Would you turn to the 127th Psalm. Psalm 127. Except the Lord build the house.
They labor in vain, they build it. Except the Lord keep the
city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It's vain for you to
rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows,
for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo, 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. They shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Let's pray. Lord, how grateful we are That
your God and beside thee is none else. How thankful we are for
who you are. For all your glorious attributes.
How thankful we are. For your beloved son. And the
salvation that's in him and Lord, we ask that we might be enabled
to worship him in spirit and truth speak to our hearts for
the Lord's sake. Lord, those that are going through
trouble. In whatever way, we pray for
your gracious hand upon them. Lord, we know that all things
are of you and we give thanks. Lord, bless us for the Lord's
sake, forgive us of our sins for Christ's sake. Unite our
hearts together to fear your name. Enable us to hear your
gospel and the power of your spirit. Wherever your gospels preach,
we ask for your blessing upon it. In Christ's name we pray,
amen. I'm gonna look at this psalm
in two different ways. First, except the Lord build
the house, remember the church is called the house of the living
God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. except the Lord
build the house. They labor in vain, they build
it. And then we're going to look
at as our homes, except the Lord build our house. We labor in
vain, they build it. Now, this speaks first of all
of the church of the living God, except the Lord build the house. Let me verify that from 1 Timothy
3, verse 15. Let me read this to you. But
if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living
God. So when he's talking about the
house of God, first and primarily, he's talking about the church
of the living God, except the Lord built the house. They labor
in vain to build it. Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman wakes but in vain. Now, did not the Lord say, upon this rock will I build my
church? The church is the building of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's the one who builds it.
And he said, upon this rock will I build my church. Now, a religious
institution, men may call a church, utterly vain unless the Lord
is the actual builder of it. Now, understand this. This is not saying that men don't
need to build. We build. We do. I mean, do you have a, do you
say, well, if God sovereignly decides for me to have a house,
it'll just come up and I don't need to build? Of course not.
Do we say, well, if God's will for my garden to be prospered,
it'll just come up and I don't have to plant and sow and water?
Of course not. But we do know that if anything
is prospered, it's only because of God's blessing upon it. It's
because what God does. And the church of the living
God, the Lord is the builder. It's not man. It is the Lord. And except the Lord build the
house, it's a waste of time. Except the Lord keep the city.
The watchman wakes but in vain. Now you think of a watchman looking
out for enemies to attack the city. Well, you gotta have that
watchman. But if the Lord doesn't keep
the city, that watchman is a waste of time, isn't he? Salvation
is of the Lord. Building the church is of the
Lord. Building your home is of the
Lord. He's in absolute control of all
things. Now, in this we see both the
absolute sovereignty of God. He's the one who does the building. What is meant by the sovereignty
of God? It means God is the first cause of everything, in absolute
control of everything. That's what the sovereignty of
God is, God's absolute control. Now, we're going to build We're
not fatalists. We're going to build. We're going
to watch over the city. We're going to seek to do what
we're supposed to do. But isn't it a joy to know that God is
in absolute control right now? He's even in control. You know,
I make this statement. He is sovereign over the free
and uncoerced actions of men. He's sovereign over the free
and uncoerced thoughts of men. Isn't that glorious? And it's
not difficult for him. It's not hard for him. He is
in absolute control, ruling and reigning, except the Lord build
the house. It's a waste of time. Except
the Lord keep the city. It's a waste of time. Verse two. It's vain for you to rise up
early to sit up late. He's talking about getting up
early to work and staying late to work. That's what he's talking
about. If the Lord's not in it, it's all a waste of time. No good is going to happen out
of it. To eat the bread of sorrows, the sorrow and the worrying and
the anxiety of life, which everybody experiences. But the thing that
is, if the Lord's in control, all of our worrying, And we've
got it, it's unbelief, and it's part of being human, but it's
all a waste of time. You know, when I think of the
Lord being in absolute control, when I really believe it and
think about it, I just, I relax. I'm okay. When I'm not thinking
that way, I'm not okay. That's what he's saying. If the
Lord, except the Lord build the house, except the Lord keep the
city, It's vain to rise up early. And listen, this is not talking
about, it's good to get up early and get on it. It's good to work
late. It's good to do all these things.
He's not saying that's a waste of time. He's saying except the
Lord's in the control of it, it's all vain and it's all a
waste of time. For so he giveth his beloved
sleep. You know, I don't know how many
times in the Psalms It talks about sleep, so he gives
his beloved sleep, and I think, why do I have a hard time sleeping,
really? Well, I rest in Christ. I sleep in Christ. I might have
a hard time getting to sleep, but I rest in the Lord Jesus
Christ, because I don't know how many times I've been laying
awake at night and thought, well, if I'm beloved, how come I can't
get to sleep, you know? Have to be stressing out about
something or thinking about something. I do have the beloved rest that's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. They which have believed do enter
into rest. The rest of not doing anything
to earn God's acceptance, the rest of knowing that I have God's
acceptance in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a beloved sleep
and what a beloved rest that is. Now he says, verse three,
lo, children, are an heritage of the Lord.
They're his inheritance. And the fruit of the womb is
his reward. Now, the children are the individual
members of the church, the house which he builds. They are the
individual citizens of the city of God that he watches over. I love where the Lord said, behold,
I am the children which thou hast given me. What a blessed thing it is to
be a child of God. to be a son of God, to have God
as my father, to have Christ as my savior. And here's the
thing. I'm his inheritance. I'm his reward. You say, how? Well, he saved me. And that's
what it's talking about. The Lord's portion is his people. The Lord's inheritance is his
people. How special the Lord's people are to him. I'm just,
I stand amazed at that, that the Lord would make himself known
to me in the first place. I'm his reward. I'm his inheritance. You say, isn't that egocentrical? No, because I realize I'm nothing,
but I see what the Lord has done in the beloved to make me accepted
in the beloved. Low children are an heritage
of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward as arrows,
verse four. As arrows are in the hand of
a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Now, the mighty
man shoots his arrows and he directs where they're going.
He's pointing. This mighty man pulls back and
he shoots that arrow and it goes exactly where he determined for
that arrow to go. And what this is talking about
is the Lord's accomplishing his purpose for his children. You're
an arrow in his hand. Guess which direction you're
going. the direction that he purposes for you to go. And you
can just rest in this. He never misses. All his ways
are perfect. And whatever he has done for
you and me is perfect because he never misses. Oh, what a blessing
it is to have him as directing my path and causing me. Wherever he shoots me, that's
where I'm going, and the same thing is true of you, and it's
always good. We're extensions of his strength
and accomplishment. Verse five, happy is the man that hath his
quiver full of him. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the happy man. He was a man of sorrows while
he was here on earth, I realize that, but I love to think of
the happiness of Christ and his happiness is not like ours. Our
happiness is based upon circumstances and how we're feeling that particular
day. The whole idea of I'm not happy,
that always bothers me when somebody says I'm not happy. Well, get
over it. I don't know what else to say
about it. Your happiness is, that's just not even important.
If I know the Lord, everything's fine, isn't it? Everything's
fine. But the Lord is the happy man.
He's happy because of who he is. He's happy because of his
salvation. He's happy because of his glory.
If the Lord's happy, I am too. Because he is my redeemer. Now
look what it says, happy is the man that has his quiver full
of them, and the Lord's quiver is full, his whole church. His
quiver's full, everybody that he died for must be saved. His
quiver is full of them. And it says, they shall not be
ashamed. These children that are in his quiver, they shall
not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the
gates. Now, I've got a lot of joy out
of thinking about this. I'm not going to be ashamed on
judgment day. I think about this. I'm not going
to be ashamed. I'm not going to have anything
to be ashamed of. You know, when people talk about
judgment of believers, how they're going to be rewarded for their
works here on earth, if that was the case, I'd be worried
to death. I'd be ashamed. I remember one time hearing a
preacher say, well, your sins will be brought up, but it won't
bother you. I thought it didn't bother me. You know, that's awful. But here's the heritage of every
believer. They have nothing to be ashamed
of because I stand before God because of what Christ did on
my behalf. I stand before God as one who
has never committed a sin. That's what justification is.
I stand before God, and I can look at all the regrets I have,
and I play your regrets, you do too. That's a long list. But do you
know that when I stand before God on judgment day, I'll have
no regrets? And I will be able to look at
my enemies. You know who my enemies are?
My sins. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. I'm gonna speak with my enemies
at the gates. You don't got anything on me.
I stand before God as one who has never sinned. Now hold your
finger there and turn with me to 1 John chapter four. And this
is what he's speaking of. Verse 17. Herein is our love made perfect
or complete that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. I want you to think about that.
Standing before God, the God of glory, the holy God in judgment
and having boldness? The only way I can have boldness
on the day of judgment is if I'm in Jesus Christ and His righteousness
is my righteousness. I stand before God as one who
has never sinned. That being the case, I have boldness
on the day of judgment. Back to our text. Happy is the
man that hath his quiver full of them. That's the Lord and
his church. They shall not be ashamed, but
they shall speak with the enemies in the gates. You see, in Christ
Jesus, I'm perfect. Perfect. Somebody, when I hear
people say, I'm not perfect, you don't need to tell me that,
I'll renew. And if you'd hear me say that,
you'd say the same thing, but in Christ Jesus, every believer
is perfect. By one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. I stand before God perfect, without
guilt. Now, let's look at this psalm. And like I said, whenever you
look at the psalm, first you look at it in terms of the gospel. And really, that's the only way
we look at it. But he's also saying this, except
the Lord build the house. Let's talk about my house and
your house, my house and your house. You know, the, the society
is built around homes, families, moms and dads and children. So
that's the, that's the family unit is ordained of God. It's
what a society is made of now, 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." Now, I want to build my house to the glory of
God. You do too. You do too. I mean, you're aware
of many problems because you're in it. If I'm in the equation,
there's problems. We know that. I mean, too. I don't have to convince anybody
of that, I don't think, but I want to build my home, my house, for
the glory of God. I want to have a house and a
home that honors the Lord. And I know this, with all my
building, it doesn't mean anything except the Lord is the one doing
it. I'm aware of that. It's got to be Him. And it was
not him. It's all vanity and vexation
of spirit and no good has been done. And we were conscious of
that, aren't we? Except the Lord do it. If I do
it, it's a mess. It's just a mess. Except the
Lord, and I'm at Lord build my house. Except the Lord build
the house. They labor in vain to no purpose
that build it except the Lord keep the city. The watchman waketh
but in vain. Now, you may have a big family. But if the Lord is not the one
who built your house, you say with Joshua, as for me and my
house, we'll serve the Lord, but you know it won't do any
good, except the Lord built it. You know it's in vain without
his mercy. It's utter vanity, unless he's
the one who keeps us. Look in verse two. It's vain
for you to rise up early and sit up late. Now, to eat the
bread of sorrows, for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Rise up early. Get at it. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. It's talking
about your efforts. Get up early. Work late. Somebody says he's working too
late. No, he's not. It's good. Labor is good. Doing your best
in your home is good. Go on and on. That stuff's good.
But how vain is it if the Lord's
not in it? It's just utterly vain. It will
not work. It will not profit. To eat the bread of sorrows,
to eat the bread of grief. Now you think of all the grieving,
that you do in trying to do right, and you feel like you do wrong,
you grieve doing right, the anxiousness, the worry. I mean, everybody
has that. Everybody has that. And some
have it more acutely than others, but everybody has it. But in
our worrying, I mean, I love to look back. When I think about
me worrying, I think, you're really stupid. The Lord's in
control. He's in control of everything.
And eating the bread of sorrows, making myself miserable, may
the Lord give me grace to rest. So he giveth his beloved sleep.
And like I said, this is the rest in the gospel, the sleep
in the gospel. I'm dead with Christ. My salvation
is accomplished. That's what he's talking about,
this rest. He says it's vain for you to
rise up early and to sit up late, getting up early to work, working
late to eat the bread of sorrows, all the anxiety and grief and
worry that's involved in building this house and so on. For so
he giveth his beloved sleep. Verse three, lo, children are
an heritage of the Lord. And what a blessing our children
are. They can be trouble too. I realize that they can be trouble,
too. And they are trouble, too. But what a blessing they are. You know, one of the things that
I've been thinking about the last few weeks, I've been thinking
about what grace is, God's favor. God's favor, and we're quick
to call it unmerited favor, and we should call it unmerited favor
because it is. There's nothing I did to earn
it. But when you look at your children, you don't think I'm
giving them unmerited favor, do you? They're your children. You love them. You favor them. And in Christ, we have God's
favor. How much does he favor his son?
Oh, he says, this is my beloved son. And that's how he sees every
single one of his children. Favored by God. Boy, that's a
great place to be, isn't it? Favored by the Lord God. Now,
as arrows, children are the heritage of the Lord and the fruit of
the womb are his reward. As arrows are in the hand of
a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Now, what I was
thinking about this is our responsibility before God
is to direct our children. Now, I realize we failed. Don't you realize you've been
a failure as a parent in many way? I think things Lynn and
I could have done differently. But still, it's true that the
parenting of our children, the rearing of our children, they're
arrows in our hand, and we're pointing them in the right direction.
Very much of the success of, and I'm not talking
about spiritual success, I'm just talking about them achieving
as adults, when they grow up and so on. Very much of that
is dependent upon us pointing them in the right direction,
rearing them, making them do what they're supposed to do.
And that's what you do when you're pointing in the direction you
want, you let it go, you have it going in a certain direction. And when I was thinking about
this, Our biggest responsibility with our children, as far as
rearing them, is to make them respect authority. That's the
biggest responsibility of a parent. And you say, can you get that
from the scripture? Well, that's exactly what it
means when it says, honor your father and mother, that it might
be well with you, that your days might be long on the earth. What
that's talking about, if my children are taught to respect authority,
have a true respect for authority, they're going to achieve. They're
going to do well. They're going to do well in school.
They're going to do well in their jobs. But if they're rebels against
authority, they're going to be failures. That's just the way
it is. And it is our responsibility
to make our children make sure they respect authority. What's
more irritating than being around somebody that's disrespectful?
It's just not good. And this is the, we're to point
the arrow in that direction. Verse five, happy is the man
that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in their gates. And what I was thinking of when
I thought about the home, the house. Lord, build my house. Bless my parenting. And you know
you're always gonna be parents, even if your kids are grown up,
you're still parenting them in some measure. In some measure,
you better stop it. I realize that. I'm probably
the worst. She's my child, she needs to do what I say. Well,
it doesn't work that way. You know, you get an adult. But
Lord, bless our homes, bless our marriages, bless our child
rearing. Let us be that arrow that you
pull back and point in your direction. But we know, 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's vain for you
to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows.
For so he giveth his beloved sleep. May we all have that joyous
rest in Christ. Amen.