There’s a popular saying that goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Where does this saying come from? Many attribute this to John Steinbeck’s book- Of Mice and Men, written in 1937. He actually got the title from a poem by Robert Burns- To a Mouse, written in 1786. Burns wrote this poem to apologize to a mouse because when he plowed his field in preparation for planting season, he destroyed the mouse’s nest. So often, like this mouse, we make plans on our own without consideration of what God may want in that circumstance.
We’ve spent this month looking at some of the songs of God. The first week we looked at how God’s love for us is expressed in creation, the scriptures, and, most importantly, Jesus. Last week we learned to express our love for God through worship and service. This week, we’re finding the balance between the two- trusting God as we put forth effort in this life. Doing so helps us to leave a legacy for our children.
The psalmist begins with three spheres of life in which we often struggle to give God control. The first sphere is faith. Typically when we read this psalm, we begin with this mental image of someone constructing a house for their family. I believe the psalmist had the house of God in mind as he penned these words. If you look at the notations at the beginning of the psalm, you’ll see two things- “A Song of Ascents” and “Of Solomon.”
The Songs of Ascent are a set of 15 psalms, this one is right in the center, that were sung by Jews on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for any of the three major annual festivals. They may also have been sung by the priests as they climbed the 15 steps leading up to the temple in preparation for the sacrifices. People sang this song with the temple in mind as they approached God’s house.
The notation “of Solomon” has scholars believing either Solomon wrote this psalm around the time he built the first temple or David wrote the psalm as a reminder to his son about the importance of keeping God central as the temple was built. In fact, as we see in 1 Chronicles 17 & 22, David had wanted to build the temple himself- he had a beautiful palace and God had a tent, but God told him no. God wanted a king of peace to build the temple.
With that context in mind, let’s look at the opening of the psalm again. Unless God builds the house, the workers labor in vain. Bumper sticker theology reveals a lot about where people are at. Consider the COEXIST bumper stickers that are out there. Each letter is formed by a symbol that represents a different world religion. Their point is that all religions are equal so we should just leave well enough alone and respect each other’s viewpoints. In contrast, there is now a CONTRADICT bumper sticker, again using symbols of a variety of religions. The print underneath states, “They can’t all be right” with reference to John 14:6. That’s where Jesus proclaims, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” When it comes to faith, we need to work hand in hand with God and follow His way.
Notice the balance in this verse- God builds the house, but the workers still labor. Our youth have been studying the book of Ephesians. We were looking at Paul’s description of salvation in chapter 2. I believe Jack Cottrell sums it up nicely with this expression- “We are saved by grace through faith at baptism for good works. God does the saving, but we still do our part. We can’t save ourselves, but do good works out of gratitude for having been saved so that others might see our good works and praise God.
The second sphere in Psalm 127 is that of safety. “Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. The role of the watchman in Jerusalem was to watch over the gates and wall of the city, keeping an eye out for enemies, wild animals, or any other dangers to the city. I liken it to our police today. They may not be looking for enemy troops, but they keep an eye out for criminal activity so that we can rest well at night and deserve our respect for taking on this task.
Again we see this idea of balance of trusting in God for our safety, but also needing to keep watch and act on our instincts. I believe the church at large has developed a saying that appears to be biblical, yet isn’t, and therefore does more harm than good. That saying is that we need to “forgive and forget.” Now, we definitely need to forgive, the Bible is very clear about that. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us we need to forgive as God has forgiven us and if we don’t, God won’t forgive us. Frankly, forgiving is as much for ourselves as it is for the guilty party. When we don’t forgive, we leave them in control. We hold on to what they’ve done and become bitter and angry, sometimes even choosing to not go places knowing they’ll be there- we’ve given them control over our lives. Definitely forgive and take that control back.
It’s the forget part that causes a problem. It tells the victim of abuse they need to stay in the situation and leave themselves exposed to continued abuse. Rather, forgive and learn from the experience. Protect yourself from repeat episodes. Now, sometimes people really do get convicted of their sin and repent and change so that reconciliation can happen. If their life isn’t showing evidence of change though, it’s okay to forgive and shake off the dust.
The third sphere in Psalm 127 is that of career. This verse continues to show that God needs to be central in our pursuit of a career. This doesn’t mean that everyone needs to serve the Lord by going into full-time ministry. Rather, we need to recognize that whatever job you’re working, God has given you a ministry there. Seek out how you can serve God there.
Each job comes with its stresses. Maybe it’s deadlines or a difficult task, maybe it’s someone who is difficult to get along with as you work. What do you do with those stresses? The person who is trying to climb the corporate ladder relying on only their gifts and abilities often finds themselves having restless nights. By contrast, when we trust God and turn our stresses over to Him, we’re promised the ability to rest well at night knowing that He is in control and will work things out as needed.
When we partner with God in matters of faith, safety, and career, we are prepared to leave a legacy. Let’s look at the second half of Psalm 127 (read vss 3-5).
The first thing we must do is recognize that children are a gift from God. It doesn’t matter the circumstances that brought them into being, children are a gift from God. Our world seems to be forgetting this. Recent votes taking place in New York and Virginia declaring it okay to take the life of a child right up to birth and possibly even immediately after show this to be true. We need to be a voice in the political realm, but we also need to put our money where our mouths are. We need to open our homes and be willing to take in these children that aren’t wanted, to truly provide an alternative for young women to truly make the correct choice.
Now, we all have stories of the messes and trouble and nightmares our kids have caused, but we also have plenty of stories of the good times, those moments of pride and joy. Those days we can brag on Facebook about little Johnny has done at school or look what little Susie has grown up to be. Our children are a gift from God.
As such, we are entrusted by God to shape our children. The psalmist describes children as arrows in the hands of a warrior. Today, we have factories that manufacture arrows in bulk. Back then, arrows were made by hand- the warrior had to be very precise so that he’d be effective in war.
The arrowhead must be very sharp. When an arrow is fired, it needs to pierce and stick in its target. In the same way, we need to be raising sharp children, they need to be educated. For some, that means guiding them towards college as they push as far as a PhD. For others, it’s preparing them for a trade. Either way, we need to help our children to be successful whatever field they choose to pursue- we need to raise them to be sharp as arrowheads.
The shaft of the arrow must be straight and true. Can you imagine just plucking a random branch off a tree, strapping an arrowhead to it, and firing it from the bow? That arrow will go all over the place and never hit where it was intended. The warrior has to be painstakingly careful in shaping the shaft of the arrow so when fired, his aim will be true. We must do the same with our children, teaching them God’s ways, so they too will be straight and true as they reach adulthood.
The arrow also has feathers that must be shaped just so because they help guide the arrow. Our children need our guidance and that doesn’t mean just the parents here. We have a lot of young people who need godly adults involved in their lives. Some of the students who come to youth group and JAM Club come without their parents, they need you in their lives. Not only during church activities, but also mentors, tutors, people who are willing to give of their own time as an investment in these children who need a godly presence in their lives.
We work with God in every aspect of our lives so we can raise up a legacy of children who are following God. We can’t do it alone, we must first give our lives to Him. That’s why each Sunday we offer an invitation to give your life to Jesus.
