Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
Parallel Translations
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Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
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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.
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A Song of Ascents; of Solomon. 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.
Cross-references (32)
Passages linked to Psalms 127:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
- Proverbs 21:30-31 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh. The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with Yahweh.
- 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble, each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
- Psalms 33:16-18 There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power. Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness,
- Psalms 121:3-5 He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Yahweh is your keeper. Yahweh is your shade on your right hand.
- Psalms 124:1 If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side, let Israel now say,
- 1 Chronicles 28:10 Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
- Isaiah 62:6 I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
- 1 Chronicles 28:20 David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished.
- Jeremiah 51:12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon! Make the watch strong! Set the watchmen, and prepare the ambushes; for Yahweh has both purposed and done that which he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
- 1 Corinthians 15:14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain.
- Psalms 121:1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?
- Psalms 123:1 I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.
- Psalms 120:1 In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
- Psalms 78:69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever.
- Psalms 125:1 Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever.
- 1 Chronicles 22:10-11 He shall build a house for my name; and he will be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and prosper you, and build the house of Yahweh your God, as he has spoken concerning you.
- Psalms 126:1 When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream.
- Isaiah 56:10 His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to Yahweh’s house!”
- Isaiah 21:5-12 They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield! For the Lord said to me, “Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees. When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” He cried like a lion: “Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and every night I stay at my post. Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs.” He answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground. You are my threshing, and the grain of my floor!” That which I have heard from Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, I have declared to you. The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again.”
- Zechariah 2:4-5 and said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,’ says Yahweh, ‘will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the middle of her.
- Isaiah 27:3 I, Yahweh, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day.
- 1 Chronicles 29:19 and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”
- Ezekiel 33:2-9 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, ‘When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman; if, when he sees the sword come on the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people; then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and doesn’t heed the warning, if the sword comes, and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and didn’t take warning. His blood will be on him; whereas if he had heeded the warning, he would have delivered his soul. But if the watchman sees the sword come, and doesn’t blow the trumpet, and the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes, and takes any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ “So you, son of man: I have set you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and give them warnings from me. When I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you don’t speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man will die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at your hand. Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he doesn’t turn from his way; he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.
- Galatians 4:11 I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.
- Song of Solomon 3:3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
- Song of Solomon 5:7 The watchmen who go about the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The keepers of the walls took my cloak away from me.
- Jeremiah 51:31 One runner will run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter.
- Psalms 72:1 God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 1. Except Jehovah build the house. There is no…
1. Except Jehovah build the house. There is no reason why the Jews should deny that this Psalm was composed by Solomon. They think that the letter ל, lamed, which we translate of, is equivalent to, in behalf of Solomon; which is at variance with common usage, for such a title in all cases designates the author. Accordingly, they absurdly devise a new sense, for which there is no necessity, it being very suitable for Solomon, who was endued with the spirit of wisdom in the affairs of government, to discourse of things which he knew and had experience about. In affirming that God governs the world and the life of man, he does so for two reasons: First, whatever prosperous event may fall out to men, their ingratitude is instantly manifested by their ascribing it wholly to themselves; and thus God is defrauded of the honor which is his due. Solomon, to correct such a perverse error, declares, that nothing happens prosperously to us except in so far as God blesses our proceedings. Secondly, his purpose was to beat down the foolish presumption of men, who, setting God aside, are not afraid to undertake to do anything, whatever it may be, in exclusive reliance upon their own wisdom and strength. Stripping them, therefore, of that which they groundlessly arrogate to themselves, he exhorts them to modesty and the invocation of God. He does not, however, reject either the labor, the enterprises, or the counsels of men; for it is a praiseworthy virtue diligently to discharge the duties of our office. It is not the will of the Lord that we should be like blocks of wood, or that we should keep our arms folded without doing anything; “Ou que nous demeurions les bras eroisez sans rien faire.” — Fr.
It behoves us to remember what I have just now touched upon, that since the minds of men are commonly possessed with such headstrong arrogance as leads them to despise God, and to magnify beyond measure their own means and advantages, nothing is of more importance than to humble them, in order to their being made to perceive that whatever they undertake it shall dissolve into smoke, unless God in the exercise of pure grace cause it to prosper. When philosophers argue concerning the political affairs of a state they ingeniously gather together whatever seems to them to answer their purpose — they acutely point out the means of erecting a commonwealth, and on the other hand the vices by which a well-regulated state is commonly corrupted; in short, they discourse with consummate skill upon everything that is necessary to be known on this subject, except that they omit the principal point — which is, that men, however much they may excel in wisdom and virtue, and whatever may be the undertakings in which they may engage, can effect nothing, unless in so far as God stretches forth his hand to them, or rather makes use of them as his instruments. Which of the philosophers ever acknowledged that a politician is nothing else but an instrument guided by the hand of God? Yea, rather they held that good management on the part of man constituted the chief cause of the happiness of the social body. Now, since mortal men thus rise up with profane boldness to build cities, and to order the state of the whole world, the Holy Spirit justly reproves such madness. Let us then so occupy ourselves, each according to the measure of his ability and the nature of his office, as that at the same time the praise of the success attending our exertions may remain exclusively with God. The partition which many devise — that he who has behaved himself valiantly, while he leaves the half of the praise to God, may take the other half to himself, is deserving of all condemnation. The blessing of God should have the whole share and exclusively hold the throne.
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Now, if our terrestrial condition depends entirely upon the good pleasure of God, with what wings shall we fly up into heaven? When a house is planned, or a certain manner of life is chosen — yea, even when laws are enacted and justice administered, all this is nothing else than to creep upon the earth; and yet the Holy Spirit declares, that all our endeavors in this way are fruitless and of no value. So much the less to be borne with, then, is the folly of those who strive to penetrate even into heaven by their own power. Farther, we may gather from this doctrine, that it is not wonderful to find in the present day the state of the world so troubled and confused as it actually is — justice put to flight in cities, the husband and the wife mutually accusing each other, fathers and mothers complaining of their children — in short, all bewailing their own condition. For how few are to be found who, in their vocation, turn to God, and who, being rather inflated with arrogance, do not wickedly exalt themselves? God then justly renders this sad reward to ungrateful men when he is defrauded of his honor. But were all men humbly to submit themselves to the providence of God, there is no doubt that this blessing which Solomon here commends would shed its lustre on all parts of our life, both public and private.
The verb עמל, amal, which we have translated to labor, signifies not only to employ one’s self in something or other, but also to busy one’s self even to lassitude and distress. I have said that by the word keepers is to be understood not only those who are appointed to keep watch, but all magistrates and judges. If they are characterized by vigilance, it is the gift of God. There is, however, need of another vigilance — that of God; for unless he keep watch out of heaven no perspicacity of men will be sufficient to guard against dangers.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The public estate of the commonwealth.
The public estate of the commonwealth.
That is, govern and dispose all things pertaining to the family.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 127:1 « A Song of degrees for Solomon.…
Psa 127:1 « A Song of degrees for Solomon. » 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.
A Sony of degrees for Solomon] As Psa 72:1. Penned by David not long before his death, and left his son Solomon, to teach him that nothing can be gotten or kept, no, not children begotten, but by God’s blessing. This last was a fit lesson for Solomon, who, by so many wives and concubines, left but one only son that we read of, and him none of the wisest. Some render it, A Song of degrees of Solomon, making him the penman of it; yea, Origen from this inscription entitleth Solomon to all the songs of degrees; but that is not likely (Lib. 3, περι αρχων, cap. 1).
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Ver. 1. Except the Lord build the house] Not the fabric only, but the family and the government thereof; there is no good to be done if God set not to his fiat, and say, Let it be done; if he blast or not bless men’s endeavours and policies, they are all but arena sine calce, sand without lime, they will not hang together, but, like untempered mortar, fail asunder. There is a curse upon such as idolize themselves, and kiss their own hands, though they be industrious, Jehoiakim, for instance, Jer 22:24-30 αιιαι Yεου διδοντος μηδεν ισχυει φθονος αιιαι μη διδοντος μηδεν ισχυει πονος (Naz.).
Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman] Whether civil or military, frustra nititur, qui Deo non innititur. Politicians stand on their own heads, like children, and shake their heels against heaven, but all in vain. Soldiers, some of them, are ready to say, with Ajax, I acknowledge no God but my sword, &c. Such shall be surely befooled and confuted; and God’s blessing declared to be all in all.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Build the house, i.e. assist and bless those that…
Build the house, i.e. assist and bless those that build the house; either an artificial house, the temple, or the royal palace, or any of those numerous structures which Solomon raised; or a natural or civil home, a family, or a state, or kingdom.
They labour in vain that build it; they will never bring it to perfection, nor have any comfort in it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We are here taught to have a continual regard…
We are here taught to have a continual regard to the divine Providence in all the concerns of this life. Solomon was cried up for a wise man, and would be apt to lean to his own understanding and forecast, and therefore his father teaches him to look higher, and to take God along with him in his undertakings. He was to be a man of business, and therefore David instructed him how to manage his business under the direction of his religion. Parents, in teaching their children, should suit their exhortations to their condition and occasions. We must have an eye to God,
I. In all the affairs and business of the family, even of the royal family, for kings' houses are no longer safe than while God protects them. We must depend upon God's blessing and not our own contrivance, 1. For the raising of a family: Except the Lord build the house, by his providence and blessing, those labour in vain, though ever so ingenious, that build it. We may understand it of the material house: except the Lord bless the building it is to no purpose for men to build, any more than for the builders of Babel, who attempted in defiance of heaven, or Hiel, who built Jericho under a curse. If the model and design be laid in pride and vanity, or if the foundations be laid in oppression and injustice (Hab 2:11, Hab 2:12), God certainly does not build there; nay, if God be not acknowledged, we have no reason to expect his blessing, and without his blessing all is nothing. Or, rather, it is to be understood of the making of a family considerable that was mean; men labour to do this by advantageous matches, offices, employments, purchases; but all in vain, unless God build up the family, and raise the poor out of the dust. The best-laid project fails unless God crown it with success. See Mal 1:4. 2. For the securing of a family or a city (for this is what the psalmist particularly mentions): if the guards of the city cannot secure it without God, much less can the good man of the house save his house from being broken up. Except the Lord keep the city from fire, from enemies, the watchmen, who go about the city, or patrol upon the walls of it, though they neither slumber nor sleep, wake but in vain, for a raging fire may break out, the mischief of which the timeliest discoveries may not be able to prevent. The guards may be slain, or the city betrayed and lost, by a thousand accidents, which the most watchful sentinel or most cautious governor could not obviate. 3. For the enriching of a family; this is a work of time and thought, but cannot be effected without the favour of Providence any more than that which is the product of one happy turn: "It is vain for you to rise up early and sit up late, and so to deny yourselves your bodily refreshments, in the eager pursuit of the wealth of the world." Usually, those that rise early do not care for sitting up late, nor can those that sit up late easily persuade themselves to rise early; but there are some so hot upon the world that they will do both, will rob their sleep to pay their cares. And they have as little comfort in their meals as in their rest; they eat the bread of sorrows. It is part of our sentence that we eat our bread in the sweat of our face; but those go further: all their days they eat in darkness, Ecc 5:17. They are continually fell of care, which embitters their comforts, and makes their lives a burden to them. All this is to get money, and all in vain except God prosper them, for riches are not always to men of understanding, Ecc 9:11. Those that love God, and are beloved of him, have their minds easy and live very comfortably without this ado. Solomon was called Jedidiah - Beloved of the Lord (Sa2 12:25); to him the kingdom was promised, and then it was in vain for Absalom to rise up early, to wheedle the people, and for Adonijah to make such a stir, and to say, I will be king. Solomon sits still, and, being beloved of the Lord, to him he gives sleep and the kingdom too. Note, (1.) Inordinate excessive care about the things of this world is a vain a d fruitless thing. We weary ourselves for vanity if we have it, and often weary ourselves in vain for it, Hag 1:6, Hag 1:9. (2.) Bodily sleep is God's gift to his beloved. We owe it to his goodness that our sleep is safe (Psa 4:8), that it is sweet, Jer 31:25, Jer 31:26. God gives us sleep as he gives it to his beloved when with it he gives us grace to lie down in his fear (our souls returning to him and reposing in him as our rest), and when we awake to be still with him and to use the refreshment we have by sleep in his service. He gives his beloved sleep, that is, quietness and contentment of mind, and comfortable enjoyment of what is present and a comfortable expectation of what is to come. Our care must be to keep ourselves in the love of God, and then we may be easy whether we have little or much of this world.
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II. In the increase of the family. He shows, 1. That children are God's gift, Psa 127:3. If children are withheld it is God that withholds them (Gen 30:2); if they are given, it is God that gives them (Gen 33:5); and they are to us what he makes them, comforts or crosses. Solomon multiplied wives, contrary to the law, but we never read of more than one son that he had; for those that desire children as a heritage from the Lord must receive them in the way that he is pleased to give them, by lawful marriage to one wife. Mal 2:15, therefore one, that he might seek a seed of God. But they shall commit whoredom and shall not increase. Children are a heritage, and a reward, and are so to be accounted, blessings and not burdens; for he that sends mouths will send meat if we trust in him. Obed-edom had eight sons, for the Lord blessed him because he had entertained the ark, Ch1 26:5. Children are a heritage for the Lord, as well as from him; they are my children (says God) which thou hast borne unto me (Eze 16:20); and they are most our honour and comfort when they are accounted to him for a generation. 2. That they are a good gift, and a great support and defence to a family: As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, who knows how to use them for his own safety and advantage, so are children of the youth, that is, children born to their parents when they are young, which are the strongest and most healthful children, and are grown up to serve them by the time they need their service; or, rather, children who are themselves young; they are instruments of much good to their parents and families, which may fortify themselves with them against their enemies. The family that has a large stock of children is like a quiver full of arrows, of different sizes we may suppose, but all of use one time or other; children of different capacities and inclinations may be several ways serviceable to the family. He that has a numerous issue may boldly speak with his enemy in the gate in judgment; in battle he needs not fear, having so many good seconds, so zealous, so faithful, and in the vigour of youth, Sa1 2:4, Sa1 2:5. Observe here, Children of the youth are arrows in the hand, which, with prudence, may be directed aright to the mark, God's glory and the service of their generation; but afterwards, when they have gone abroad into the world, they are arrows out of the hand; it is too late to bend them then. But these arrows in the hand too often prove arrows in the heart, a constant grief to their godly parents, whose gray hairs they bring with sorrow to the grave.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Except the Lord build the house, they labour in…
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it,.... Whether it be understood literally of an artificial house, as Solomon's own house; or the house of the Lord, or any other: let a man be ever so bent upon building one, or have ever so much skill in drawing the plan of it, or be ever so well provided to go through the expense of it, or have ever so many hands employed in it, yet, if the Lord does not give success, it will all be in vain; the building will fall down, or be consumed by fire before it is finished; or by one providence or another he will be obliged to desist from it, as in the case of the builders of the tower and city of Babel. Or whether it be understood of a family, which is built up by an increase and multiplication of children; so Leah and Rachel built up the house of Israel, Rut 4:11; this depends upon the providence of God; for, as it is after said, "children are an heritage of the Lord", Psa 127:3. Or whether it be understood, figuratively and mystically, of the church God, the house of the living God; the house of Christ, a spiritual one; a Gospel church, whose materials are lively stones, or true believers. Now there are builders in this house, some indeed very bad ones; and it is no wonder that they labour in vain, who reject and lay aside the foundation and corner stone, Christ; who deny his deity, despise his righteousness; or mix grace and works, law and Gospel, together, and pluck down with one hand what they build with another: and though there are others that are good ones, and lay the foundation, Christ; and build on this foundation precious truths, comparable to gold, silver, and precious stones; minister the word, and administer the ordinances, truly and faithfully; and in all direct to Christ for grace, strength, peace, comfort, and eternal life; speak to edification, and are the means of reviving the graces of God's people, and of establishing their souls; as well as of the conversion of sinners, whereby the house of God is built up; yet if the Lord does not prosper their work, all is in vain. For the principal builder is God, Father, Son, and Spirit; this is mostly applied to the second Person, the Word and Wisdom of God, Pro 9:1; but not to the exclusion of the Father, who has laid in Zion a foundation, a precious corner stone, and builds souls on it; nor of the Spirit, through whom saints are built up an habitation for God, Isa 28:16. The Targum here is,
"if the Word of the Lord does not build the city.''
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It follows,
except the Lord keep the city; the city Jerusalem, as the Targum; who also here makes mention of the Word of the Lord: or any other city: God, with the Heathens (t) was called the keeper of cities; this title is given to Minerva by Pindar (u), and is one of Jupiter's titles (w);
the watchman waketh but in vain; to preserve it from riots, robberies, fires, &c. This may be applied to the church of God, the city of the living God, of which saints are fellow citizens: now in this city there are watchmen, some indeed that are blind and asleep, and so quite unfit for this office; but there are others who are awake and diligent, and watch in all things; and for the souls of men, and the good of the city, the church, to prevent heresies, errors, and immoralities; and yet all their watchfulness is in vain, unless the Lord keep it, who watches over his people for good, and that none hurt them; he wakeful, never slumbers nor sleeps, and constant night and day; and keeps his people by his power, and as tenderly as the apple of his eye.
(t) Aristotel. de Mundo, c. 7. Apuleius de Mundo, prope finem. Phurnutus de Natura Deor. c. 9. (u) Olympiad. Ode 5. (w) Pausaniae Attica, sive l. 1. p. 43, 53. Vid Theoph. ad Autolye. l. 1. p. 76.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain We must trust in God for success in all…
We must trust in God for success in all enterprizes, ver. 1, 2. And for children, ver. 3-5. A song of degrees of Solomon.
Build - Assist and bless those that build it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The necessity of God's blessing on every undertaking, without
PSALM CXXVII
The necessity of God's blessing on every undertaking, without
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which no prosperity can be expected, 1, 2.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, 3, 4.
A fruitful wife is a blessing to her husband, 5.
NOTES ON PSALM CXXVII
The Hebrew, Chaldee, and Vulgate attribute this Psalm to Solomon. The Syriac says it is "A Psalm of David concerning Solomon; and that it was spoken also concerning Haggai and Zechariah, who forwarded the building of the temple." The Septuagint, AEthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon have no title, but simply "A Psalm of Degrees." It was most likely composed for the building of the second temple, under Nehemiah, and by some prophet of that time.
Verse 1. Except the Lord build the house] To build a house is taken in three different senses in the sacred writings.
1. To build the temple of the Lord, which was called הבית habbeith, the house, by way of eminence.
2. To build any ordinary house, or place of dwelling.
3. To have a numerous offspring.
In this sense it is supposed to be spoken concerning the Egyptian midwives; that because they feared the Lord, therefore he built them houses. See the note on Ex 1:21. But, however, the above passage may be interpreted, it is a fact that בן ben, a son, and בת bath, a daughter, and בית beith, a house, come from the same root בנה banah, to build; because sons and daughters build up a household, or constitute a family, as much and as really as stones and timber constitute a building. Now it is true that unless the good hand of God be upon us we cannot prosperously build a place of worship for his name. Unless we have his blessing, a dwelling-house cannot be comfortably erected. And if his blessing be not on our children, the house (the family) may be built up, but instead of its being the house of God, it will be the synagogue of Satan. All marriages that are not under God's blessing will be a private and public curse. This we see every day.
Except the Lord keep the city] When the returned Jews began to restore the walls of Jerusalem, and rebuild the city, Sanballat, Tobiah, and others formed plots to prevent it. Nehemiah, being informed of this, set up proper watches and guards. The enemy, finding this, gathered themselves together, and determined to fall upon them at once, and cut them all off. Nehemiah, having gained intelligence of this also, armed his people, and placed them behind the wall. Sanballat and his company, finding that the Jews were prepared for resistance, abandoned their project; and Nehemiah, to prevent surprises of this kind, kept one-half of the people always under arms, while the other half was employed in the work. To this the psalmist alludes; and in effect says, Though you should watch constantly, guard every place, and keep on your armour ready to repel every attack, yet remember the success of all depends upon the presence and blessing of God. While, therefore, ye are not slothful in business, be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; for there is no success either in spiritual or secular undertakings but in consequence of the benediction of the Almighty.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 127:1. Except the Lord build the house —…
Psa 127:1. Except the Lord build the house — That is, assist and bless those that build it, whether an artificial house, such as the temple, or the royal palace, or any of those numerous structures which Solomon raised; or rather, a natural or civil house, a family or kingdom; they labour in vain that build it — They will never succeed well in their attempts, bring it to perfection, or have any comfort in it. The success of all our undertakings depends so entirely upon God’s blessing, that it is in vain to attempt any thing without it: in vain is it to build houses and cities, or to endeavour to uphold families, or establish states, unless he prosper the design: and the care of the watchman, of the soldier, or magistrate, is to no purpose, unless the divine providence be likewise the guard. “In every undertaking the blessing of God must accompany the labours of man to render them effectual. No work can prosper without him; nor can any design miscarry under his favour and protection. Above all men they ought to implore the divine grace and benediction, who are employed either in building or defending the spiritual house and city of God; especially as the same persons, like the Jews after the captivity, surrounded by enemies, always ready to obstruct the work, are often obliged to hold a sword in one hand while they build with the other. Our own edification in faith and holiness must likewise be carried on by us in this attitude, by reason of the many temptations which are continually assailing us.” — Horne.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Except the Lord build the house - Or rather,…
Except the Lord build the house - Or rather, “a house.” The word “house” may refer either to an ordinary dwelling; to the temple, as a place of worship; or to a family, with reference to its success and prosperity, as the word house is often used now. The statement is universal, and is designed to indicate a universal dependence on God in human undertakings, though it is not improbable that there may have been an allusion, when the psalm was composed, to some building which was contemplated or commenced. If the psalm was a composition of David or Solomon, the allusion way have been to the temple about to be erected. The language, however, is so general as to be applicable to any enterprise of that kind.
They labor in vain that build it - literally, “In vain toil its builders in it.” The idea is, that they are entirely dependent on God. No matter what their skill, their strength, their industry may be - all will be in vain unless God shall assist them. They are dependent on Him for life, for health, for strength, for practical wisdom, for a disposition to continue their work, and for success in it. Their work might be destroyed by fire, by a tempest, by an earthquake, or by an irruption of enemies; and for the result, therefore, they are entirely dependent on God.
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Except the Lord keep the city - The same idea of dependence is here repeated in another form. The preservation of a city depends wholly on God, whatever care or precaution may be used.
The watchman waketh but in vain - literally, “In vain waketh the keeper.” The word rendered waketh means to be sleepless; and then, to watch. The allusion is to the watch or guard appointed to keep a city, and the idea is, that, whatever may be the diligence, the care, the fidelity of one thus appointed to guard a city, its safe-keeping must depend on God alone. Fires may break out in spite of the watchmen; a tempest may sweep over it; bands of armed people may assail it; or the pestilence may suddenly come into it, and spread desolation through its dwellings. There may have been an allusion in this to some immediate arrangement for guarding Jerusalem when the psalm was composed; but the remark is so general that it is not necessary to confine it to that. It is universally true that, after all the care for their own preservation which people can employ, their safety depends wholly on God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Psalms 127
Psalms 127
A Song of Degrees for Solomon
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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.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows:
For so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord:
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
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.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—All help, all protection, and all blessing come from God; without Him all labor, care, and trouble are vain. This thought, related to Pro_10:22, and expressed in the form of a mashal is individualized by the building of a house, the watching of a city, and the earning of bread (Psa_127:1-2), and the Divine blessing of a numerous offspring (Psa_127:3-5). There is no definite allusion to the building of the Temple by Solomon (most of the older expositors after the Rabbins), or to that after the Restoration (many since Theodoret). Nor is there any trace of a special connection with the two following Psalms (Hitzig). There is nothing to falsify the reference to Solomon as the author in the superscription. [The title should be rendered: by Solomon] This statement, however, is not found in the Sept. Nor is it decisive of itself that in 2Sa_12:25 the name Jedediah, beloved, is given to Solomon, and that he was promised prosperity, 1Ki_3:5, in a dream (Hengst.) It may have been just from these resemblances that the inference of a Salomonic authorship was made (Olsh., Delitzsch, Hitzig). It is purely arbitrary to infer (Stier), from the aphoristic form that David here speaks of Solomon (Syr.) although the forcible language and vivacious tone, if not, in the absence of all political allusion, necessarily indicating a highly flourishing state of the kingdom (Hengst. after the older commentators), yet do argue a prosperous period in the life of the author and a soul satisfied in God. The assumption that the Psalm is a fragment is devoid of all support. [If it was the Collector who inserted the statement with regard to the authorship, he probably had better reasons for his opinion than those which have led so many critics (in whose wake Perowne again seems inclined to follow) to fancy that Solomon was not the author.1—J. F. M.]
Psa_127:1-2. Build the house—It is not the laying of the foundation of a patrimony (Calvin, Geier, Calov., et al.) but of house building in its strict sense. [Translate: They have labored, they have watched. “The writer places himself at the end of the work and sees its result” (Perowne)—J. F. M.] In Psa_127:2 the sitting down is to be closely connected with what follows. They come late to sit down to eat (Hitzig, Del.); they get their bread by toiling and moiling. Others take the expression as equivalent to lying down, so that by rising up early and retiring late, they lengthen the natural day by artificial means (Sept., Syr., Calvin, Geier, et al., Hupfeld). Sitting at meals was customary (1Sa_20:34) before the Greek custom of reclining was introduced among the Jews. The words do not refer to sitting at work until late at night (Aben Ezra, Luther, et al.) כֵּן does not mean: for (Luther) but: thus. This means: without more trouble, (Böttcher) or: in like manner, and passes over into the notion: such, or: the same.—Sleep is here not contrasted with labor but with trouble and care, and expresses the freedom from trouble and the peace of the man who reposes in God’s protection. A false translation is: when he giveth His beloved sleep (Sept., Vulg.) [The explanation of the last clause of the verse which is now generally followed is this: God is represented as giving to those whom he loves “in sleep,” that is without any fatiguing toil on their part, all things that are for their own good. Sleep is evidently contrasted with the late working of those who do not give themselves up to God’s protection, and who are alluded to in the first part of the verse. The following is probably the correct translation: “It is vain for you rising early, sitting down late, eating the bread of toil; thus (the things thus sought for) He giveth His beloved in sleep.”—J. F. M.]
Psa_127:4-5. The children of youth are not young children (Luth., Rudinger, Rosenm.), but they are contrasted with the children of old age (Gen_37:3). As such they are already grown up when their father is growing old, and are therefore able to assist him (Geier). The gate (Psa_127:5) is used for the places of public resort (Psa_5:9), especially those where justice is administered (Deu_21:19 and elsewhere). A taking part in such affairs, in general, therefore, judging (Isa_20:4; 2Sa_19:30; Jer_12:1) is probably meant here also, and not specially a struggle in defence of the fatherland (Rudinger, Rosenm., Umbreit). The subject of the statement is not merely the sons as defenders (Calvin, Geier, De Wette, Hengst.), or the fathers as accused but not pronounced guilty (Grotius, Köster), but both in common (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Grotius, and most).—In the translation: sons of the outcasts (Sept., Vulg.), an allusion was perceived to those born in the captivity. The translation in Psa_127:5 : blessed is he whose desire is fulfilled by them, weakens the sense.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Through God’s blessing our labor prospers without harassing trial and without anxiety.—Parents have not given their children to themselves. God has presented them to them; are they also treated and educated accordingly?—We must gratefully and humbly ascribe to God every successful result, and nothing to our own strength, ability, or endurance, and employ all our strength, time, and gifts in reliance upon God’s assistance, and according to His will, so that we may not be ashamed.—To begin and end with God, takes from every day its burden.
Starke: Let God be the beginning and the end in all things, and thou wilt walk securely on thy way so that thy foot shall not stumble.—God’s servants in the ministry of His Church built Him a spiritual house. If it is to be built rightly, God Himself must be the Master-builder—Be first a friend of God, and then do what is commanded thee, leaving the rest to Him. He will prosper thy affairs even while thou sleepest, if thou dost lie down with full trust in Him.—To be able to sleep quietly in the midst of much labor, is a blessing of God.—Gifts are not to be forced from the giver.—Parents act sinfully who murmur against God, if He does not bless their married life with offspring.—It is an affliction of married life to have no children; but to have spoiled children is much worse. Prayer and wisdom are necessary to educate them rightly.
Frisch: All the servants of God have to build up the house of the Lord, that is, the Church of God. But God must be the Master-builder, and give success from above to the work of His servants.—Rieger: In all situations, success does not depend upon diligence, skill, or natural sagacity, but upon God’s blessing and providence. Men should therefore not lose their trust in God by immoderate application, or suffer themselves to be annoyed by difficulties which meet them, or become self-exalted with success.—Richter: Sons well brought up are a protection, honor, and blessing to their father.—Guenther: Lord, do Thou thus build our houses, defend our city and country, bless our exertions, educate our children to become citizens of the city of God, and at last show us mercy in the final judgment—Taube: The secret of domestic blessing, how it rests, not upon our labor or care, not in human watching and power, but only in the gifts of mercy from above.
[Matt. Henry: Such children are arrows in the hand, which with prudence may be directed aright to the mark, God’s glory and the service of their generation, but afterwards when they are gone out into the world, they are arrows out of the hand; it is too late to bend them then. But these arrows in the hand prove often arrows in the heart, a constant grief to their godly parents, whose grey hairs they bring with sorrow to the grave.—Bishop Horne: If God’s aid be called in, if part of our time be spent in prayer, not the whole of it in prayerless toiling and moiling, our work will become easier and go on better.—Scott: Children should also remember their obligations to their parents, and study to requite them by laboring to supply their wants, to vindicate their characters, and to protect them from oppression in their old age.—J. F. M.]
Footnotes:
[1][Mr. Perowne, following an opinion alluded to above, asserts (I. p. 95) that “a misunderstanding of the words: ‘except Jehovah build the house,’ which were supposed to allude to the building of the Temple, led the Psalm to be ascribed to Solomon.” In other words, the Collector committed a blunder in interpretation, of which no unlearned reader of our day is guilty. On the other hand, why should he ignore the possibility that Solomon, who was something of a house-builder in his time, apart from his connection with the Temple, and who speaks elsewhere so feelingly of the vanity of unaided human labor, might have generalized his own experience for the benefit of his nation; and that, being something of a moralist and proverbial philosopher, he might have presented this and some kindred thoughts in the form of an apophthegmatic Psalm; and that, being an acknowledged teacher in his kingdom, he might, in accordance with a custom not unusual with him, have accompanied this utterance with his own name? The unqualified assertion just quoted simply assumes the impossibility of this. As to why Solomon should not have been the author we are left by Mr. Perowne entirely in the dark, nothing approaching to an argument being found in his discussion of the subject.—J. F. M.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. House—Here to be taken literally, as city unquestionably…
1. House—Here to be taken literally, as city unquestionably should be in the next member. But it is viewed in its relations to home avocations, and the rearing of the family as the ultimate objects sought. It spoils the beauty and proportions of the psalm to consider it merely in the figurative sense of family, as in Rth_4:11. As the “house” represents and relates to the family, so does the “city,” in the next clause, represent and relate to the state. Both are comprehended in the national life, and both depend on God, without whom all labour is profitless.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. The industry of the builder, the vigilance of…
1. The industry of the builder, the vigilance of the watchman, are in vain without Jehovah’s cooperation. A man may build a house and never live in it (Deu_28:30; Zep_1:13); the watchman may patrol the city, or keep his watch on the wall, but he cannot secure it from dangers such as fire or the assault of enemies. The house is not the Temple, nor is the city specifically Jerusalem: house-building and city-guarding are examples of ordinary human undertakings. But as the examples may have been suggested (see above) by the circumstances of the time, they may well have a further figurative application to those circumstances. Without the blessing of Him Who has promised to build the house of Israel (Amo_9:11; Jer_31:28) and Who is the Watchman of His people (Psa_121:4), the most strenuous efforts of the leaders of the community can avail nothing.
the watchman] Lit. the keeper, as in Psa_121:4-5.
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1, 2. The futility of human effort without the Divine blessing.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) House.—A house, any house, not the Temple. The…
(1) House.—A house, any house, not the Temple. The thought is a general one. Even in the common labours of men, it is the Divine blessing which contributes the success. An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen.
Waketh.—Perhaps better, watcheth. The house that has been built with such toil, the city which has been planned with such skill, may suddenly fall before the midnight attack of the robber or the enemy, in spite of the strictest police, unless God’s vigilant providence preserve it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A DIDACTIC psalm, preaching a contented trust in God…
A DIDACTIC psalm, preaching a contented trust in God as more conducive to the prosperity of a man, or a state, than any amount of fussy activity. The ascription to Solomon is borne out
(1) by the use of Solomonic words; e.g. etseb, ne urim, yedido; and
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(2) by the agreement of the general sentiment with Pro_10:22.
Except the Lord build the house; rather, a house; i.e. any house whatsoever. They labor in vain that build it. They will effect nothing no house will be built. Except the Lord keep the city; rather, a city. The watchman waketh but in vain. Human watching is of no use unless accompanied by Divine watching.
Vers. 1-5. The blessing of God.
The psalm is in keeping with that prevalent piety which led the devout Israelite to trace God"s hand in everything, and ascribe both good and evil, both joy and sorrow, to his directing power.
I UNBLESSED LABOR.
1. We can do nothing at all without the Divine co-operation. We constantly depend on the presence of his material, on the action of his laws, on the activity of the forces he keeps in play. We all recognize this in agriculture; that it is vain for the husbandman to sow his seed, unless God sends his rain and wind and sunshine, etc. It is also true of our other occupations. The sailor and the builder depend on the constancy and regularity of Divine laws and forces. We are always assuming their existence, though we may think nothing of their Author.
2. We can effect nothing without the Divine permission. If God means that the guilty city shall fall, the watchman will wake and the soldier will fight in vain. If God intends to humble a man whose pride needs to be brought down, his utmost exertions in his trade or in his profession will not bring success. Many a man has found, as he at first thought to his cost, but as he afterwards knew to his great advantage, that when God"s wise and faithful providence is against his prosperity, he wakes early and works hard in vain.
3. But how much more blessed is he in a corrective adversity, than he would be in a hardening prosperity! We do well to ask that God"s blessing may wait upon and crown all our activities; we do well, also, to remember that it may happen that, for our own sake, God will not grant us our desire in the form of temporal success.
4. We find no blessedness in a prosperity which is not hallowed by devotion. It is a vain thing for a man to strive hard and to attain the immediate object of his pursuit, if he is not making his life a life of holy service. Even if the bread he eats is not "bread of sorrows" in the sense that it is scanty, yet it will be such in the sense that it yields no abiding joy; for it is abundantly clear that a life of even prosperous labor, apart from the service and without the friendship of God, selfish and earthbound, is a life of dissatisfaction and practical defeat. The springs of pure and lasting joy do not rise on that lower ground.
II NEEDLESS ANXIETY. "It is vain that ye rise up early," etc.; "for he giveth to his beloved in sleep and without labor, "so," i.e. just as, even as to those who vainly harass themselves with labor and think not of him" ("Speaker"s Commentary"). To those who serve God and are beloved of him he will grant sufficiency, though they do not turn labor into hard toil, but take the rest they need. It is not godless struggle, but reverent activity, that attains the goal and receives the prize of happy life. The two elements of success are
(1) a moderate and rational activity With needful and appropriate rest; and
(2) the enjoyment of God"s favor bringing down his blessing on our work. Be diligent at your post, give to muscle and to brain the relaxation they demand, spend your days and powers in the fear of God, then you may commit yourself to his promise and await its fulfillment. There is no need for anxiety if you are honestly and wisely laborious, and also prayerful and obedient. (see Php_4:5-7)
III THE FULNESS AND OVERFLOW OF DIVINE BLESSING. "So he giveth to his beloved in sleep.
1. What great things God does for our bodily well-being in sleep! Every night he lays his restoring hand upon us, refreshes us, renews our muscular and mental powers, gives back to us the vitality and strength which had been exhausted. Every morning we owe to him a "new song" of praise.
2. What great things God does for us in the outside world during our unconsciousness! Our Lord reminds us that, while we are otherwise occupied, night and day," the seed we have sown springs and grows, we "know not how." Many things God does for us when we are as unconscious of his action as if we were "in sleep." It is an unseen hand, working with such silence that no ear hears the sound, that is carrying on those wonderful operations by which he satisfies the wants of every living thing.
3. What great things he does for us in the human world in which we take no part! His hand was working and overruling in all the toil and strife of the nations of the earth, leading the world up to, and making it ready for, the great advent of the Redeemer. Unknown to us, while we are practically "in sleep," he is directing all our strife and all our labor to a beneficent result.
4. We are hoping that God will make our past life effective for good in many hearts and through many generations when we "fall on sleep." When our body rests in the grave, the influences he enabled us to exert in life will, under his gracious guidance, be telling and bearing fruit. To those who love and serve him now he will give the blessing of the workman whose labor is producing and reproducing long after he has left the field.
IV THE BLESSING OF PARENTAGE. (See next psalm)
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-5. The builder"s psalm.
Our ignorance of the exact reference of this psalm enables us to apply it, as perhaps otherwise we might not be able, to all builders whatsoever. Four such seem to be pointed at here.
I THE TEMPLE-BUILDERS.
1. We know that this was one of the solicitudes of the returned exiles to uprear again the temple of the Lord. And in the books written after the return from Babylon we read about this and the difficulties they had to encounter, and the success they at length achieved. Continually they needed to remember that "except the Lord build," etc.
2. And in the gathering together the living stones which are to form the Church of God, how we need to remember this same truth! Her builders are perpetually tempted, and some are all too prone, to try other methods in this work than those the Lord employs. We are apt to rely on wealth, eloquence, learning, talent, and all other such things, and to forget that it is the Lord alone can really make our work successful.
II THOSE OF THE CITY. (Ver. 1) Jerusalem is doubtless meant, and, surrounded as she was by relentless and ever-watchful foes, the sentinels and guards needed ever to be on the alert. But again the same reminder comes in. And it does so still. This is the age of great towns and cities, of municipal corporations who naturally and properly take pride in the cities over which they are placed. They cannot but know how much depends upon wise administration and rule, on the sagacity and wisdom which the citizens can supply. And they who know the history of municipalities know how eager corruption and vice are to assert their power. And often it seems that to pander to them would help on the city"s prosperity. But the city-builders need to recollect the truth of this psalm. What is all man"s wisdom apart from God?
III THE BUSINESS. (Ver. 2) "Our house," "our firm, these are well-known expressions for business associations how many are hard at work to build such houses? And in the keen competition of the day, how difficult this often is I what temptations are on every hand, by tricks of trade, by what is called smartness, to get on, it matters not much by what means. How many succumb to such temptations, and try to keep one conscience for Sundays and quite another for weekdays! They have little faith in what this psalm says, "Except the Lord," etc. Their faith is in strenuous hard work, rising early, sitting up late, eating the bread of toil, and so to win rest and repose for themselves. But it is not so, the psalmist declares; for all that toiling and moiling is "vain;" the Lord giveth to his beloved that which they need without all that restlessness and anxiety; their souls repose in him; he keeps them in perfect peace. (cf. Pro_10:22, Revised Version margin) Let the Lord, then, be the predominant partner in every firm; so shall the house be built.
IV THE HOME. (Vers. 3-5) People marry, and then begins the upbuilding of the family. What strenuous exertion does many a father put forth for the sake of his family! If the children be numerous, the parents are often very slow to appreciate the congratulations of these verses (3-5). The reason is that they are counting most precious for their children what the Lord scarcely counts precious at all. Of course, only a fool would despise secular advantages for his children, if they may be had; but infinitely more important for them is the grace of God possessing their hearts. Then no real ill can come to them, but eternal good shall be their portion. S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver 1. The God of the family life.
"These pictures are mild and bright; humanizing are they in the best sense: they retain certain elements of Paradise, and yet more the elements of the patriarchal era, with the addition of that patriotism and of that concentration in which the patriarchal life was wanting. The happy religious man, after the Hebrew pattern, possessed those feelings and habitudes which, if they greatly prevail in a community, impart to it the strength of a combination which is stronger than any other; uniting the force of domestic virtue, of rural, yeoman like, agricultural occupations, of unaggressive, defensive valor; and of a religious animation which is national as well as authentic and true" (Isaac Taylor). It is well to note that the very first associations of human beings over which God presided took the form of family life. Of Adam it is said, "which was the son of God," so the first relation of humanity was a family relation. When Adam and Eve had a child, earth held its model relationship it had a family group. The patriarchs were but heads of families. The nation of Israel was Jehovah"s family. And Christ came to restore for humanity its Divine family relationships. Man organized for himself fictitious social and citizen relations. Man made towns, governments, kings. All who are concerned in the welfare of humanity realize that everything depends on the healthy maintenance of family life. Napoleon was asked what could be done to restore the prestige of France. At once he replied, "Give us better mothers.
I GOD INTERESTED IN FAMILY LIFE. The "God of the families of his people," he is called. The interest belongs to his own paternity; and we can partly realize it as we think of our interest in our children"s children. It is possible to exaggerate in presenting God"s interest in the individual. The plea for a family religion and a family altar is based on Gods family care and blessing.
II GOD WORKING IN FAMILY LIFE. Using its associations, cares, and mutual services for his work of character-culture. The commonplaces of family life only gain their dignity when God is seen to be using them; and the anxieties of family life become endurable when we feel sure that God is overruling. The Divine training of character for the life that is coming, by sanctifying family experiences, needs to be much more fully considered than it is.
III GOD WORKING THROUGH FAMILY LIFE. That is, working his great work for humanity through the witness of family life. There is no mightier force used by God for securing the redemption of the race. R.T.
The true city watchman.
"Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." This would come home very forcibly to the restored exiles if, as we may well assume, the psalm was written before Nehemiah restored the walls of the holy city. Then the only protection of the city must have been the vigilance of the night-watchmen, which never could be depended on. And yet the city containing God"s people was absolutely secure; and would have been as secure if no watchmen had ever paced their ordered rounds. Their God was their defense. In older days, foes gathered round, but they never broke in, unless God gave them a commission of discipline or judgment. The restored exiles were surrounded by active enemies, and exposed on every side. But it did not matter. The fiat of Divine love and power held them in strictest restraint. Scheme they might, but they could not overpass Jehovah"s limits, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further." The truth may be illustrated in all those human arrangements for mutual safety which have for their type the city watchman, and which we call national and local government. So elaborate is man"s device for securing the liberty of the person, the safety of property, and the health of the family, that there is grave danger of losing all sense of needing God. Indeed, God in city life is but a sentiment. And yet we remove his direct relation from the various forms of human association at our peril. Be it government, or socialistic self-government, "unless the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Very remarkable is the way in which man"s civilization brings mischief as well as good; and his seemingly perfect schemes leave loopholes for the entrance of desolating evils. This may be illustrated from city sanitary schemes, and from the prevalence of particular types of diseases, and from the masterful spread of epidemics such as" influenza. It may be shown that the true preservation of a city is an immaterial matter as well as a material; it is as closely related to morals and religion as to safety for property, healthy houses, and pure water. And if it could be so which it cannot that we succeed in separating God from the material, no one can delude himself with the idea that God is not concerned with the moral and religious. So, after all, it must be God who "keeps the city. R.T.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Ver. 1. The Divine Builder.
(For the opening or reopening of a church) "Except the Lord build the house," etc.
I OUR DEPENDENCE UPON GOD FOR ALL REAL PROSPERITY.
1. Consider the material of the house we are building. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" "Ye also as living stones, are built up a spiritual house," etc. The spiritual temple dwarfs the most magnificent material cathedrals.
2. The Divine implements employed on the building. Spiritual men working with Divine truths the gospel to build up a spiritual edifice. But some conditions to be remembered.
(1) That the qualifications for such work are God-given, By the grace of God I am what I am.
(2) Even then we are still dependent upon the cooperative blessing of God"s Spirit. So then neither is he that planteth anything alone, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase." The soul like an organ. The keys give no musical response to the touch of the most skilful player till the wind is passed to the pipes.
II HOW DEPENDENCE UPON GOD MAY BEST BE PROMOTED.
1. By the most strenuous spiritual effort on our part. This no paradox; for the more we aim to do for God, the more shall we feel the need of God to give us true success.
2. By constantly thinking of the greatness of his work, and the littleness of our faculties in relation to it. Men succeed in grand material enterprises and intellectual achievements construct mighty bridges and steam-engines and write magnificent books and poems; but to win men to Christ a good life is the most arduous work in life, demanding the highest inspirations of the mind.
3. We must realize the spirit of dependence by the constant help of prayer. To know the value of work we must put ourselves forth in constantly renewed endeavor; but our highest work can be sustained only by the help of the devoutest prayer. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Title. A Song of Degrees for Solomon. It was…
Title. A Song of Degrees for Solomon. It was meet that the builder of the holy house should be remembered by the pilgrims to its sacred shrine. The title probably indicates that David wrote it for his wise son, in whom he so greatly rejoiced, and whose name Jedidiah, or "beloved of the Lord", is introduced into the second verse. The spirit of his name, "Solomon, or peaceable", breathes through the whole of this most charming song. If Solomon himself was the author, it comes fitly from him who reared the house of the Lord. Observe how in each of these songs the heart is fixed upon Jehovah only. Read the first verses of these Psalms, from Psalm 120 to the present song, and they run thus: "I cried unto the Lord", "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills", "Let us go unto the house of the Lord." "Unto thee will I lift up mine eyes", "If it had not been the Lord", "They that trust in the Lord." "When the Lord turned again the captivity." The Lord and the Lord alone is thus lauded at each step of these songs of the ascents. O for a life whose every halting place shall suggest a new song unto the Lord!
Subject. God's blessing on his people as their one great necessity and privilege is here spoken of. We are here taught that builders of houses and cities, systems and fortunes, empires and churches all labour in vain without the Lord; but under the divine favour they enjoy perfect rest. Sons, who are in the Hebrew called "builders", are set forth as building up families under the same divine blessing, to the great honour and happiness of their parents. It is THE BUILDER'S PSALM. "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God", and unto God be praise.
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Ver. 1. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it. The word vain is the keynote here, and we hear it ring out clearly three times. Men desiring to build know that they must labour, and accordingly they put forth all their skill and strength; but let them remember that if Jehovah is not with them their designs will prove failures. So was it with the Babel builders; they said, "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower"; and the Lord returned their words into their own bosoms, saying, "Go to, let us go down and there confound their language." In vain they toiled, for the Lord's face was against them. When Solomon resolved to build a house for the Lord, matters were very different, for all things united under God to aid him in his great undertaking: even the heathen were at his beck and call that he might erect a temple for the Lord his God. In the same manner God blessed him in the erection of his own palace; for this verse evidently refers to all sorts of house building. Without God we are nothing. Great houses have been erected by ambitious men; but like the baseless fabric of a vision they have passed away, and scarce a stone remains to tell where once they stood. The wealthy builder of a Non such Palace, could he revisit the glimpses of the moon, would be perplexed to find a relic of his former pride: he laboured in vain, for the place of his travail knows not a trace of his handiwork. The like may be said of the builders of castles and abbeys: when the mode of life indicated by these piles ceased to be endurable by the Lord, the massive walls of ancient architects crumbled into ruins, and their toil melted like the froth of vanity. Not only do we now spend our strength for nought without Jehovah, but all who have ever laboured apart from him come under the same sentence. Trowel and hammer, saw and plane are instruments of vanity unless the Lord be the Master builder.
Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Around the wall the sentinels pace with constant step; but yet the city is betrayed unless the alert Watcher is with them. We are not safe because of watchmen if Jehovah refuses to watch over us. Even if the guards are wakeful, and do their duty, still the place may be surprised if God be not there. "I, the Lord, do keep it", is better than an army of sleepless guards. Note that the Psalmist does not bid the builder cease from labouring, nor suggest that watchmen should neglect their duty, nor that men should show their trust in God by doing nothing: nay, he supposes that they will do all that they can do, and then he forbids their fixing their trust in what they have done, and assures them that all creature effort will be in vain unless the Creator puts forth his power, to render second causes effectual. Holy Scripture endorses the order of Cromwell "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry": only here the sense is varied, and we are told that the dried powder will not win the victory unless we trust in God. Happy is the man who hits the golden mean by so working as to believe in God, and so believing in God as to work without fear.
In Scriptural phrase a dispensation or system is called a house. Moses was faithful as a servant over all his house; and as long as the Lord was with that house it stood and prospered; but when he left it, the builders of it became foolish and their labour was lost. They sought to maintain the walls of Judaism, but sought in vain: they watched around every ceremony and tradition, but their care was idle. Of every church, and every system of religious thought, this is equally true: unless the Lord is in it, and is honoured by it, the whole structure must sooner or later fall in hopeless ruin. Much can be done by man; he can both labour and watch; but without the Lord he has accomplished nothing, and his wakefulness has not warded off evil.
Title. "A Song of Degrees for Solomon." This Psalm has Solomon's name prefixed to the title, for the purpose that the very builder of the Temple may teach us that he availed nothing to build it without the help of the Lord. The Venerable Bede (672-3-735), in Neale and Littledale.
Whole Psalm. Viewed as one of the "Degrees" in Christian virtue, the ninth, the Psalm is directed against self reliance. H. T. Armfield.
Whole Psalm. The steps or degrees in this Psalm, though distinctly marked, are not so regular as in some others.
The twice repeated "in vain" of Ps 127:1 may be regarded as the motto or "degree" for Ps 127:2. The correspondence between the two clauses in Ps 127:1 is also very striking. It is as if, on entering on some spiritual undertaking, or even in referring to the present state of matters, the Psalmist emphatically disclaimed as vain every other interposition or help than that of Jehovah. And of this "in vain" it is well constantly to remind ourselves, especially in seasons of activity and in times of peace; for then we are most liable to fall into the snare of this vanity.
The next "degree" is that of success and prosperity (Ps 127:3-4), which is ascribed to the same Jehovah whose help and protection constituted the commencement and continuance, as now the completion of our well being. Hence also Ps 127:5 goes not beyond this, but contemplates the highest symbol of full security, influence, and power, in the figurative language of the Old Testament, which St. Augustine refers to "spiritual children, shot forth like arrows into all the world." Alfred Edersheim, in "The Golden Diary of Heart Converse with Jesus in the Book of Psalms", 1877.
Whole Psalm. Solomon, the wisest and richest of kings, after having proved, both from experience and careful observation, that there was nothing but vanity in the life and labours of man, comes to this conclusion, that there is nothing better for a man in this life than that he should moderate his cares and labours, enjoy what he has, and fear God and keep his commandments: to this end he directs all that is debated in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Very similar are the argument and intention of the Psalm; the authorship of which is ascribed to Solomon in the Inscription, and which there is no reason to doubt. Nor would it be safe, either to call in doubt any inscription without an urgent reason, or to give any other sense to the letter l than that of authorship, unless it be meant that all the inscriptions are uncertain. Again, if the collectors of the Psalms added titles according to their own opinion and judgment, there would be no reason why they should have left so many Psalms without any title. This Psalm, therefore, is Solomon's, with whose genius and condition it well agrees, as is clear from Ecclesiastes, with which it may be compared, and from many proverbs on the same subject...The design is, to draw men away from excessive labours and anxious cares; and to excite godliness and faith in Jehovah. To this the Psalm manifestly tends: for since men, desirous of the happiness and stability of their houses, are unable to secure this by their own endeavours, but need the blessing of God, who gives prosperity with even lighter labours to those that fear him; it is their duty to put a limit to their labours and cares, and to seek the favour of God, by conforming their life and conduct to his will, and confiding in him. Hermalt Venema, 1697-1787.
Ver. 1. Except the LORD build. It is a fact that Nb, ben, a son, and tk, bath, a daughter, and tyb, beith, a house, come from the same root, tnk, banah, to build; because sons and daughters build up a household, or constitute a family, as much and as really as stones and timber constitute a building. Now it is true that unless the good hand of God be upon us we cannot prosperously build a place of worship for his name. Unless we have his blessing, a dwelling house cannot be comfortably erected. And if his blessing be not on our children, the house (the family) may be built up; but instead of its being the house of God, it will be the synagogue of Satan. All marriages that are not under God's blessing will be a private and public curse. Adam Clarke.
Ver. 1. Except the LORD build the house, etc. He does not say, Unless the Lord consents and is willing that the house should be built and the city kept: but, "Unless the Lord build;unless he keep." Hence, in order that the building and keeping may be prosperous and successful, there is necessary, not only the consent of God, but also his working is required: and that working without which nothing can be accomplished, that may be attempted by man. He does not say, Unless the Lord help; but unless the Lord build, unless he keep; i.e., Unless he do all himself. He does not say, To little purpose he labours and watches; but to no purpose he labours, both the builder and the keeper. Therefore, all the efficacy of labours and cares is dependent on the operation and providence of God; and all human strength, care, and industry is in itself vain.
It should be noticed, that he does not say, Because the Lord builds the house he labours in vain who builds it, and, because the Lord keeps the city the watchman waketh in vain: but, If the Lord do not build the house, if he do not keep the city; he labours in vain who builds the house; lie waketh in vain who keeps the city. He is far from thinking that the care and human labour, which is employed in the building of houses and keeping of cities, is to be regarded as useless, because the Lord builds and keeps; since it is then the more especially useful and effectual when the Lord himself is the builder and keeper. The Holy Spirit is not the patron of lazy and inert men; but he directs the minds of those who labour to the providence and power of God. Wolfgang Musculus, 1497-1563.
Ver. 1. Except the LORD build the house. On the lintel of the door in many an old English house, we may still read the words, Nisi Dominus frustra the Latin version of the opening words of the Psalm. Let us also trust in him, and inscribe these words over the portal of "the house of our pilgrimage"; and beyond a doubt all will be well with us, both in this world and in that which is to come. Samuel Cox, in "The Pilgrim Psalms", 1874.
Ver. 1. Except the LORD build the house, etc. In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favour. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need his assistance? I have lived for a long time 81 years; and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall proceed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: we shall be divided by our little, partial, local interests; our prospects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, or conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business; and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service. Benjamin Franklin: Speech in Convention for forming a Constitution for the United States, 1787.
Ver. 1. Note, how he puts first the building of the house, and then subjoins the keeping of the city. He advances from the part to the whole; for the city consists of houses. Wolfgang Musculus.
Ver. 1. Except the LORD keep the city, etc. Fires may break out in spite of the watchmen; a tempest may sweep over it; bands of armed men may assail it; or the pestilence may suddenly come into it, and spread desolation through its dwellings. Albert Barnes (1798-1870), in "Notes on the Psalms."
Ver. 1. One important lesson which Madame Guyon learned from her temptations and follies was that of her entire dependence on Divine grace. "I became", she says, "deeply assured of what the prophet hath said, "Except the Loud keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." When I looked to thee, O my Lord? thou wast my faithful keeper; thou didst continually defend my heart against all kinds of enemies. But, alas! when left to myself, I was all weakness. How easily did my enemies prevail over me! Let others ascribe their victories to their own fidelity: as for myself, I shall never attribute them to anything else than thy paternal care. I have too often experienced, to my cost, what I should be without thee, to presume in the least on any wisdom or efforts of my own. It is to thee, O God, my Deliverer, that I owe everything! And it is a source of infinite satisfaction, that I am thus indebted to thee." From the Life of Jeanne Bouvier de la Mothe Guyon, 1648-1717.
Ver. 1.
If God build not the house, and lay
The groundwork surewhoever build,
It cannot stand one stormy day.
If God be not the city's shield,
If he be not their bars and wall,
In vain is watchtower, men, and all.
Though then thou wak'st when others rest,
Though rising thou prevent'st the sun,
Though with lean care thou daily feast,
Thy labour's lost, and thou undone;
But God his child will feed and keep,
And draw the curtains to his sleep. Phineas Fletcher, 1584-1650.
Ver. 1.
1. The human hand without the hand of God is in vain.
2. The human eye without the eye of God is in vain. Or,
1. God is to be acknowledged in all our works.
a) By seeking his direction before them.
b) By depending upon his help in them.
c) By giving him the glory of them.
2. In all our cares.
a) By owning our short sight.
b) By trusting to his foresight. G. R.
Ver. 1. (first part). Illustrate the principles:
1. In building up character.
2. In constructing plans of life and of work.
3. In framing schemes of happiness.
4. In rearing a hope of eternal life.
5. In raising and enlarging the church. J. F.
Ver. 1-2.
1. What we may not expect: namely, God to work without our building, watching, etc.
2. What we may expect: Failure if we are without God.
3. What we should not do: Fret, worry, etc.
4. What we may do: So trust as to rest in peace.
Psalms 127:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Except the Lord build the house.
Psa_127:1-5
Except the Lord build the house.
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Authorship of this psalm
Various considerations taken together require the opinion that this middle Song of Degrees was composed by Solomon. It suits the time of peaceful house-building and civil settlement and progress during which he reigned. It uses a word answering to his name, Jedidiah, meaning beloved of the Lord, and seems in connection with it to refer to the promise of a wise and an understanding heart, unasked riches and honour, and, if he should prove faithful, length of days, made to him in a dream by night. So He giveth His beloved sleep, or to His beloved in sleep (2Sa_12:25; 1Ki_3:5-15). It appears to suggest that the claims of the temple to the efforts of builders are superior to those of any other intended erection. And it agrees with Solomons sententious style in his Proverbs, one of which exactly expresses its substance and teaching: The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it, or, and labour adds nothing thereto (Pro_10:22). (E. J. Robinson.)
Blessedness in labour, in rest, and in fatherhood
I. Human labour without God.
1. Its possibility.
2. Its fruitlessness.
(1) It does not secure the approbation of the great Master.
(2) It does not yield moral satisfaction.
II. Human repose (verse 2).
1. A generally recognized blessing.
(1) Bodily. The labouring world hails the hour when its exhausted frame can lie down to sleep.
(2) Mental. To have the mind free from the harassing cares and painful annoyances of life. All desire this.
2. The repose of a true worker is a special blessing. The bodily repose He gives to His beloved in the stillness of the night has a special value--the pillow so soft, and the bed so guarded. The mental repose He gives is also of a far higher kind. It is the repose of conscience, the repose of a soul centring all its loves and hopes in Him.
III. Human offspring (Psa_127:3-5). The tutor of Alexander the Great once proposed the question, whether a large family be a good or an evil? And he answered his own question thus, Everything depends on the character of the children. If of an excellent disposition, blessed is the father that hath many of them, if of a bad disposition, the fewer the better, and, still better, none! (Homilist.)
The true source of success
I. No house stands that God does not build, whether the house signify the home, the business, the character, or the church; for human sufficiency is a foundation of sand (Pro_14:11).
II. No city is safe that God does not keep, whether interpreted politically as belonging to the State, or religiously as being that of the heart: for the arm of flesh is a bulwark of mud (Pro_11:11; Pro_29:8).
III. NO labour is profitable that He does not bless, whether it be manual or mental: for without grace it increases sorrow or multiplies wickedness (Pro_10:16).
IV. No sleep is peaceful that He does not give, being broken by searing dreams or prevented by devising schemes (Pro_4:16).
V. No family is blessed that is not a heritage of Him (Pro_3:33). (J. O. Keen, D. D.)
All things are of God
1. Nothing is here said against labour. The Bible has no sympathy with indolence. We are commanded to be diligent in business as well as fervent in spirit; to work with our own hands, that we may have lack of nothing ourselves, and have something to give to him that needeth.
(1) Labour is a necessity.
(2) Labour is honourable.
(3) Labour is pleasant.
It promotes cheerfulness, preserves our faculties in healthy exercise, and gives elasticity to both mind and body.
2. Nor is there any censure of watching. A city contains property that is valuable and lives that are dear; and, should there be external enemies, it is surely an act of common prudence to station sentinels on the walls, lest an unexpected attack be made.
3. What, then, is the evil hero condemned? It is placing an undue confidence in our working and in our watching. The spirit rebuked is the presumption which ascribes success to our own exertions, and which carefully excludes Jehovah from all consideration. A house is built; but the Lord is never thought of. Watchmen are appointed to protect the city; but no reference is made to the Keeper of Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps. An enterprise is entered upon, involving important issues; but in all the calculations there is no more place left for God than if He were asleep in the depths of the heavens, and took no cognizance of human affairs. What is this but atheism? (N. McMichael.)
The Divine Builder
The Lord builds the house. This is our first great consideration: we are very apt to forget it; we think it is our work, but He that built all things is God. The Lord builds the State. Civil society is a house not made with hands: its component parts show the finger of God; language, sympathy, law, are of God. But how true is it that the Church is a house built by God! Men may persecute or aid it, but except the Lord build, etc. The Church of God is like a house for security and strength. As you have never heard of men living anywhere without houses of some kind, so we have never heard or read of Christians living anywhere without forming communities, families, or churches. Dissolve the family, and society would perish; dissolve the Church, and Christianity would perish! Then let us consider how the Lord builds the house. Upon this rock I will build my Church, etc. Other foundation can no man lay, etc. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (B. Kent, M. A.)
The Lord, the Builder
The old Latin maxim Ex nihilo nihil fit, From nothing, nothing comes, is the starting-point in all our reasonings concerning Gods work on earth. It cannot have sprung from nothing, it must therefore be due to some positive force acting first upon, and then through it. That force must have intelligence in order to impart intelligence to the work of its hand; and all the wise, and curious, and intricate phenomena of the universe testify that nothing short of an infinite intelligence could have poured such streams of power and wisdom along the channels of creation. That infinite intelligence we call God. The methods by which God brings about the accomplishment of His purposes on earth--since those purposes include and shape matter and mind--are simply the methods by which He shapes matter and mind, so as to elaborate from them separately, and from their interworking, whatever result it is His pleasure to secure.
1. When God wishes to accomplish any purpose, lie shapes toward the result which He desires, all those blind forces of nature which have in them any co-operation with it. When He wishes to give the peace of plenty to any land, He sendeth forth His commandment into the air, and up to the sun, and forth to the winds, and out upon the seas, and along the furrows of the soil; and His word runneth very swiftly to nil genial and fertilizing influences, and they obey His behest with their marrow and fatness, and so He fills its borders with the finest of the wheat. And when the rigours of winter are a needful preliminary to any work of His, He giveth snow like wool, and scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes, and casteth forth His ice like morsels, until no man can stand before His cold. And when that work is done, and milder airs are more salubrious for His designs, then He sendeth out His word and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow. And so fire, and hail, and snow, and vapour, and stormy wind fulfil His word; and mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl praise the Lord by performing His decree which they cannot pass.
2. When God wishes to accomplish any purpose on earth, He sways that intelligence which needs to be brought into co-operation with His design by motives. This influence is exerted in innumerable forms. Sometimes it is by direct pressure, and by the presence of the immediate and most obvious motive of which the subject will admit; as when He secures, the choice, by the sinner, of that good part which cannot be taken away, by urging upon his soul the guilt of disobedience, the beauty of holiness, the joy of forgiveness, the danger of delay, or the awfulness of death in sin. Sometimes it is by a circuitous and indirect approach that the work is accomplished. Some meteor, in the eventide, flashes its sudden and vanishing brilliance across the arch of heaven; or some white-winged cloud trails its evanescent shade along some sunlit slope, and the mind--so often dull to all teachings--is opened to snatch the moral of the scene, and goes away, sadly reflecting on the dangers that accompany a life that is fitly emblemed by the falling star, and the fleeing shadow. Or the sight of a coffin, or a hearse, or a cemetery--it may be, in some moods, of a church, or even a Bible--will start the mind upon a train of meditation which the gentle and gracious Spirit may cherish into a motive strong enough to overturn and overturn within the soul until He is enthroned there whose right it is to reign.
3. This being so--the empire of matter and the empire of mind being alike in subjection to His pleasure--it follows, since lie who can absolutely and entirely control all matter and all mind must be invincible--that God can do anything which He pleases to do, whatever it may be. He can make a Word, or make an unwilling man willing, just as easily as a carpenter can drive a nail--because He knows how to do it, and has the means with which to do it, and the power by which to do it. So it follows, also--since Gods control covers all things, and His volitions are the cause of all things--that nothing can be done in this world which God is not pleased to aid, or, at least, to permit. (H. M. Dexter.)
The Master-Builder
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
1. That is true even about a house of stone and lime. To build a house is the most interesting thing almost that any mortal man undertakes to do for himself. When a man does set about building a house, he is usually settled in life as far as it falls to him to make a settlement. The house he builds is very likely the house in which he means to live and to die. If he does not literally rise up early and sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrows, nevertheless he is sure to have an extraordinary amount of interest in his house, and most men who do build a house for themselves worry the architect and obstruct the workmen with their anxiety to have everything in it just according to their mind. But, for that very reason, because building a house is such an interesting and serious thing in any mans life, surely he ought to feel then, most of all, that his life is in Gods hand, and that it depends on God whether this great undertaking in which he is engaged is going to turn out well for him.
2. It is true, also, if we take the house in the sense in which it is so often used in the Bible, of a family. To build a house, in the Bible, often means to found or bring up a family; and further down in the psalm we have a reference to that sense (verse 3). Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, and the most anxious fatherly and motherly care can come to nothing, indeed, is likely to come to nothing, just in proportion as it forgets God, and in forgetting God becomes nervous, and fretful, and repellent, where it ought to be able to attract.
3. Then, again, this text is true if we take the house in the sense that it is often used in the Bible, of a nation. Except the Lord build that house, they labour in vain that build it. There is a place, and there are duties for statesmen and for town councillors, for all persons who take the responsibilities of the public upon them; but it is not the anxiety of statesmen, it is not their own wisdom and their own intelligence, it is not their own plans for enlarging territory, or opening up new markets, or anything of that kind on which the security and strength of the people are built. There is just one thing on which a nation can be built up, and that is the goodwill of God which is given to the righteous. Righteousness exalts a nation.
4. But this text is true especially when we think of the house of the Church. We often speak of the Church as the house of God. In the New Testament we read of Christ as its foundation, of the Church being built upon Him. One of the great picture-words of the New Testament is the word edification, and edification means the act of building, or of being built. It is truer of the Church than of anything else in the world, that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
(1) For instance, we want to build the Church up in numbers. We want to see the Church grow. We want to see those who are outside coming in. Now, we might wish that in quite a selfish sense. We might be members of a very small congregation where half the pews were not let; or we might be members of an ecclesiastical party that was in a very small minority in the country, and might want new recruits. If these were our objects, then, of course, we would have to achieve them out of our own resources. It would not be a thing in which God had any interest. But if we want to build up the Church in numbers in a real sense; if we want to bring those who are far away from Christ near; if we want the love of Christ made known to those who do not know it; if we want those who are lonely and solitary, and, perhaps, selfish, to be brought into the home and family of love, and to give and receive all kinds of loving services and to find a home for their lonely souls in the house of God and the family of God--if that is what we are striving for, surely we feel at once that we cannot do that ourselves, that the only power that can reach people for that end and bring them into the Church is the power that God Himself bestows.
(2) We want to build the Church up not only in numbers, but in security. We want the Church to be a safe place. The Church ought to be a house so secure, so defended, so vigilantly guarded that it would be impossible for any assault to prevail against it and impossible for any of its members to be lost. Now the only way in which we can get the right spirit of watchfulness, the spirit that will enable us so to watch that we will not lose any, is to get it from the Lord Jesus Himself. He that keepeth Israel slumbereth not, nor sleepeth. It is only when we come to God, and get the Spirit of God put into us by God Himself, it is only then He uses us to build up His house into a safe, secure dwelling for the children, out of which they cannot be lost, that the house will be built up as it needs to be.
(3) We want to build up the Church, not only in numbers and in security, but, above all things, in character, in holiness, and in love. I have no doubt that in every Church there are many people deeply dissatisfied with their own characters, knowing very well that judged by any standard of holiness and love they are very far from what they should be. I have no doubt there are plenty here who are striving against their sins, sometimes rude, gross sins, evil lusts and passions, falsehood, slothfulness, selfishness, greed, envy, pride, self-will, and sins like that, and not only striving against them but failing, and being disappointed and defeated in their struggle. And even people who have not got any harsh, rude offences like that to strive against at the beginning, may be striving for finer and more beautiful parts of the Christian character, and just with the same sense of being defeated and disappointed. And the reason of it in almost every case is this, they are doing it alone, and it cannot be done alone. Except the Lord build that house, they labour in vain that build it. Work out your own salvation, not because God leaves that for you to do, but because it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do, in furtherance of His good pleasure. (J. Denney, D. D.)
Co-workers with God
I. What we may not expect, namely, that God will build the house without our labouring, that God will keep the city without the watchmans waking, or that He will give us bread without our toiling for it. This principle may be applied to--
1. Our ordinary life. One of the things which Christianity cannot bear is laziness. If in business I am not diligent I cannot expect to prosper. If I wish to be a man of learning, I cannot get it simply by praying for it; I must study, even to the weariness of the flesh. If a man be sick, he may trust in God as much as he wills; that should be his first thing, but let him also use such remedies as God has given if he can find them out, or learn of them from others.
2. The great matter of our salvation.
3. Our spiritual growth. If a man will not feed himself upon the bread of heaven, can he expect that he shall grow strong?
4. Our Christian work, in trying to bring souls to Christ. We cannot expect to see men converted if we are not earnest in telling them that truth which will save the soul. It is the work of the Spirit to convert sinners; to regenerate must be ever the sole work of God; yet the Lord uses us as His instruments.
II. What we may expect; We may expect failure if we attempt the work without God. We may expect it, and we shall not be disappointed.
III. What we should not do.
1. In our ordinary affairs we should not fret, and worry, and grieve.
2. In the matter of the souls salvation a man should be anxious, yet his salvation wilt never come by his working, and running from this one to that and the other. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for to those who are in Christ, to those who simply believe on Him, He giveth His beloved sleep.
3. Now, with regard to growing in grace, I believe that it is much the same. It is foolish to be always fretting and worrying, and saying, I am not humble enough, I am not believing enough, I am not this or that; go to Christ, and rest yourself on Him, and believe that what He has begun to do for you and in you He will certainly perform and perfect.
4. Here comes in again our working for the Lord. It is a sweet way of working for Christ to do the next thing, the next that needs to be done to-day,--not always forecasting all that we are going to do to-morrow and the next day, but calmly and quietly believing that there are so many days in which a man shall be able to walk and to work, and while we have them we will both walk and work in the strength of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The building of the house of life
Mans history upon earth is mainly, alas! the history of a struggle to establish lives, homes, and States on a basis which is not Gods foundation, and by a rule which is not Gods law. This is the enterprise of mans self-will, his perverted and prostituted freedom, through all the ages; and God from on high has never ceased to confound it, to write on it Babel, and to lay it by the shattering shocks of His providence in the dust. The concord of mans thought and activity with Gods is the secret upon earth of all true, real and abiding work. The human builder and workman may be masters of their art and zealous in their craft, but the fundamental question is, are they building by the rule that God has made known to them, and on the lines which He has laid down? And it is equally the test of all lofty and noble art. The poet is a maker, it is the exact meaning of the word; it matters not whether he works in word, in colour, in clay, the principle is the same. Is it a dream of his own vain fancy, or is it a vision of God; is it what the Lord hath said or shown to him that he is interpreting to his fellow-men? Man, of all beings, is made for this lofty fellowship, this high co-operation of thought and will with his Maker. Man, made in Gods image, can understand Gods plans, meanings, and ends. A Newton can think out after Him the thought by which He made the creation; a Paul can grasp and expound the plan by which tie redeemed and will renew the world. Man is so constituted that God can work in him without marring his freedom; nay, thought, word, and work in the human only rise to their full completeness when they are the fruit of inspiration; that is the effectual in-working of that living Spirit who quickens all that lives in all the worlds. First, let us look at the bearing of this principle on the building of the house of life. By this I mean those principles and habits of moral judgment and action which are the true house of the soul, wherein it dwells, and from which it comes forth to work benignly or malignly for itself and mankind. Of that house man is the architect, not God; that house he is daily building, and that building will abide and be the home or the prison of the soul through eternity. Nature and the world furnish the materials; the form and the substance of the structure you create for yourselves, it is yours, your own, your work, the product of your being, your shame or your crown while that being endures. A nature with certain temperaments and tendencies comes to you, how you know not, whence you know not, save that it is Gods gift to you, your endowment, your talent, your capital in life, by wise trading with which your wealth will grow. I speak of this as Gods gift; by His various endowment of men, the rich diversity of original gift and faculty, He maintains that splendid variety, that action and reaction of widely diverse agencies and influences which it is His aim to secure both in the physical and human worlds. And thus He keeps the constant pressure of His hand on both. From God, too, comes the will and the power to work upon the original endowment, and to give it the shape and the form in which the inner heart delights. Character grows like a picture or a statue by innumerable light touches on the rough substance of the nature. Moral habits of action are beaten out like a path by the multitude of light footsteps which pass to and fro. There must be the will and the moral judgment to determine the direction, and then it is the daily footsteps which form the habit of the life. And it is a terrible power, this power of framing fixed judgments and habits of action, vast and awful are the issues to which it tends. You may make holy, beautiful, blessed activity as easy and natural as the outflow of light from the sun; you may make them as hard, as impossible as courtesy in a churl, or a generous impulse to a base misers heart. Daily the house is being built, daily the soul is becoming clothed or cased in its habit, and is settling the form and possibility of its future. And first, if you would build wisely, look to the foundations. And build daily in conscious, blessed dependence on the co-operation of a higher hand. Remember that in this matter you are the fellow-worker, the fellow-helper with God, whose interest in your building transcends your own. Daily, hourly, let there be a guiding of your choice, a strengthening of your hand, a blessing of your work from on high. Let the Divine Spirit dwell in your spirit as in His temple; let Him fill your life with the light of His wisdom, let Him touch your heart with the glow of His love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Except the Lord keep the city.--
God keeping the city
I. Except.--God may not keep the city. Can anything be more false than to attribute human wretchedness in our towns and cities to causes outside men themselves? Without self-restraint, without the high virtues of temperance, purity, and providence, gold, if it could be picked up in the streets, would only feed disease instead of bettering life! That man is a mere charlatan who hides the great truth that the drinking saloons, the music halls, and the gay Alhambras of our great towns are ruining the moral excellencies and energies of our people!
II. Except the Lord.--Moral life is the strength of a city. Can anything so demand our sympathy in this age as the movements which have to do with moral life? And we must remember all elevating movements have to do with moral life. Christianity works in detail, and Christian life is itself preserved by care for detail. Given impression at the house of God, given conviction of sin and coming to Christ, then come the after years, the idle hours, the temptations, the innumerable besetments, and if you can thus provide for the healthy development of character, you are doing much to save the England of the future, to bless your country, and to hold up the pillars of the State. And where all our aesthetic and intellectual pursuits have the shield of Christianity east over them, when the genius of the Gospel pervades our institutions and inspires our efforts, we may look for that keeping of which our text speaks.
III. except the Lord keep.--All cities need keeping. Can anything be more secure than a city kept by God? Whether it is applied to a kingdom, or to a people, or to the wonderful heart of man, the word is suggestive. A city, a place where wealth is, where treasure is, where active, energetic power is. We seem to see the watchmen on Jerusalems gates! Men able to sweep the horizon and to note the advancing cavalcades. We are taught in the text that all watching is vain without God.
IV. except the Lord keep the city--the watchman. Can anything be so mistaken as to suppose that Gods keeping excludes human care? We must watch, although God keeps. This truth is familiar to us all. We act upon it in the world, though we are mystified by it in the Church. God keeps the rain in the great reservoir of the clouds, and the winds in the hollow of His hand, and regulates them with a view to the preservation and productiveness of the land. He keeps the seasonal He keeps watch over all the processes of nature, and He says to us, break up the fallow ground, plough, harrow, and sow. So God would not have us watchless because He is watchful. No! this fact is to be an incentive to us to activity, not an excuse for negligence. We are reminded by our Saviour to watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation! and when we have done all, we are to rest on Christ as our only sure protection.
V. except the Lord keep the city, the watchman--waketh but in vain. We can never do without God! We may be what the world calls awake, wide-awake, but our own skill, or cunning, or craft will not save us. I was wise, says the man; I secured the best, the ablest physicians for my children. I was wise, says the voyager in the Cunard line, they never had a shipwreck yet. Stay, stay, Except the Lord, oh! do we think enough of that; we have been kept in going out and in coming in, but who has kept us? (W. M. Statham.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Psalms 127
Psalms 127
THIS pure expression of conscious dependence on Gods blessing for all well-being may possibly have special reference to the Israel of the Restoration. The instances of vain human effort and care would then have special force, when the ruins of many generations had to be rebuilt and the city to be guarded. But there is no need to seek for specific occasion, so general is this psalm. It sings in a spirit of happy trust the commonplace of all true religion, that Gods blessing prospers all things, and that effort is vain without it. There is no sweeter utterance of that truth anywhere, till we come to our Lords parallel teaching, lovelier still than that of our psalm, when He points us to the flowers of the field and the fowls of the air, as our teachers of the joyous, fair lives that can be lived, when no carking care mars their beauty.
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In Psa_127:1 the examples chosen by the singer are naturally connected. The house when built is one in the many that make the city. The owners troubles are not over when it is built, since it has to be watched. It is as hard to keep as to acquire earthly goods. The psalmist uses the past tenses in describing the vanity of building and watching unblessed by God. "They" have built in vain, and watched in vain. He, as it were, places us at the point of time when the failure is developed, -the half-built house a ruin, the city sacked and in flames.
Psa_127:2 deals with domestic life within the built house and guarded city. It is vain to eke out the laborious day by early beginning and late ending. Long hours do not mean prosperous work. The evening meal may be put off till a late hour; and when the toil-worn man sits down to it, he may eat bread made bitter by labour. But all is in vain without Gods blessing. The last clause of the verse must be taken as presenting a contrast to the futile labour reprehended in the former clauses; and therefore the beautiful rendering of the A.V. must be abandoned, though it has given many sweet thoughts to trustful souls, and none sweeter than in Mrs. Brownings pathetic lines. But clearly the contrast is between labour which effects nothing, but is like spinning ropes out of sea sand, and Gods gift of the good which the vain toil had aimed at, and which He gives to His beloved in their sleep. "So" seems here to be equivalent to "Even so," and the thought intended is probably that Gods gift to His beloved secures to them the same result as is ineffectually sought by godless struggles.
This is no preaching of laziness masquerading as religious trust. The psalmist insists on one side of the truth. Not work, but self-torturing care and work, without seeking Gods blessing, are pronounced vanity.
The remainder of the psalm dwells on one special instance of Gods gifts, that of a numerous family, which in accordance with the Hebrew sentiment, is regarded as a special blessing. But the psalmist is carried beyond his immediate purpose of pointing out that that chief earthly blessing, as he and his contemporaries accounted it, is Gods gift, and he lingers on the picture of a father surrounded in his old age by a band of stalwart sons born unto him in his vigorous youth, and so now able to surround him with a ring of strong protectors of his declining days. "They shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Probably "they" refers to the whole band, the father in the midst and his sons about him. The gate was the place where justice was administered, and where was the chief place of concourse. It is therefore improbable that actual warfare is meant; rather, in the disputes which might arise with neighbours, and in the intercourse of city life, which would breed enmities enough, the man with his sons about him could hold his own. And such blessing is Gods gift.
The lesson of the psalm is one that needs to be ever repeated. It is so obvious that it is unseen by many, and apt to be unnoticed by all. There are two ways of going to work in reference to earthly good. One is that of struggling and toiling, pushing and snatching, fighting and envying, and that way comes to no successful issue; for if it nets what it has wriggled and wrestled for, it generally gets in some way or other an incapacity to enjoy the good won, which makes it far less than the good pursued. The other way is the way of looking to God and doing the appointed tasks with quiet dependence on Him, and that way always succeeds; for, with its modest or large outward results, there is given likewise a quiet heart set on God, and therefore capable of finding water in the desert and extracting honey from the rock. The one way is that of "young lions," who, for all their claws and strength, "do lack and suffer hunger"; the other is that of "them that seek the Lord," who "shall not want any good."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Various considerations taken together require the opinion that this…
INTRODUCTION
Various considerations taken together require the opinion that this middle Song of Degrees was composed by Solomon. It suits the time of peaceful house-building and civil settlement and progress during which he reigned. It uses a word answering to his name Jedidiah, meaning beloved of the Lord, and seems in connection with it to refer to the promise made to him of wisdom, riches, honour, and length of days. “So He giveth His beloved sleep,” or to His beloved in sleep (2Sa_12:25; 1Ki_3:5-15). It appears to suggest that the claims of the Temple to the efforts of builders are superior to those of any other intended erection. And it agrees with Solomon’s sententious style in his proverbs. The ambitions may not boast of their own wisdom and might; and the prosperous may not suppose they are self-sufficient. It is God who gives skill to plan and ability to execute. He is the Source of blessing.—The Caravan and Temple.
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THE HAPPINESS OF SOCIETY DEPENDENT ON THE DIVINE BLESSING
(Psa_127:1-2)
I. That family greatness should be founded in the Divine blessing. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psa_127:1). It has been the ambition of many to found a family and to hand down a name to posterity. The love of posthumous fame is a mania with some men. But if God be ignored and the law of righteousness disobeyed, the most colossal efforts to raise a distinguished and enduring house, though protected by all the laws that the ingenuity of the legislature can invent, will prove futile. The history of the changes that have taken place among the families of some of our old nobility furnishes some of the saddest and most humiliating revelations of social life.
II. That the safety of civil society is secured by the Divine blessing. “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psa_127:1).
It is sometimes a marvel with some how the vast populations of our large cities are fed: it is no less a marvel how they are protected. Around the masses of society is drawn the strong cordon of Divine law, and over all there rest the ample wings of the Divine protection. If the Lord were to withdraw His presence, the vigilance of the police and the utmost alertness of the civic authorities would not avail. Society would be unendurable, indeed impossible, as at present constituted, but for the action of our Divine Guardian. How much less can a spiritual commonwealth be reared or preserved without the blessing of God!
III. That the prosperity of society is dependent on the Divine blessing.
1. Labour is useless without the Divine blessing. “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows” (Psa_127:2). Labour is the prime necessity of man and the first condition of prosperity. The most princely fortunes have sprung from toil, and are kept together by it. A wealthy farmer when asked why he should trouble himself to rise so early as he did, replied“—If you want the world you must rise and seek it, and if you have the world you must rise and keep it.” Often more anxious labour is involved in taking care of this world’s goods than was spent in first acquiring them. And yet no amount of labour, no amount of parsimonious care will suffice, if God withhold His blessing.
“Except the Lord conduct the plan,
The best concerted schemes are vain,
And never can succeed;
We spend our wretched strength for nought:
But if our works in Thee be wrought,
They shall be blest indeed.”
2. Rest is a Divine gift. “For so He giveth His beloved sleep” (Psa_127:2). Sleep is half meat; it is the most beneficent medicine of wearied and suffering humanity. “The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep” (Ecc_5:12): if he eat much when he ought to eat little, or if his plenty be a load upon his conscience, or if his godless puzzle day and night be how to retain. The man loved of God may lie down in peace and sleep. Prosperity brings no joy to him who cannot sleep.
LESSONS:—
1. Jehovah is the founder, defender, and preserver of the family, the State, and the Church. 2. The happiness of society rests, not on the wisdom and toil of its most gifted members, but on the Divine blessing.
CHILDREN THE GIFT OF GOD
(Psa_127:3-5)
I. That children are the gift of God. “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward” (Psa_127:3). This view is frequently and emphatically stated (Gen_30:2; Gen_30:18; Gen_33:5; Gen_48:9; Deu_7:13; Pro_19:14). The gift of children is an evidence of the Divine favour. They are to be welcomed with joy and affection, and not to be regarded as an encumbrance and a burden. The childless pair, whatever worldly affluence they possess, feel that one of heaven’s choicest gifts is withheld. It is a most unenviable home, if home it can be called, where a child is unwelcome.
II. That children are to be firmly and judiciously trained. “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth” (Psa_127:4). They are a sacred trust and solemn responsibility: not to be weakly fondled or foolishly spoilt; but to be wisely, kindly, and strictly disciplined to obedience and duty. “Parents must not trifle with their children, like idiots playing with sharp tools; but as the bowman straightens and polishes his arrow, gives it a solid point and wings it with proper feathers, they must educate their sons and daughters in the name, and with the help of the Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” The arrows that are not prepared and directed when in the hand, may, when they are gone abroad into the world and all parental training is too late, prove arrows in the heart.
III. That a large family is a source of domestic joy. “Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them” (Psa_127:5). The parents live over again the happy period of their youth in the gambols and laughter, and the indescribable “little ways” of their children. It is a dismal house where there is a silent nursery. It may be scrupulously clean and faultlessly prim, but there is a strangely felt absence of life, of voice, of genial humanity. When the father of John Wesley received his son unscathed from the window of the burning parson age, he exclaimed, “Come, neighbours, let us kneel down; let us give thanks unto God: He has given me all my eight children; let the house go, I am rich enough.” The good children of a large family help one another, and are a source of comfort and support to their aged parents.
IV. That children are the strength and defence of the home. “They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psa_127:5). The parents shall courageously plead their cause in courts of judicature, which were held at the gates of cities, not fearing to be crushed by the might of their adversaries, as weak and helpless persons frequently are. Or, as some understand the words, the children shall not be ashamed to plead for their parents in the gates, but will be ready at all times to appear for them, to answer any charge, and to vindicate them in their persons, their good name, or their property. The Chinese have a proverb—“When a son is born into a family, a bow and arrow are hung before the gate.” In Eastern books sons are spoken of as the arrows of their fathers. People fear to offend a family where there are many sons, lest the arrows should be sent at them. The training of children has a reflex influence for good upon parents. Many a hint is unconsciously given as to “training up a parent in the way he should go.”
LESSONS:—
1. A large family has its cares, but it has also its special rewards.
2. The training of children is also a training of the parents.
3. Children may become the greatest blessing, or the greatest curse.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain There is progress in life, there is progress in…
Psa 127:1
There is progress in life, there is progress in history, because the Lord is building, working, and watching with man; and man is learning.—slowly, alas! and by stages that seem imperceptible each moment, visible only over a long range of generations—that the one way of life, the one fountain of blessing, is the taming of his self-will to build, and watch, and work with God.
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I. The great concern of man’s life on earth is the discovery and establishment of a harmony between himself and God. The concord of man’s thought and activity with God’s is the secret upon earth of all true, real, and abiding work.
II. Man, we say familiarly, is the architect of his own fortune. It is a poor limitation; he is the architect of his own character and his own destiny. By the house of life I mean those principles and habits of moral judgment and action which are the true house of the soul, wherein it dwells and from which it comes forth to work benignly or malignly for itself and mankind. Of that house man is the architect, not God; that house he is daily building, and that building will abide and be the home or the prison of the soul throughout eternity.
III. If you would build wisely, look to the foundations. Christ is the one Rock on which the house of life must rest if it is to escape the floods and fires by which all that is perishable must perish, and be lifted on high among the imperishable things through eternity. The question, "What think ye of Christ?" is the vital question for every one of us.
IV. And build daily in conscious, blessed dependence on the co-operation of a higher hand. There is One working with you, working in you, who alone can make your building of the house of life a large and lasting success.
J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 103.
References: Psa 127:1.—C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 1. Psa 127:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 12. Psa 127:3.—W. Braden, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 369. Psalm 127—S. Cox, The Pilgrim Psalms, p. 155.
Psa 127:2
We take the "sleep" in our text as denoting death, and confine ourselves to an illustration of the passage under this one point of view. Here we have an idea which it would be well to work out in detail. God values death. He must value that which He reserves for the objects of His love. There are two great reasons to be given why death should be regarded as a gift to the believer, and why, therefore, as being a gift, it should be called precious or valuable in God’s sight.
I. Regard the believer as testifying to the finished work of Christ. What evidence of the complete success of the scheme of redemption can exceed or equal that which is furnished by the death of God’s saints? That which they could never have learned from natural theology the Gospel has taught them: they have learned how to die. Thus the Gospel is put, as it were, to the greatest possible trial; and the trial does but issue in full evidence of its sufficiency.
II. Regard the believer as admitted in and through death into final security. Having fought the good fight and kept the faith dying as well as living, the righteous are henceforward placed beyond the reach of danger. Nothing can put their salvation in peril. If they be not crowned till the morning of resurrection, a crown is laid up for them which "no thief can rifle and no moth corrupt." The death is a precious gift because the life is perilous; and God bestows a benefit on His people when He has gathered them into the separate state, because then they can be no more tempted to the forsaking of His law, no more exposed to the assaults of the Evil One, no more challenged to a battle in which, if victory be glorious, there is all the risk of a shameful defeat.
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1666.
References: Psa 127:3.—F. Tholuck, Hours of Devotion, p. 425. Psa 127:3-5.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 323. Psa 127:4.—A. P. Stanley, Good Words, 1877, p. 82; J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 2nd series, p. 100. Psa 127:1-3.—J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxiii., p. 136. Psa 128:5.—W. M. Statham, Ibid., vol. xviii., p. 360. Psalm 128—S. Cox, The Pilgrim Psalms, p. 177. Psa 129:8.—V. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 29. Psalm 129—S. Cox, The Pilgrim Psalms, p. 199.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain The necessary dependence of all upon Jehovah.
The necessary dependence of all upon Jehovah.
A song of the ascents: of Solomon.
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Thus all comes from Jehovah, and He is seen to be the sole dependence of all His creatures. It is from this that man departed in Eden; to set up in independence for himself. If he is brought back, then; it must be to this; and this is what we find in the hundred and twenty-seventh psalm. Jehovah alone is sufficient: except He build the house, the builders toil on it in vain; except He keep the city, the keeper vainly is awake. And then follows the emphatic rebuke of that anxious toil on man’s part, early and late, eating the bread of drudgery, while God gives to those beloved of Him in a way so different: they lie down and sleep, and are supplied!
So with the blessing of children: they are an inheritance from Jehovah, and a reward; a portion like Abraham’s, a defence in the day of trial, and of false accusation.* This last part of the psalm leads on to the one following.
{*The gate of the city was the place of judgment.}
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain A warning against over-anxiety in any work. Let it…
A warning against over-anxiety in any work. Let it be left in the wise hands of Jehovah, who gives the best blessings without human aid. Perhaps the Ps. was addressed to some too-zealous workers in the restoration of Jerusalem. The title assigns it to Solomon, but probably it was written long after his day. Its proverbial philosophy may have led to its association with his name: cp. Pro_1:1.
2. Bread of sorrows] RV 'bread of toil': cp. Pro_10:22. For so he giveth his beloved sleep] a difficult phrase. With a slight change in the Hebrew we may render, 'surely he giveth his beloved in sleep.' Others may toil and worry and vex themselves and make little progress. But to His loved ones God gives prosperity even while they sleep: cp. Mar_4:27.
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3. Children] according to Jewish belief one of God's greatest blessings, yet given without the laborious thought and care of men.
4. Children of a man's youth would grow up and be able to help and protect him when he is old.
5. But] RV 'when.' In the gate] Here the market was held and justice administered. The man with stalwart sons need not fear false accusers at the judgment-seat: cp. Job_5:4.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain A Song of degrees for Solomon
A Song of degrees for Solomon
See title note; (See Scofield "Psa 120:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Divine Blessing Needed for Human Enterprises.
The Divine Blessing Needed for Human Enterprises.
A song of degrees for Solomon, a hymn written by him probably in connection with the building of the Temple, but applicable to all similar conditions of life, the believers realizing their dependence upon Jehovah in all things.
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v. 1. Except the Lord build the house, Himself watching over the erection of every building executed by men and prospering their labors, they labor in vain that build it, there being so many possibilities of failure if the blessing or consent of the Lord is missing; except the Lord keep the city, Himself the Watchman and Guardian prospering the precautionary measures of the citizens, the watchman waketh but in vain, no matter with what degree of faithfulness he applies himself to his appointed work.
v. 2. It is vain, to no object and purpose, for you to rise up early, to sit up late, lengthening the day by artificial means, toiling and moiling with worry and care, always taking thought for this life and its needs, Mat 6:25-34, to eat the bread of sorrows, thinking only of the hardships connected with the obtaining of one’s daily bread; for so He giveth His beloved sleep, that is, while the believer reposes securely in God’s protection, free from trouble and care on account of his trust in the providence of his heavenly Father, the Lord prepares to reward this trust by giving him all that he needs for his own good, as a free reward of His kindness and mercy. This blessing of the Lord upon the believers is now set forth by an unusually evident example.
v. 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, sons are bequeathed by the Lord as a special gift and blessing, and the fruit of the womb is His reward, given to parents as an evidence of His favor, this fact being stressed time and again in Scripture as a standing reproof to the many blind and foolish people of our days who enter into marriage only for selfish reasons and consider children an unwelcome burden.
v. 4. As arrows, weapons of defense, are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth, begotten while the parents are still in the vigor of their age Gen 37:3, and therefore themselves grown to manhood and womanhood before the senile decline of the parents.
v. 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them, to whom the Lord has granted a house full of children; they shall not be ashamed, they will not meet with disgrace, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate, that is, in the place where business was transacted and differences were adjusted. Not only will children, if properly brought up, be a support of their parents when these have attained old age but they will also make it their business to protect the rights of their parents against all detractors—a beautiful picture serving as an admonition to both parents and children, an example which should be heeded far more.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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song of ascents
Possible meanings are 1) "song people sang while going up to Jerusalem for a celebration" or 2) "song people sang while going up the steps into the temple" or 3) "song whose words are like steps." See how you translated this in Psalms 120:1
to rise up early, to come home late
A person who works hard often has to wake up earlier in the morning and return home late at night.
eat the bread of hard work
This is an idiom. Bread often represents the food a person needs every day in order to live. AT: "work hard for your daily needs" (See: Idiom and Synecdoche)
translationWords
Solomon
Yahweh
raise
bread
works
beloved
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Ps 127 Blessing and protection come from God. Without…
Ps 127 Blessing and protection come from God. Without his presence, there is no success (127:1-2). This is particularly true for children, who are God’s gift (127:3-5).
127:1-2 Unless: These conditional sentences emphasize the positive idea that the Lord will protect the city (cp. 124:1-2). • Human effort is futile unless the Lord blesses it (see 44:3). • from early morning until late at night: This depicts an aggressive and competitive lifestyle. • God’s loved ones enjoy a quiet night’s sleep (3:5; 4:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.