Unless The Lord Guards

      We have all heard the beginning of Psalm 127.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,

To retire late,

To eat the bread of painful labors;

Psalm 127:1-2

      Recently, while studying the Psalms something I had overlooked hit me about this psalm. This psalm is part of the group of songs called “Songs of Ascents.” These were songs sung as the Israelites made their pilgrimages up the mountain to Jerusalem for the annual feasts.

      As I considered this, I wondered, “Why would a song of ascent talk about the Lord building the home or protecting the city?”

      Read Deuteronomy 16:16 God said, “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.”

      Three times a year the men had to travel to the place of God’s choice. That place was Jerusalem, where God put His temple.

      Picture what is happening as the Israelites sing this song. All the men are leaving their homes, fields, herds and cities behind to travel to Jerusalem. Some are leaving their wives and children. For some these trips may have taken weeks.

      What might the Philistines or the Syrians do if they saw all the men in a nearby city leaving for a few weeks? Sounds like a good time to attack and plunder. How many Israelites might justify not obeying God regarding the feasts in order to protect their property, livelihood, investments and families?

      This psalm reminded them that they could work hard to build and protect their homes, however, if God was not on their side, their work would not matter. On the other hand, if they made sure God was on their side, He would bless them even in their sleep. He would protect their cities even if they were traveling to Jerusalem.

      The take away for us is this. How many of us neglect to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness because we are covering our personal bases first? What kind of excuses do we make? We might as well face the truth. We can rise early and stay up late, but if God is not on our side we are laboring in vain. However, if God is on our side because we are seeking His righteousness and His kingdom first, then He will bless us even in our sleep (Matthew 6:33).

Edwin L. Crozier