Sermon: Unless the Lord Builds the House
Scripture Text: Psalm 127
Quotes for Reflection
Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
The first people to sing this psalm had expended much effort to get to Jerusalem. Some came great distances and overcame formidable difficulties. Would there be a tendency among the pilgrims to congratulate one another on their successful journey, to swell with pride in their accomplishment, to trade stories of their experiences? Would there be comparisons on who made the longest pilgrimage, the fastest pilgrimage, who had brought the most neighbors, who had come the most times? Then, through the noise of the crowd, someone would strike up the tune: “If GOD doesn’t build. . . guard. . .” The pilgrimage is not at the center; the Lord is at the center. No matter how hard they had struggled to get there, no matter what they did in the way of heroics—fending off bandits, clubbing lions, crushing wolves—that is not what is to be sung. Psalm 127 insists on a perspective in which our effort is at the periphery and God’s work is at the center.
Derek Kidner, Psalms
One of the most telling features of this short poem is that it singles out three of our most universal preoccupations – building, security, raising a family – and makes us ask what they all amount to, and to whom we owe them.
Timothy & Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus
“Helicopter” parenting and over involvement in our children’s lives, cannot ensure their health and happiness. Unless the Lord enters their lives, all our watching is in vain. Giving our children to God is the only way we get to keep them.
Application Questions
1. What signals do you experience personally that reveal you are working in your own strength rather than the Lord’s?
2. How does the gospel of grace provide a third way between negligence and toil?
3. The psalmist describes activities that are central to human purpose: building, protecting, laboring, and parenting. In which of these areas are you experiencing anxious toil right now? Write down how the gospel can be applied specifically and transformatively, allowing it to reorient your approach.