Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.

3 Children are indeed a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the parent who has a quiver full of them.
They shall not be put to shame
    when they speaks with their enemies in the gate.

The two stanzas of the psalm both deal with home/family but from quite different perspectives.

The open stanza (vs. 1,2) covers ground similar to what we saw in Psalm 126. That human ability, better human-built security systems, more guards/police, none of those things will make a house or a community safe. It is God who guards homes and cities, and by extension countries. Verse 2 makes clear that our staying awake longer to plan how to guard what is “ours” does nothing but make us tired as we eat the “bread of anxious toil.” (That is a nice line – a great description of what anxiety does to life.) 

Those persons who in the relationship with God are able to trust God to guard and keep safe the home and the city are given the gift of sleep. And the medical evidence is overwhelming that sleep is one of the most powerful healers, and one of the best things for finding a way through anxiety. Those loved by God and who trust God are given the beauty of sleep. 

Then in vs. 3-5, the psalm takes a turn. In highlighting children as a “reward” from God, those who are child-less easily feel left out and even rejected by such words. The hurt can run very deep for those who struggle with infertility or who have chosen to have no children. The Bible is very aware of the struggles of infertility – Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth and Zechariah to name but two. Isaiah 56:3 which is addressed to eunuchs (men who were unable to father children) promises them a heritage. In the African proverb that says “it takes a village to raise a child” is the embedded call on all the people of a community to parent the children of the community. It is a responsibility of adults to nurture and protect children, be they biologically their children or not. This second stanza can be read wider than the nuclear family, but a call to communities to rejoice in the children of the community.

PRAYER:

O Lord, only in you will we find security and safety. Teach us to trust you and you alone, above all the other forms of security we so quickly cling to. Teach us as adults to share well in the nurture and care of children, recognizing that it is together as a community that children are well raised. In Jesus’ name. Amen.    

Psalm 126

A Song of Ascents.

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

“When the Lord” – not when the great leader, not when the team that developed the plan, not when the people all working together. No, “when the Lord”. The restoration of the brokenness of our world and of our lives, the renewal of creation and of our communities will be brought about by God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Such a restoration is beyond human imagination, beyond what human beings believe is possible – it was like a dream, it was so amazing that laughter was the only possibility. Even the people from around who saw what happened realized that the restoration, the renewal, was not brought about by Zion’s (vs. 1) ability but were the actions of God and God alone.    

Then the psalm turns in vs. 4, and it becomes clear that vs. 1-3 are about a past restoration. In the present moment the singers of the psalm are again dry like a dried-out river, again are weeping with despair over the state of things, are again in need of God’s action. No human planning, no thinking better, no being better trained, none of that will turn the situation – only God’s action can address the sorrow, the tears, the despair.

As every farmer knows, one can cultivate and fertilize, plant and watch – but ultimately it is about the actions of God – sending rain and heat, protecting the crop and bringing it to maturity. The farmer, even a really good farmer, has no ability to make the crop grow. So each year when the crop is harvested, it is in wonder and laughter that God has again acted. The same is true of our lives, of the life of the church, of the life of our communities.

The cry is – “O Lord, restore us again. Only in you is restoration possible.”

PRAYER:

O Lord God, our hope is in you, our restoration is in you – only you can bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and perseverance out of a faint heart. Restore us again, O Lord, restore us again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.