If you would turn in your Bibles to Psalm 127 this morning, as we continue our series through the Songs of Ascents, psalms that were given to the people of God in the Old Testament and are even to us today to help us on our pilgrimage through a barren land as we march toward our heavenly home in Zion. You'll find it near the middle of your Bible, page 657 in the Pew Bible. Psalm 127 stands at the very center of the Songs of Ascents. It's the only one that is ascribed to Solomon. So the question is, does it make reference to Solomon? Perhaps, as we'll see in verse 2. Was it authored by Solomon? Perhaps. Its theme reminds us of Ecclesiastes. Its structure reminds us of Proverbs. And its aim is to make us wise. To wise in choosing which way to the good life, as God defines it. Hear now the reading of God's Word, Psalm 127, a song of ascents of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil. For he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, the children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Here ends the reading of God's Word this morning. The psalmist opens in verses 1 and 2 with a case against our futile toil as the way to the good life. He wants us to see it for what it is, a dead end. This case needs to be made because we are born to believe and we are encouraged to believe in the world that we live to make our own life. You've heard it, perhaps you've said it, about someone who seemed to have it all together. A good job, a nice home, a growing family. He's made a good life for himself. She has made a good life for herself. Or maybe you're frustrated with your efforts to make this good life. Good jobs are scarce. Nice homes and growing families, well, they're just plain expensive. In verse 1, the psalmist uses two images to expose the futility of building and preserving the good life on our own terms. Building a house, watching over a city. Building a house refers not only to building the structures out of stone or of wood like Solomon did. He built the house of God, the temple. He built the house of the king, the palace. The building house also refers to everything involved in establishing and maintaining a household. Which is picked up when we get to verses 3 to 5. And watching over a city, well that refers not only to preserving the security and peace of a fortified city like Jerusalem that had a watchman on the parapets looking out to make sure that they could notify if any danger was coming. Watching over a city has also to do with preserving the security and the peace of a whole society whether that be a city like Jerusalem or whether that be your home. And with this warning the psalmist is not inviting us as builders and watchers to presume the Lord will take care of us so that we forsake our callings and we neglect our duties that we sit back and say I'm going to let go and let God that's not his point and neither is he urging us to find our worth in our work so that we strive harder and longer to find satisfaction in what we do. But to build anything requires builders. To watch over anyone or anything requires watchers, watchmen. And both are legitimate callings before the Lord when they're done for His glory, according to His purposes, and depending on His strength to do it. And therein lies the rub. Because, as the psalmist knows, Even as believers, we are prone to seek the good life as if there is no God. As if we have no Father in heaven. We're prone to live as if we're on our own, serving our own agendas, depending on our own resources, taking the credit for every success, and shifting the blame for every failure. That's how we're prone to operate. We're often unmindful of and ungrateful for what the Lord gives us and what He accomplishes through us. And so the psalmist pulls no punches. He's very blunt and direct. And he makes it plain in verse 1. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Futility. It's useless. No gain. And then in verse 2, he goes on to cast the net as far and as wide as any human endeavor. And he says, it is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest. There's nothing in ourselves or in this world that guarantees the success of our endeavors. We have no natural right so that we're entitled. We can make no plans that are so perfect that we will certainly secure them. And even if we work around the clock throughout the year, we cannot force the outcomes that we desire. That's the way it is. Man proposes, you've heard, and God disposes. Or as Solomon says in Proverbs chapter 16, the heart of man plans his way. The Lord establishes his steps. The psalmist wants us to remember that we are dependent on the blessing of God for everything. For the wisdom, the skill, the vitality, the resources, the opportunities. Everything that we need to accomplish anything comes from Him. Many a builder labors to build a household. But if the Lord does not build it, those who build it labor in vain. You may never complete it. You may not live to see it completed. You may see it destroyed by forces outside your control. It may become the source of your undue. And many a watchman watch to keep us safe from the NSA and the TSA and Homeland Security all the way down to you when you make your rounds at night to lock your doors. But if the Lord does not stand guard, the watchman stays awake in vain. Economies will falter. Borders will be breached. Homes will be invaded. Marriages and relationships will stumble. And so the psalmist says, through it all, apart from the Lord's blessing, we will be eating the bread of anxious toil. That's a very loaded phrase. We'll be eating what we gain by our anxious toil, and in the eating of what we gain, they will be anxious. Futility, frustration, discontent, worry. In Ecclesiastes chapter 2, the preacher says this about man who lives apart from God. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow and his work is a vexation. Even in the night, his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. Later in chapter 5, he offers this encouraging word. Everyone to whom God has given wealth and possession and the power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is a gift of God. Which is what brings us to our second point, the second half of the psalm, is about it is God's fruitful blessing that is the only way to the good life. A futile toil won't get us there. The blessings of God will. The final words of verse 2 introduce us to this theme in this way. In sharp contrast to the bread of anxious toil earned by the vain exertion of unbelief, the Lord gives. He gives to his beloved sleep. The Lord gives to his beloved. Who is that? Well, it could certainly be Solomon. It's a song of Solomon, it says. Solomon's other name, if you don't remember it, children, was Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord. He was given that name on the day he was born. So he's certainly in view, and Israel is certainly suggested here by the inclusion of this psalm in the songs of ascent which were given to Israel to sing on their way up to Zion, to offer praise and thanksgiving to God for all that he had done for them. And they're called the Beloved throughout the Scriptures. And the saints of all ages, including you, are in view. When you read your New Testaments, you'll find many of those letters addressed to the Beloved to beloved brothers, beloved sisters. Paul makes it clear in his letters to the Thessalonian church that in Christ we are brothers beloved by the Lord. That's who we are. And so this promise comes to us today that the Lord gives to his beloved. And what does he give? The Lord gives to his beloved. Sleep. Now we think about Z's on the pillow, and that might be included. He gives to us repose, rest, quietness, contentment. This phrase that he gives to us, sleep, can be understood in two ways. This is a poetic expression. It can unpack a couple of ways. It can signify the blessing itself that he gives us. The rest and repose that we have while doing our work, calmness in the midst of our busyness, satisfaction in the midst of our labor, and after working for him and in his strength for the day the Lord gives us refreshing sleep at night we can lay our head down trusting that the Lord will take care of the outcome we don't have to hold on to that it's not ours to hold on to so he can give us sleep but it can also signify the time and the way in which he gives us his blessing he gives to his beloved in sleep is another way to translate this phrase or while we sleep in other words while his beloved sleeps the Lord gives the good things after which men toil in unbelief this idea is echoed in the parable that Jesus gave in Mark chapter 4 to illustrate the relentless power of the kingdom of God that undergirds and makes effective the imperfect efforts of his people. He says the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day and the seed sprouts and grows and he knows not how. The Lord gives even while he sleeps. And as echoed in Matthew 6 when Jesus warned us against being anxiously striving after food or drink or clothing. You know the story. He says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things, these things after which unbelievers strive, will be given to you. The psalmist continues in verse 3, saying, behold, pay attention. As if to say, let me put a point on the fruitful blessing of God by having you consider this. Consider your children. Consider your children. Now nothing seems more natural to us than having children. We're tempted to imagine that after God gave the command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, that He left the stage and He let nature take its course. Well, not everyone who wants children can have children. Even some who take extraordinary measures in their efforts. And not everyone who does not want children, at least not now, is batting a thousand when it comes to timing of pregnancy. Man proposes, God disposes. And the psalmist reminds us that the children that we have are given to us. They're a gift of God. Not the fruit of chance, not the result of our strategies. Behold, he says, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb, a reward. Children are a heritage from the Lord, an inheritance from the Lord that he freely gives to whom he wills and which parents receive. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Again, freely given by God to those that he will, as he did to Abram in Genesis chapter 15. which I do believe the psalmist had in mind when he wrote this for us. Listen carefully from Genesis 15. Hear the echoes of our text. The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Fear not, Abram, I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great. But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me? For I continue childless. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, Your very own son shall be your heir. And the Lord brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you're able to number them. So shall your offspring be. And that way our children are a reward given by God. So contrary to conventional wisdom, which gets shouted at us from time to time, your children are not merely an expense. Don't do the numbers. They'll just scare you. They're a blessing. They're a blessing given by the Lord to bless you throughout your life. Blessed is the man who has many of them, the psalmist writes, especially the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who has many of them. Now it's trendy today for aging celebrities to father children in their old age. Have you noticed? the psalmist has the opposite in view, fathering children when you are young. So that when you are past your prime, they are in their prime. And he picks up in verse 4, comparing them to be like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. And we have to ask why. Why? Why is it a blessing to have the children of our youth, many of them? And he answers this with a picture, a movie. The psalmist fast-forwards 20 years or more, bypassing years of parenting, to envision a time when the father is in court in the gate of the city. And whether the father is the accused or the accuser, he will be vulnerable in that moment. his honor is on the line. But he will not stand alone. He will come armed like a warrior with his quiver full of arrows in hand who have clearly been raised to honor their father and who are there to uphold him, to protect his honor, so that the psalmist says he shall not be put to shame. This is clearly a very blessed scenario that the fruit of the womb come in later years to bear fruit for their father. But we know from our own experience and we know from the Scripture that this is not always the case. In 1 Samuel chapter 12, after ordaining Saul as king, Samuel had to stand in the gate. He was accused of abusing his office. His honor was on the line. He stood before the king, and the text tells us also before the Lord. And there he said, I am old and gray, and behold, my sons are with you. He stood alone that day, his sons against him. And yet the Lord stood with Samuel that day, and he was found innocent. But we see that just because we have children given to us by the Lord, that this fruit may not necessarily come. As I was contemplating this picture, this movie, this scene that is painted for us to highlight the blessing that our children are to us and intended to be for us, I couldn't help but think about life in this congregation and think about how much aging parents continue to need the help of their adult children today. They need their children to stand with them to uphold and help guide them in navigating an increasingly complex and bureaucratic world. They need their children to stand with them to protect them and advocate for them when engaging our broken and often unresponsive health care system. They need their children to stand with them to take up and fulfill responsibilities that they're no longer able to meet. Blessed is the man or the woman who has children of their youth who are willing and able to stand with them. And blessed is the man or the woman who has no children of their own, but because they've been adopted into the family of God, have been surrounded by children of God who are willing to stand with them in their need. And blessed is the man or the woman who recognizes God's fruitful blessing to them in these children and who does not hesitate to call them to his or her side. I see this happen often in this congregation and many are indeed blessed. But I also know it's not always the case. And for that we can't blame ourselves necessarily. The psalmist has shown us again with this illustration of his main point that God disposes, God is the one who establishes our steps, that it is vanity to think that we are alone responsible for how our children turn out. Yes, we're responsible to do our best to raise them in the fear and the instruction of the Lord. It's a mighty task. It's one that we cannot fulfill in our own strength. But unless the Lord trains our children by the Holy Spirit, through His Word, the parents who train them do so in vain. Even here, with our children, for so much of the time we're on autopilot, we need to be reminded of our dependence upon the Lord for our purposes, for our power, with regard to our children. And so we come to the end of this psalm and we've been reminded about a lot of things that we do that are contrary to what the Lord would have us do. So how are we to respond to the wisdom of this psalm? Lord knows better than we do how anxiously we toil after the good life, whether we're building or watching or parenting, how we strive. But if we rise up even earlier and we stay up even later, the toil for our own purposes relying on our own resources we will still be eating the bread of anxious toil but having been reminded of our place as the beloved of God in Jesus Christ we look in faith to Jesus the son of God who assumed our human nature we're looking to the one man who has lived his entire life even unto death on the cross in our place not to pursue the good life that many wanted him to live but to fulfill the perfect life that the Father wants us to live. Not depending on his own earthly resources but on his Father's heavenly resources at every step. And he has done that for us. So as we read this psalm and we see our failings we need to remember that Jesus has come and lived this for us that we might look to him, trust him to carry us. to motivate us, to strengthen us, to pursue this way. All of us who are made right with God through true faith in Jesus Christ can now confess this from Heidelberg number 60. There's a reason we ask you to memorize it, children. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments, even these, And even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ. As if I had never been a sinner. As if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. Through faith in Jesus Christ, that is true of us today so that we can hear Paul from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 when he reminds us that God has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and when he urges us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord because we can know that in the Lord our labor is not in vain. Through faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit makes us willing to live for Him in whatever we do. And He makes us able to live for Him with the very same power that was used to raise Jesus Christ from the dead. The very same power that's at work in us to have us live and pursue life according to the fruitful blessing of God rather than chasing after our futile toil. So we leave this morning reminded of God's fruitful blessing by which we are oriented and equipped to live the good life. The good life that God has called us to in this life as we wait for that life to be fulfilled in glory. Pilgrims on the way. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you have exposed us this morning to ourselves. That you have called us out to own the fact that we do strive in our own strength and for our own purposes so much of the time. We thank you that in Christ Jesus, we are not only forgiven and can be forgiven for these things, but in Him you have done this for us so that as we trust Him and see your rich hand of blessing in our lives, Lord, we will find the strength and the motive to pursue the life you've called us to. That we might live more and more to your glory, more and more according to your will, more and more independence upon all that you give. That you might be glorified and that we might be lifted up in Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.