Title: THE BUILDER AND KEEPER Text: Psalm 127: 1-5 Date: June 5, 2011 Place: SGBC, New Jersey Psalm 127 is a familiar Psalm. Verses 1-2 of this Psalm are often quoted together. And verses 3-5 are often quoted together; but often they quoted separately, as if they mean two different things. All these verses go together and give us the same word of instruction. Verse 1 speaks of a builder but it says: Psalm 127: 1: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: verse 3 declares this building is, not one of sticks and stones, but of children which are born of the Lord--3: Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Verse 1 speaks also of a watchman keeping a city. The watchman stands in a tower overlooking the city or at the gate of the city guarding the city from enemies. But verse 1 says: Psalm 127: 1: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Verses 4 & 5 compare these children as instruments in the hands of a mighty man v4: As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5: Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: Here is the result of the Lord s work v5: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. that is the gate of the city. Proposal: God declares to his children, that though we are given responsibilities as laborers together, and as watchman it is the Lord who builds the house and keeps the city. The LORD shall receive all the glory because his children are his portion and the reward of his own hand. Notice the heading: «A Song of degrees for Solomon.> This was most likely a song of David for his son, Solomon. David wanted to build a house for the LORD and the LORD said, No. Instead, the Lord promised David s son, Solomon, would build his temple. 2 Samuel 7: 12: And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13: He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. Solomon is a type of Christ: Solomon was the son of David, Christ is the Son of God in human flesh; God chose Solomon, David s son, to build a temple for God, God the Father chose his Son, Christ Jesus, to build God s house who came from David s lineage according to the flesh. David believed God concerning Christ. Acts 2:30: Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; Zechariah 6: 12: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: Luke 1:31: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
I. SO FIRST, HEAR THIS PSALM AS A SONG BETWEEN GOD THE FATHER AND GOD THE SON. God chose whom he would in Christ before the world began, not based on any good or evil them, simply by his own grace. And God knew the end from the beginning. He overruled all that came to pass, even the sin of Adam and the fall of the human race was according to his eternal purpose of revealing his glory in his Son. So let s go now to the counsel of peace before the world began. Behold, God the Father saying to God the Son: Psalm 127: 1: Except the LORD build the house, {Except God himself, in the person of his Son, build the house} they {the children chosen of God who make up his house, who shall be born again of his Spirit; those who will be used of God to set forth his gospel, they} labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. David was prohibited from putting his hand to the work of building God s house, because David was a man of war who had shed blood. What a picture of every sinner born of Adam, of every elect child of God s mercy. We died by Adam s one transgression. We are conceived in sin, born men of war murderers in our hearts enmity against God: all our labor is vanity; our waking is vanity. Psalm 127: 2: It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: Now, behold the Son of God, Wisdom from eternity. He looks into time upon the children of men saying I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiates 1: 14) Except I, the LORD, build the house, they labor in vain. In this covenant of grace between God the Father and God the Son Psalm 127: 2: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (rest, peace, quietness) (1 Chronicles 22) Solomon s name means peace, quietness. 1 Chronicles 22:9: Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: God the Father gave Christ his Beloved, peace of heart, sleep, in the midst of his enemies. Christ wrought peace between his elect and God by his obedience unto death. And giving Christ to build the house of God, he gave to his beloved sheep, rest peace in Christ. 1 Chronicles 22: 9: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. 10: He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Christ finished the work. He is the Peace of full justification from all our sins. righteousness. Peace that fills the heart by the Spirit of God Peace of perfect Psalm 127: 3: Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Heritage means possession, portion. Fruit means firstfruits. Reward means payment. What peace of heart for every believer! First, Christ is THE child who is God s heritage, God s portion the Firstfruit of the womb God s reward given by God to himself. Matthew 3: 17: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Christ was biven to declare his glory, given to declare him just and the Justifier and Christ did just that. Like Abraham who offered up Isaac, God has not withheld his Son, his only Son. Mark 12:6: Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Secondly, the children given to Christ by God in eternity are Christ s possession, his portion, the firstfruits of his labor, his reward: by election, by purchase, by adoption. Isaiah 53:11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Behold, God speaking to his Son in eternity, before anything was made, saying These children are mine and I am giving them to you to build up for my house, my dwelling place. 1 Peter 2:5: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Behold, Christ delivering up the kingdom to the Father, saying of all those he perfected by his one offering: Isaiah 8:18: Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. Psalm 127: 4: As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5: Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. The true mighty man is God our Savior, Jesus Christ the Godman, Mediator. His arrows are the children of the youth born again of his Spirit, with the Spirit of God abiding in them. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them Our Lord s quiver is full and there shall not be one empty space. John 10: 27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father s hand. (John 10:27-29 AV) Psalm 127: 5: They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with the enemies in the gate. God made this promise to Abraham, Genesis 22: 17: thy seed shall possess {cast out, consume, destroy} the gate of his enemies; 18: And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Paul tells us that Seed is Christ. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God came forth and not only spoke with the enemies in the gate, but by his one sacrifice for the sin of his people, and he destroyed the gate of his enemies. The gates of hell can not prevail against his city, because Christ the Child of God, destroyed the gate of his enemies.
So the Spirit of God breaks down the gate in the hearts of his people, birthing his children with a new heart, and we STAND now, no longer ashamed to speak of Christ, with the enemies in the gate. Isaiah 45:17: But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. II. NOW, LET S HEAR THIS WORD OF GOD TO YOU AND I, WHO ARE BORN OF HIS SPIRIT THE CHILDREN PURCHASED, BORN AND KEPT BY GOD. The Lord uses believers to further his gospel in this earth he builds his house, he keeps his city. All God s children are laborers and watchman in whatever capacity God has placed us in, whether a: pastor, husband, father, son, brother, wife, mother, daughter, sister or a combination. He gives us responsibility in the various offices God has placed us, but think of a mighty man. Now think of the arrows in his hand. Which has the Wisdom and the Power--the mighty man or the arrows? The mighty man. The arrows merely go where he aims. All who are born of his Spirit are children of the youth in the hand of our mighty God compared with arrows in the hand of a mighty man. God makes his children into wise masterbuilders and faithful watchman, by teaching us through his word and using everything in providence. He uses our own houses and our various projects. How easily we lose sight of the fact, that God is teaching us spiritual things, through these secular things. We begin acting as is if the power and wisdom is of us. We rise early, we sit up late. We eat the bread of sorrows. But all is vanity. What a blessed encouragement this psalm is: no matter how well God has gifted his child of mercy, no matter how experienced we may be, God will make us to know: Psalm 127: 1: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. He makes us fall flat on our faces so all we can do is look up to God, cast all care into his hands but so he giveth us sleep. After the bitter correction, God always gives us sweet rest in Christ our Strength and Wisdom and rest in the arms of our God is sweet sleep! But what a building! What a keeping of his city! What children is the fruit of righteousness God produces in the hearts of his own. Repentance from self to faith in Christ our Wisdom and Strength. So he begins and continues to make his children to stand in Christ the Gate and speak truth to all who are enemies in their minds by wicked works. So God makes everything he puts into our hands, not a labor of law-duty, but a labor of love. Indeed, God gives us our natural children. They are indeed a gift from God to us. Oh, but what a gift a born-again child of God s grace is how dear! When he has brought us to the end of ourselves, he may just use us to draw his own to himself. He may use us to speak a word into their hearts using something we say or do for them. But he will see to it he receives all the glory. Because Psalm 127: 3: Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. The apostle Paul said, I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. McCheyne s Memoirs--Upon the conversion of many under his preaching, he wrote this: Lord, I thank thee that thou hast shown me this marvelous working, though I was but an adoring spectator rather than an instrument.
So it is because God has reconciled his children unto himself in Christ Jesus, God shall make each one no longer confounded by our own sinful flesh and weakness, but he will bring forth his children to rest by faith in Christ, in God our true Builder and Keeper. And so he will continue his work in us that he might make us instruments for good in his house and in his city. AMEN!