Psalm 127 - Unless the LORD

Read: Psalm 127 vs 1-5

The Psalms of Ascents (120 – 134) were written by different people. David wrote four of them and ten of them are anonymous. However today we come to Psalm 127, and it is unique among these psalms because it was written by Solomon. Solomon wasn’t just someone who went up to the temple to worship God, Solomon was actually the person who built the temple. The story is told in 1 Kings 6. The temple was a magnificent structure. It was built to the most painstaking of specifications and it took 7 years to build.

These facts form a really interesting background to Psalm 127. I imagine Solomon standing back, gazing up at the majestic structure, thinking about all the work involved in getting things this far, and in his heart these words rise:

‘Unless the LORD builds the house,

The builders labour in vain.’

Psalm 127 acknowledges that all of life is a gift from the LORD; the temple and safety and security in the city (vs 1), food to eat and sleep (vs 2), children (vs 3-4). This Psalm names all of life as a gift, a gift to be humbly received and offered back to God in worship. 

Psalm 127 names God as a builder. In the New Testament the Apostle Paul picks up on this theme when he writes to the church in Corinth:

‘For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.’

Today God is building a temple for Himself. It is a temple of living stones (1 Peter 2:5) built around Christ Jesus. It is an enormous privilege to be part of this, and to know that in His hands every effort, every labour of our hands (in our day to day lives, at work, at home, in our relationships with others) can find value and meaning when offered back to Him. Unless He is the builder all is in vain. But when we know He is building then at the end of each day we can rest from our labours (and even our frustrations) content in the presence of the One who loves us and gives us all that we have (vs 2).

Prayer: Father today I offer to You the work of my hands. May You be in all I do and in every task I undertake. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.