Psalm 127: God is In Control

Without The Lord, You Dont Have Much…But If You Do Have God, You Have All You Need.

Remember Who Is in Control

You see in this passage we find make the point that if we build our lives life on our own terms, in our own power, by our own self sufficiency…we will find ourselves living a life of vanity.

Psalm 127:1–2 (ESV)

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

To build one’s house in this passage is not necessarily speaking about the physical structure or the place where you live. When the OT speaks about building “the house” it often refers to one’s household or one’s family legacy.

So when the Psalmist says, “Unless the LORD builds the house...” We could hear it like this… “Unless God takes care of our families…Unless God builds our legacy…unless God provides for our children…Unless God builds our house, we who build it, labor for nothing.”

And then the passage moves onto a wider issues…the protection of our communities...

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Commentary)

In ancient Israel, cities were walled in against enemy attacks. In times of political uncertainty, a city might expend much energy in guarding itself from possible enemy attacks. The psalmist, familiar with the anguish of a nervous population, encourages God’s people with the assertion that the Lord himself guards the city (cf. 121:4; 132). Thus he rebukes the human effort of constructing one’s house and involvement in the welfare of the community in the absence of trust in the Lord.

You see, this morning for us it is very important that we remember who is in control.

I know that many of you in this morning and watching online right now are afraid. You’re afraid of the possibilities of what is going to happen in the coming hours, your afraid of what could be, or what might happen. And those feelings, they are natural.

16 years ago almost to the day, many of you lived through one of the most dramatic events to ever hit the state of MS. You remember what it was like to be trapped by miles of trees that covered your roads. You remember what it was like to go without power for days and even weeks on end, in some instances. You remember hearing about loved ones who lost everything.

And so it is only natural to feel a tinge of angst this morning as we consider the storm that is hitting the coast right now and the storm that we will be facing here in the next couple of hours.

And this morning it is tempting to believe the same lie that the people of Israel were tempted to believe thousands of years ago.

In times of trouble we are tempted to believe that we are the one’s who are in control. We are tempted to believe that all of the responsibility to build our homes, to protect our families and our community lies in our own hands.

We are tempted to believe

"We are responsible for our own fate, we reap what we sow, we get what we give."

But this morning I want you to remember who is in control…and it isnt us...

We can work to protect our homes and our community—and we should work to do those things. But we work and we protect knowing that without God’s activity in our life, we do so in vain. That is what this passage reminds us of...

You and I are not in control ...But God is...

I want you to remember this...God is in control…he has not stepped down from his throne this morning. He has not abdicated his responsibilities this morning. He is still good, He is still right, He is still sovereign, and He is still trustworthy...

You see…God does build our homes—our families and our legacies…Our work is not in vain because God works for us.

I want to remind you to Trust in the Lord...

Psalm 127:2 (ESV)

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.

Work sometimes causes us to stay up late and rise up early in the morning.

And we are called to work hard in the scriptures...

2 Thessalonians 3:6–10 (ESV)

6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

We are not called to idleness…Jesus wasnt idle…he worked…Paul wasnt idle…he worked hard…And we are called to work and prepare as well…but we are called to remember that ultimately we must trust the Lord in our Work…anxious toil is vanity. Self sufficiency in our work is empty…we work hard…and then we rest harder—trusting in the LORD to take care of us.

Sometimes the greatest act of faith is being willing to go to sleep when everyone else is anxiously awake...

Psalm 127:2 (ESV)

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.

The reason we can rest in the midst of the storm is because we know that God is in Control and He can be trusted...

Psalm 125:1–2 (ESV)

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

We can trust the Lord in this storm today…because we know that God has conquered the greatest storm and chaos of life—

Colossians 2:13–15 (ESV)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Jesus has triumphed over our greatest foe in life…sin and death.

In him—we have been brought from death to life.

In Him—our record of sin has been canceled…nailed on the cross.

In Him—we are more the conquerors—because he has put to shame that which once shamed us.

Christ has triumphed…therefore he can be trusted...

So I want you to remember who is in control…not me…not you…Jesus is.

And I want you to trust Him today…even in the midst of the storm that you face...

Will you do that?

Let’s Pray...