January 13
________________________________________
PSALM 127- WITHOUT THE LORD EVERYTHING WE BUILD IS FUTILE
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.2 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. 3 Behold, children are 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 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. – Psalm 127:1-5
________________________________________
This psalm is a song of ascent, which were a collection of 15 Psalms that were traditionally sung by Hebrew pilgrims, who ascended the uphill road to Jerusalem to attend annual festivals in the Temple. Some say that Solomon wrote this psalm, but other scholars think that David wrote it for his son, Solomon.
This psalm focuses on building and guarding a house or a dwelling place. It may also refer to the home or family life. In verse 1, the writer emphasizes the importance of God’s blessing in building a home or a dwelling place. In other words, when we build our house or family life without God’s involvement, we are doing it in vain. If you were to start a family and you do not know or serve the Lord, it will not last long. No wonder many marriages break down because they are building a home or family without including God in it. Without a strong foundation, a house will collapse. Without God, no marriage or family will thrive.
Solomon talks about “anxious toil” in verse 2. It is living life for the sake of life itself and not honoring God. People who do not acknowledge the Lord in their work is ingratitude. They won’t have contentment and peace without being thankful, our work is in vain.There is also a mention of the importance of depending on God for protection and not on human effort because when we count out God on this aspect of our lives, we will be depending on our own strength and not on His grace. Solomon expounds on these useless things we do in life in the book of Ecclesiastes. The psalmist also mentions the blessings of having children. It is a gift from God to have children. Sadly, many people fail to acknowledge that they are a gift and treat their own children as their property. Parents are vessels so that the children that are given to them will be trained to glorify the Lord himself. It is their responsibility to bring them into the praising of God.
________________________________________
REFLECTION
• Why is it important to remember that without God, whatever we do is futile?
Tag Archives: Psalm 137
HOW SHALL WE SING THE LORD’S SONG Poem Devotional,
February 14
________________________________________
HOW SHALL WE SING THE LORD’S SONG?
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion. 2 On the willow there we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
If I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem,
How they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
Blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
– Psalm 137:1-9
________________________________________
This community lament remembers the Babylonian captivity. The Israelites remember how they were asked to sing songs by their captors. It was difficult for them to do so as they would rather do so when they are in their own land. It is a prayer of plea to the Lord not to let them forget Jerusalem and to deliver them from the cruelty of the Edomites. This psalm requests the Lord to bring them justice and payment for the abuses and wickedness that the Babylonians did to them. Because they are sure that the Lord is a God of Justice, they look forward to that day that their enemies will be punished for their evil deeds to them.
________________________________________
ADORATION: You are a just and fair God. Praise you for delivering us from evil.
CONFESSION: Forgive me when I fail to be intimate with you and rely on you.
THANKSGIVING: Thank you for delivering me from wickedness and injustice.
SUPPLICATION: May evil be defeated by righteousness and your unfailing love.
________________________________________
REFLECTION
• How can the Israelites pray with such boldness and trust for justice to be done to them? What is required to have such boldness to pray to God?