1MAN MINUS GOD EQUALS ZERO

Psalm 127
Although we humans do not like to admit it, we are not in charge. God is. He
does as He pleases. He is the Source of blessing for everything; without Him
our efforts are fruitless. The Psalmist wants to remind us of our dependence
on God by giving us two separate, but related areas where our dependence
on God is very obvious. Man depends on God’s blessing in house building
and city guarding. As hard as a man may try, his efforts in both areas are
completely fruitless without God’s blessing.
WITHOUT GOD A MAN CAN ’ T BUILD HIS FAMILY ; WITHOUT GOD A MAN CAN ’ T
GUARD HIS CITY (V. 1).
In this Psalm, the writer weaves two different themes together to make his
point more strongly. The very first verse reveals the two threads: house
building and city guarding. Watch as he expertly weaves the two threads
back and forth to lead you to the conclusion.
C ITY -GUARDING IS DEPENDENT ON GOD ’S FAVOR (V. 2).
He goes on to elaborate on the city theme: “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.” The “bread of anxious toil” is “hard-earned food.” It means
he works hard. The watchman can work long hours, he can work hard hours,
but only God can give rest and peace to the city He chooses.
F AMILY -BUILDING IS DEPENDENT ON GOD ’S FAVOR (V. 3).
Solomon returns to the family-building motif. “Behold, children are a heritage
from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.” If you are trying to build a family on your
own, your efforts are useless without God. Fathers in those days wanted sons
—strapping young men who could defend the family from attacking enemies.
Many sons could care for the father in his old age and protect his estate.
Boys could carry on the family name. Solomon’s message is clear however:
“You may try your hardest to have sons, but those boys are a gift from God.”
So we see the two threads, family building and city guarding. Without God,
you cannot build your family by having sons. Without God, you cannot
defend your city, although you work hard and long at it. Without God’s
blessing, all of man’s efforts are useless.
S ONS , GOD’S GIFT TO THE FAMILY BUILDER , ALSO DEFEND THE CITY FROM
HIS ENEMIES ( VV . 4–5).
Now Solomon, the world’s wisest man, begins to blend his two themes
masterfully, which at first seemed so divergent and so different. Solomon
says the sons fathers crave can help defend their city. While they may get up
early and stay up late working hard to guard their city, they are dependent
on God for protection. They can have many sons, but they must depend on
God who gives life. The man whom God blesses with sons to protect him is
happy and satisfied. He has a quiver full of “arrows” to defend his city. His
satisfaction comes from God who is the only source of blessing.
Those sons that God gives you will not be ashamed when they defend you in
the gate. The gate of the city (yes, we’re back to the city again) was where
legal matters took place. These sons, God’s gift to the family builder, also
defend the city from his enemies. God builds the family and God protects the
city, but without Him, man’s efforts are in vain.
There is no conclusion at the end of this Psalm. There is no summary
statement telling us what we should have learned. Solomon makes no
summary because he feels the concept is so crystal clear, he leaves us only
with the metaphor of the sons defending their father’s legal estate.
T HE CONTEXT OF THE P SALM
We have looked closely at the two threads that are woven together in this
psalm. Now let’s “zoom out” for just a second from Psalm 127, and look at
the entire garment, if you will. Let’s see those themes from the perspective
of the Psalms, of the Songs of Ascent, and Solomon.
A very general theme of the Psalms is God’s sovereignty and His justice.
These characteristics of our great God elicit our trust and praise. Here God’s
sovereignty in our lives is highlighted by our dependence on Him to build the
family and guard the city. We need to trust His goodness and praise His
perfect control over our lives.
Psalm 127 stands as part of the Songs of Ascents. These fifteen psalms
(120–134) were part of the temple worship ceremony. They prepared the
heart of each worshiper by focusing it on his God. Psalm 127 presents man’s
desperate dependence on the Almighty God.
The Psalm is entitled, “A Song of Ascents. Of (or by) Solomon.” Perhaps this
Psalm is a personal testimony of Solomon, certainly a family builder by
anyone’s standards! Solomon also enjoyed the greatest era of peace in
Israel’s history. He received God’s blessing in family building as well as city
guarding. Another name for Solomon is Jedidiah, which means “the one
beloved by Jehovah” (2 Sam 12:25). Notice the parallel to verse two where
Jehovah gives peace to His beloved one.
In our day, we don’t think much about trying desperately to have sons to
defend the family name. In a day of national peace and prosperity, we don’t
worry much about defending our city from attacking invaders. However, our
God is still the source of all blessing. Without Him we are unable to achieve
even the simplest things in life.
How often we take God’s simple gifts for granted! When was the last time
you acknowledged God’s control over your life and thanked Him for another
day of life? Has your utter dependence on God struck you lately as you
realized His gracious gifts of health and rest? Have you thanked God for His
provision of peace and prosperity in our land?
Our God never changes. He is as involved in our lives today, May 26, 2010 as
He was in the life of Solomon 2900 years ago. We are utterly dependent on
God’s blessing. He is the Source of blessing for everything: without Him, our
efforts are in vain.