Psalm 127

Psalm 127

A Psalm of

Wisdom from God

This Psalm is one of the

Psalms of Ascent

which are Psalms 120 - 134.

To understand the Psalms of Ascent click:  Here

             Note: Part of this page was in the November 2020 newsletter.

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In this psalm,

God urges us to make choices

based on wisdom.

Verse 1

Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

NKJV version

God's wisdom is telling us

that if we go

running off

doing

all kinds of things

BEFORE we get

our guidance and instructions from God -

we will be wasting our time.

If we truly want

to make

what we do

- count for something helpful and good -

then we need to listen

to

God's plans for our day - 

  and our life!

And not just

do what we want to do

or

do what has grabbed our attention

on this particular day.

Verse 2

It is vain for you to rise up early,

to sit up late,

to eat the bread of sorrows;

for so He gives His beloved sleep.

For this verse,

The Living Bible says:

It is senseless for you to work so hard

from early morning until late at night,

fearing you will starve to death;

for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.

Here God tells us that

it is unwise

to let worry

push us to be workaholics. 

God is reminding us

that if we focus on

working

without

balancing working with rest

(and it even implies other things)

then we will experience

many sorrows in life

that God did not intend for us to have.

Concerning the

other things that I believe God is implying here:

If we work hard
without making time for our family,
we will experience
less joy and more sorrow 
in our marriage and in our relationships
with our loved ones.

Some of that sorrow
is not experienced day-to-day 
but may sneak up on us
in our later years. 

For example, 
in our later years
we may finally find
plenty of time
for a relationship with our grown children
but they are now
not interested.

There is a song
"Cats in the Cradle"
that explains that example. 

The lyrics are posted

at the bottom of the page.

Verse 3

Behold, 

children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

-

Throughout my lifetime,

I have seen the U.S. culture

go from putting

a priority on

spending time with children -

to putting a priority on

work, self-time, and personal goals.

The enemy of our soul

wants to draw a parent's eyes

away from

the value of time with children.

God wants to draw our eyes and our heart

toward time with our children. 

Joy and Fun!

God wants that time

filled with

joy, laughter, patience, gentleness,

appropriate discipline, and

time filled with

us teaching our children about God. 

God is telling us

- crying out to us -

to make children a priority -

and make a godly home a priority.

Verse 4

Like arrows

in the hand of a warrior,

so are the children of one’s youth.

God is telling us

that when we raise our children

in a loving, God-friendly environment,

then in our later years,

those children will

more than likely

be a strength to us and a blessing TO US. 

"Children of one's youth."

God reminds us that

we need to make "having children" a priority

when we are young.

Many today

put off thinking about children

until late thirties or forties

and some men - even beyond that!

Verse 5

Happy is the man

who has his quiver* full of them;

They shall not be ashamed,

But shall speak with their enemies

in the gate.

*Quiver - a container for arrows

When you raise your children

to follow Jesus

then more than likely

YOU will enjoy a

STRONG,

godly relationship with them

when they get older.

It is wise to plan ahead for this.

It is wise to show your children

an example

of a person who is teachable.

One of the greatest things

we can do

is aim

to be 

teachable.

We will never be perfect,

but we can show our children that we are teachable.

Being teachable gives our children

a deep sense of security and safety.

It also models for them

how to be a wise person and a godly leader.

And lastly

I will add that

it is wise

to show that we

yield to God and seek to grow

more in the area of

The Fruit of the Spirit.

If you've never done some of these things,

please -

Just Start!!

And lastly

Cats in the Cradle

lyrics

A child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away

And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, "I'm gonna be like you, Dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin' home, Dad, I don't know when
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's okay"

And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm going to be like him"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin' home, Dad, I don't know when
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and he said with a smile

"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin' home, son, I don't know when
But we'll get together then, Dad
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to Dad, if I could find the time"

"You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it had occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin' home, son, I don't know when
But we'll get together then, Dad
We're gonna have a good time then.

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Psalm 127 posted February 4, 2021