speak in the city gates to defend
land rights and family honour, we are happy to change our reading to children
and reflect the great joy and equal value of daughters, and in our changing
society family sizes are shrinking and people choosing to be single or couples
choosing to not have kids are a growing phenomenon. Housing, security, work and
family are still central areas of human concern and Psalm 127 is as relevant to
us today as it was to its original readers.
Psalm 127 is unusual in its title it is said to be of
Solomon, not of David. It is wisdom literature not simply prayer and praise. EM
Blaicklock says it is written from the perspective of a person mature in years
looking back at the reality of life, with the possibility of failure and
success.
It is what is called
a proverbial psalm. It brings two proverbs together to help us reflect on God
and life. The first is in verses 1-2 and reflects on home, community and work,
the second in verse 3-5 focuses on family.
Both are what are called conditional proverbs, there outcome
is conditional on the same thing. The first deals with the curse of human
futility, all our endeavours and achievements amount to nothing unless they are
in the will of LORD. The second deals
with the blessing of human fertility, which is seen as a result of the will of
God and the blessing of God.
One commentator
suggested this Psalm was read to new fathers as it balanced the joys of having
children with the challenge of having children. But we use this psalm basically
in two ways. The first proverb is most often used, by Christians, after we have made decisions
and worked out our plan of action and we stop to ask God’s blessing because
unless the LORD is on board then it is all in vain. The second is used most
often in discussions on family values. Our focus can be the success of our plan
or our family and we can miss that the focus of the Psalm is on the LORD.
This is a psalm of ascent, a psalm used as pilgrims come to
Jerusalem for one of the three great festivals of the Jewish Faith. It is used
as the people come to the temple to worship, they were said to recite one of
the fourteen psalms of ascent on each of the fourteen steps up to the temple to
prepare themselves to worship God. In this psalm they stop and realise the
providence and the sovereignty of God in all areas of life.
It humbles us, we realise that for all our endeavours, our
cleverness, our inventiveness, our planning, our having a family that it is all
dependant on God. God is sovereign and it is his providence that enables our
homes our cities, community and work to thrive and prosper. In the fickleness
of history, the rise and fall of empire, economy and fortunes, we are dependant
not on our own abilities but on God’s grace.
It causes us to give thanks, to see what God has done for
us. While the blessing of God is seen in families and in particular sons, it
does not stop the widow or the orphan or childless couple from joining their
thanks to this. God did not chose to bless them like this and their lives have
been hard because if it they can give thanks that God is also the God who cares
for the widow and the orphan. They can give thanks and have hope because they
two live their lives out with the sovereign providence of God.
The third thing this Psalm invites us to do is to trust in
God. To realise that the whole of our lives are in God’s hands. In the sermon
of on the mount Jesus invites us not to be anxious and worry about tomorrow,
not to loose sleep over our needs because God knows our needs even before we
ask So we should put first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these
things shall be added to us. It is not that we focus on our work but on good
works that glorify and honour God. The Psalm does not discourage human effort
and work or success and prosperity, neither does it give a formula for success but
invites us to stretch out our hands in trust and submission and ascribe praise
to God for the success we do enjoy.
At the centre of this psalm is a verse about the Lord giving
sleep to those he loves. It provides a positive ending to the proverb that has
been about the futility of toiling outside of God’s will. I’m sure if you’ve been parents it is a great
promise when you turn to think of family, the sleeplessness and concerns that never seem to go
away when it comes to families even though they are a blessing from God. I had a
friend in Rotorua whose business partner had six daughters and he said it was
only the first thirty years that were sleepless. We can trust in God’s sovereignty
and God’s providence. In Jesus Christ we have the greatest example of that, God’s
love and grace shown to us, that in Jesus life death and resurrection we can
have the central concern of life, relationship with God put right and our sins
forgiven. We know his love and we can trust that his plans for us are for good
not for harm, and rest in that on our pilgrim journey.
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