and blessed be the name of the
Lord, who is worthy to be praised. We're looking here in Psalm 127. Now evidently this is a Psalm that
was written by David for his son Solomon. For this is a Psalm of degrees
for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the
city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 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. Low children are an heritage
of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb's his reward. As arrows
are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. 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. Now I find it very
interesting as we consider that this is a song of degrees for
Solomon, that it would begin with these words, except the
Lord build the house of labor and vain that build it. Solomon
was chosen to build the temple of God when David desired to
do it. But the Lord said, you can't
do it because you got blood on your hands. Which is an interesting
thing if you think about it, because the blood that David shed primarily
was directed, he was directed in by the Lord. As the Lord sent
him into war with those nations and he told them to kill them
all. Don't spare them. Also had the blood of Uriah upon
his hands, did he not? But all of those things, whether
we can understand it or like to think of it or whatever, all
of those things were in the ordained purpose of God. One of the grandest of psalms
is Psalm 51. That psalm wouldn't exist if
it was not that David had done those things that he
did. Now that doesn't mean any wise minimize or say, well, it
was all right, does it? A lot of people believe that
if you believe God is the absolute cause of all things in the earth,
that he is the predestinator of all things, that you, by doing
so, you take away the accountability of men for what they do. No,
men are absolutely accountable for what they do. And some would
try to reason that out and say, well, how can they be? They are
because God said they were. The Lord told Adam with no uncertain
terms. He said, in the day that you
eat of this, he said, don't eat it, but he said, in the day that
you do eat it, and he didn't say if you eat it, did he? He
said, in the day that you eat it, you shall surely die. The wages of sin is death. Well, men say, as Paul said,
who hath resisted his will? I mean, how can God do that? Nay, but O man. who are now that
replaced against god shell the thing for one side of him the
form that was so many of us is it not in the potter's power
to make one vessel and i don't know that this honor now bradley
if you don't think that's something that will only a man down before
almighty god when he's brought to a place to understand that
he showed he realized he has no excuse whatsoever you know
you can't blame anybody He is what he is because everything
you've ever done in your life, you did because you wanted to.
Think about that. You might not like that. You
know, we always think about, oh, well, I wish I hadn't have done
that. Well, you might wish now that you hadn't have done it,
but you wanted to do it when you did it. Men do the things they
do because they want to do them. And they can't lay the blame
for it at anybody else's feet, but their own. But it's interesting
that the Lord through David, through to Solomon, would write,
except the Lord build the house of labor and vain, build it.
Now Solomon, no doubt, even though, as the scripture says, that there
was not the sound of a hammer heard in the building of that
temple. That's an amazing thing, is it not? that they brought that thing
together and there was no noise involved in the construction
of it. I don't know how exactly it was. I think that the primary
thing that the Lord would be teaching there is exactly this
thing here. Except the Lord built the house
in labor and vain that built it. It doesn't make a difference
how much you fram and beat and carry on about building something
if the Lord doesn't bring it to pass, it's not gonna be anything.
Now there's plenty of religious men in the world that would do
well to read this psalm every day. Because there is an abundance
of religious men in the world that don't believe what this
says right here. They believe they can do something.
That they can cause God to do something if they do something.
But the Lord says here through David, except the Lord build
the house, they labor in vain that build it. It's folly for
a man to think that he can cause something to come to pass that
he's not given by the Lord. Paul said it, what do we have
that we have not received? Now, if we've received it, why
do we glory in it as if we had not received it? Say, we don't
have anything that, men talk about, oh, we're gonna give gifts
unto God. Well, how can you give gifts
unto God? Only if he allows you to, because you see, he's the
one that has to give you the things that you would give unto
him. What a glorious thing it is. Dear brethren, except the
Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except
the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. How many
is the time that men have built great edifices walled cities,
and forts, and all sorts of things, and had men whose only job was
to watch on these battlements to see if the enemy's approaching,
and yet somehow or other, the enemy approached, and the enemy
destroyed them. And this is an illustration of
this very thing, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh
but in vain. It doesn't make a difference
who gets elected, dear brethren. You know, people talk, people
get all so up in arms, and look, I'm concerned about these things
as much as anybody is in a human standpoint. But then on the other
hand, dear brethren, the watchman, it doesn't make
a difference who gets elected. You know, everybody thinks, man,
we need to get Trump back in there. Well, maybe he might be
better than the next one or whatever, but all of them are corrupt to
the core. God uses the most corrupt men
on earth to fill places of leadership. He told Nebuchadnezzar that. Did he not? Nebuchadnezzar confessed
it. He said the most high The Most
High puts in places of leadership the basest of men, the most corrupt
men. Men wonder, oh, well, he's corrupt?
Well, yes, he's corrupt. That's why he got put in there.
I mean, you know, show me one of
these politicians that's not corrupt. Oh, they can make you
think they're just as fine as dandy, don't they? But then you
find out later on that they've been putting their hand in the
cookie jar, you know, and taking advantage of their position in
office. How is it that men get, go into office as just regular
people, not with, of course, nowadays most of them are probably
millionaires when they go in there, but they always come out
better off on the other end, don't they? How is that? Huh? If you don't know, see me
afterwards and I'll tell you how it is. Except the Lord keeps
the city, the watchman wakes but in vain. Dear brother, our
nation is slated for destruction. And the only thing that'll keep
us back from it is the mercy of Almighty God. It won't be
who gets elected. That won't be it. I hear a guy
who I have some respect for, but the other day, maybe I didn't
get all of what he said, but it almost came across like he
was saying that we need to try to make everybody Christians,
like it's in some power of the government to make Christianity
the law of the land. Well, dear brethren, A government
can't do that. You can't cause men to follow
Christ. I mean, what folly is that? Except
the Lord build the house in labor and vain that build it. Away
with such talk is that. I mean, that's just foolishness.
What it does is it makes these things out to be something that
men can do. God in his mercy alone is the
one that can build a city, and keep a city according to his
good pleasure. And we need to cry day and night
unto him for mercy that he might spare us. Because if he doesn't
see fit to do it, we're worthy of destruction. I'm surprised
we haven't already been destroyed. Every morning I wake up, I won't
be surprised at all to read or hear that Babylon has fallen. And it won't surprise me at all,
dear brethren. And if the Lord doesn't keep
us, we won't be kept. It is vain for you to rise up
early and to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for
so he giveth his beloved sleep. Now does that mean that you don't need to be concerned
about things? No, it means that You need to
not let sorrows of this world, the things that you can't control
and things that you don't have any, I mean, they're the things
that God sees fit to bring into your life. Paul said, I've learned
in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. He said, Timothy,
having food and rain might let us be therewith content. It's
foolish. It's vain. for you to rise up
early and sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows. Sit around
worrying about things, whatever they are. For so he giveth his
beloved sleep. Now does that mean that we're
supposed to lay up and sleep and not be then dusterous? Of
course not. He's not saying that. I mean,
if a man won't work, neither should he eat, Paul said. And
so it is, that industry is a good thing. In fact, when Solomon
points out the virtuous woman in the book of Proverbs in the 31st
chapter, he says that she riseth up a great while before day.
So it doesn't mean there's no place for industry. It doesn't
mean that you should sleep more than you work or anything like
that, but it does mean that we must have an understanding that
the Lord is the one. who is watching over his people
and bringing the things to pass for their good. And why should
we go sit up late worrying about it or rise up early so we can
worry about it? We leave it in the hands of the
Lord. For so he giveth his beloved sleep. You know, sleep is a great
thing, is it not? But it's also, A terrible thing
if you're sleeping at the wrong time. Because we're supposed
to watch and pray, are we not? And when the disciples slept
while the Lord prayed, was that a good thing? No, it was a mark
of their weakness. And the Lord told them so. He
said, the flesh is weak. We need to understand that. We
need to know that. Now, does that cause us then
to say, well, we just can't do anything? No, not at all. But it causes us to recognize
what we are by nature and that we need the Lord. And it really
falls into this same thing, except the Lord build the house. We
must have him in all things. Low children are an heritage
of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows
are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his
quiver full of them. Now this is a blessing in the
natural sense, no doubt. I mean, children are heritage
from the Lord. They don't come from anywhere
else. You can't cause yourself to have children. Neither do
you This is not an exclusive blessing. In other words, children are
a blessing. But you know, children are not
always a blessing, are they? I mean, you know, children are
a blessing when they do what you tell them, but when they
get to be teenagers, Things kind of change, don't they? You know, we are thankful when
the Lord gives us children, but knowing and understanding that
even the blessings that the Lord gives men in this life, they
are not pure, are they? Because how many times has a
man had children that brought great sorrow and even shame to
him? And so, what I understand from
this is that indeed, we understand the blessings of God in that.
But even in these temporal things, they are temporal, and they are
not eternal. And that's not that which we
strive after, even though it is a blessed thing, as arrows
are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. You know, it's a good thing that
the Lord gives men children in their youth, because when they
get old, they have a little different perspective. You know, I love
my grandchildren, but I'm glad when their mom and daddy comes
to get them. Because, you see, all things
in this world that are blessings in a measure in their way, they
are blessings in a measure, are they not? Because the Lord designed
it that way. That we might not grow fond of
these things inordinately. You know, some men have loved
their children, or they thought they loved them, They were moved
in what they thought was love, and they spoiled their children, which was not a good thing, was
it? It was not a thing that was beneficial. Happy is the man
that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with enemies in the gate. Now, looking at
this Psalm, And as we understand that all of the temporal blessings
that are in this world, they are temporal, and they ought
to be tempered with understanding. And I believe that the greater
lesson, even as Brother Al's been pointing out all these lessons
in the law, if we don't see Christ in them, then we really miss
what the real blessing of it is. Now the Lord gives men children,
Not in order that they might have children, but that he might
illustrate the fact that he has children. That they belong to
him. And Jesus Christ is indeed that
one who is made happy with many children. Looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross. Now what was the joy set before
him? the redemption of his people. You see, he delighted to do that
for his children, just as a man delights to do things for his
children. Yet in a greater fashion, the
Lord delighted to deliver his children because he loves his
children with a perfect love. And he brings them to the place
that he wants them to be, happy as the man that hath his quiver
full of them. Oh, you know, in the temporal sense, there's been
many a father who was not happy that he had his quiver full. Think of these fellas over in
these countries where they're barely being able to eat, and
they have to even sometimes sell, or they don't have to, but they
do sell their children. into slavery, basically, in order
to provide for the family. You think that man's happy when
he's got that? No, he's not happy. So these
things are temporary. Anything in this world is temporary.
It's tainted by sin. Even the blessings of God upon
men in a temporal sense, what did Solomon come to see? that
all these things that he thought at one time were great blessings,
he said it's vanity. It's empty. There's nothing to
it. So all the things in this world
pass away. But the glory of this psalm here
is as it begins, except the Lord build the house of labor in vain,
that build it happy as the man that hath his quiver full of
them, the Lord Jesus Christ. has a quiver full of children,
and he is happy because they belong to him. He loves them
with an everlasting love, and he has done all that he's done
for his children, and he will bring them to himself. They shall
not be ashamed. See, the children of Jesus Christ
shall not be ashamed. We shall stand before Almighty
God, not in shame, but in glory because of Christ. We shall speak
with the enemies in the gate. See, we are not sent into the
world to defend our father. Our father has sent his son into
the world to defend us. but he has caused us to desire
and delight to exalt his name among the men of this world,
the enemies of Christ in this world. See, we preach the gospel
not to try to get folks saved. I mean, that's not our purpose
in preaching the gospel. Our purpose in preaching the
gospel is to magnify the glory of Christ. Knowing this, that
this message that the Lord has sent us with is a savor of life
unto life to some who delight to hear it, but it's the savor
of death unto others. They don't want to hear it. They're
tired of it. They want us to shut up. They
want us to leave them alone. But oh, we speak with the enemies
in the gates. Why? Because Christ He is our
Father. He is that one who has held us
in His hands and loved us. We belong to Him. We're His brethren.
He's our Father, but we're His brethren. I can't understand
it. See, this all has to do with the Father, the Son, and the
Spirit who are one. And the Lord would have us to
see all of these things, but it's a glorious thing. I can't
explain that. And it's folly when men have
set out and written volumes of books to explain it. And when
you've read all the books, and you come back, and you look at
it, and you say, wow, I don't know. I don't see. I can't understand. But we rejoice. We rejoice in
Him. Happy is the man that hath his
quiver full of them. In the second Psalm, he said
to the son, ask of me and I'll give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance. And he has been given. He said,
all that the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out. How can the sons of
God be known You know, they can't go up into heaven and look at
the Lamb's Book of Life and see if there are names written there.
Would you do that if you could? Oh, how can they be known? Because they come to Christ.
They come to Christ. He said, come unto me, all you
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And
the children of the Lord, when He awakens them out of their
deadness and slumber, they say, yes, I desire to come to Him. I want to know Christ. I want
to worship Him. I want to be found walking in
His way. Happy is the man. who for the
joy, the scripture says, that he shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. Now some people picture the Lord
as being kind of sad. As he looks over mankind, he
just said, man, I wish I could have done more. I even heard of a guy one time,
he wrote a book and said that hell, was a testament to the
failure of God. I can't think of a more blasphemous
consideration than a thought such as that. Because his thought
was, well, you know, the Lord tried to save everybody, but
he just couldn't do it. So he had to create hell as a
place to put them. What a ridiculous and blasphemous
consideration. the Lord will save everyone that
belongs to Him, because there's children. You wouldn't stand
by and let your children perish, would you? Now he told the Pharisees,
he said, you're of your father the devil. And there are people
who have the devil for their father. How do I know them? I don't know who they are. Because, see, if you'd have looked
at the thieves on the cross, you'd have said, yeah, them guys,
eh, their father's the devil. Well, one of them evidently was.
But one of them wasn't. And in that final hour, he said,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Because, you
see, happy was he who hung upon that cross. that his quiver was
full, and he said, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Why was that? Because he was his son. If a
son asks you for a piece of bread, will you give him a stone? No. You see, the Lord will give those
that call upon him and ask him, he will give them the blessings
that are in his hand that he's promised to give to his children
eternal life glory beyond measure because it belongs to him I can't
do it, I can't give it to anybody sometimes I wish I could you
know sometimes I wish I could just get somebody by the neck
and just make them listen But I can't. But the Lord can, and
the Lord does, and He does call those that belong to Him. May
the Lord give us grace to fall on our faces and worship Him.