The Meaning in Life

I'm going to invite one of our members, Douglas, up. He's going to read God's word to us.

! Douglas is going to read 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, children are a heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb is 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.

This is the word of the Lord.

When we eat lunch together after the service today,

two of the questions, two of the most common questions that we'll probably ask each other

are going to be, how's work going?

How's the family?

And I'm not trying to make you feel paranoid.

These are good questions to ask one another.

But it's not just in church that we ask these questions.

These are the questions that we ask each other at work, at school, as we're studying, whatever we may be.

If you want to be a social media influencer, if you want to get a big following on Instagram,

look at the trials of work, or hustle culture, how to build, or the challenges of raising a family,

and you're bound to get a big, healthy following.

And when we read the words of Psalm 127, we see that those are the things that the psalmist is talking about too.

He's talking about building a life, security for life, raising a family.

But Psalm 127 isn't just asking us how we're getting on with that.

It's forcing us to ask ourselves, what are these things really for?

What kind of life are you building?

What is it you're trying to protect?

How are you raising a family?

Does anyone know the motto for Edinburgh's coat of arms?

It's Nisi Dominus Frustra.

And I know that you guys all know what that means, but I don't speak Latin.

But the English means, without the Lord, in vain.

So, without the Lord, everything is in vain.

The motto of this amazing city is Psalm 127.

And what it tells us, I think it's pretty shocking when you look at it.

Because it's that, without God, our work, our life building, our protection, even our family, is meaningless.

And when you think about the society that we live in today, we're kind of a dichotomy.

So, there's never been a time, really, I don't think, where we've had so much freedom around work,

and yet we voluntarily almost imprison ourselves to our careers.

Have we ever had a society that enjoys so much security and safety in one sense,

but then seems to live in such fear and anxiety on the other?

Have we ever had a society where children are the very epicenter of people's lives,

like their whole lives revolve around what their children want, what they want to do?

And yet, for other people, children, family, just seem disposable.

Well, through this Psalm, we're going to learn that the anecdote for our workaholism,

for our anxiety, the solution to the imbalanced way that we think about family life,

is in this Psalm.

I've got three points.

And the first point is, what are you building on?

If we look together at verse one of the Psalm, it says,

So, we're not just talking about construction here.

We're not all builders.

But the idea of building can apply to anything that you are building in your life.

So, whether you're an entrepreneur, a fireman, a software engineer, an artist,

someone who's building a home,

these things apply to you.

These are all really important forms of building in life,

and they require us to work hard.

The word labor that the Psalm uses here is hard work, toil, struggle.

Whether you enjoy what you do for a living or you don't,

you've got to admit that sometimes work is pretty frustrating.

We find it hard to get through the things that we need to do,

let alone to the point where we feel like we're getting ahead.

And sometimes that makes us feel overwhelmed in life,

makes us feel like we're struggling to keep up

while everyone else is running away ahead.

But what is the thing that we feel that we're struggling to keep up with?

Well, often we're drowning because we feel pressured

by the material world that's around us

and the material measures that people use to define success.

More money, bigger house, nicer car, flashier clothes.

These are the things that all around us,

in our workplace, in our neighborhoods,

people put such emphasis on,

they look at this as a sign of what building success is.

The thing about constantly pursuing more material things, though,

is that it is a bottomless pit.

It never ends.

No matter how much you make or accumulate,

we only seem to want more.

We need the next thing,

the extension onto our big house,

or the faster car than the one that came out last year,

or the new iPhone that comes out,

probably in a few months' time,

it's going to cost a thousand pounds and make your one old.

The beast of consumption is never satisfied,

no matter how much you feed it.

And then all the while,

as we're trying to feed this beast,

work is toil.

It's hard.

Even if you really love what you do,

you've got to admit that there's times

where you face frustration.

A report in 2024

found that poor mental health in work,

just in the UK,

costs employers,

just costs employers,

not the country.

51 billion pounds a year.

That's a number that's so big

we can't visualize it.

There's too many zeros

to fit it into our mind's eye.

So work is hard,

and our relationship to work is broken.

But why?

How?

Well, as Christians,

we know why.

It goes right back to the very beginning of the world,

when everything was very good,

and Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden city,

and they were given everything that they could imagine,

and they were given a practical purpose as well,

to work the land.

They weren't put there to lie on sun loungers,

they were to work the land,

to build it,

to grow it,

to expand this garden across the world.

But Adam and Eve thought that they could climb the ladder,

and by themselves.

Achieve more without God.

And they were convinced

that they should do the one thing

that God told them not to do.

And then because they disobeyed God,

in Genesis 3, 17,

we're told God said,

cursed is the ground because of you.

In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

So the very ground,

that's Adam's place of work,

becomes cursed

because of their disobedience to God.

So maybe

you feel like your office is cursed,

but if you want to know why work is so hard,

it's because we live in a broken,

fallen world.

Because Adam tried to build without God.

The first part of this psalm,

well, it reminds us that

all of our work without God

is ultimately meaningless,

in vain.

The word vain appears three times

in just these two first verses.

Without God,

building is empty.

Without God,

protecting our stuff is worthless.

Without God,

getting up at the crack of dawn

to get ahead

is totally futile.

So what does that mean?

Should we all just quit our jobs,

set up a cute commune

in the foot of the Pentlands?

Well, no.

The psalmist is not telling us

that our work is worthless.

Work is not worthless.

And he's not telling us

that building life is meaningless.

He's saying

that these things are meaningless,

that these things are worthless

if they're not built

on the right foundation.

When we build and work

without acknowledging

that it is for God

and by God

that we are working

and building.

You see,

work isn't the punishment

for Adam's disobedience.

Work is purpose.

That's what he was put here

in the garden to do.

And so when we

work with obedience to God,

work becomes worship.

So that means that

no matter what you do

for a living,

no matter how you spend

your days building,

whatever it is you're building,

we're building something

when we're building with God

that's not going to crumble.

It's not going to disintegrate

into dust.

Okay, second point.

How do you sleep at night?

So the psalmist, I think,

seems to know about the UK's

mental health at work crisis

thousands of years ago.

In the second half of verse one,

he says,

unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It's in vain that you rise up early

and go to bed

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil.

I mean,

I wonder if you can relate

to getting up early,

staying up late,

trying to get ahead

and not feeling like

you're making any progress.

Or maybe you have.

Maybe you've got up early,

you've gone to bed late

and you have made progress.

You've got the promotion,

you've got the pay rise,

you've built yourself

a reputation as somebody

who gets things done,

but that's only resulted

in you being given

more to do.

So you have to get up early,

you have to go to bed late,

you have to stay away

from home longer,

you have to go to bed

later and later.

Sometimes, maybe,

for some of us,

it feels like success

in work itself.

Without God is a curse.

The more you get ahead,

the more you have to work,

the less you get to rest.

And I think the psalmist

hits the nail on the head

for our society

when he writes the phrase,

eating the bread of anxious toil.

So the bread of anxious toil

is not an artisan loaf

from 12 triangles.

In Hebrew,

the word bread

can be used to refer

to any form of food.

So this is the way

that we keep ourselves alive.

And he's saying,

you're giving your life

over to the grind

and your reward

is indigestion.

Have you been so anxious?

Are you so anxious in life

that you feel

that you can't even

swallow down food properly?

Have you been so worried

about what lies ahead,

about what you might lose,

that your favorite food

doesn't bring you any pleasure?

Have things,

good things,

like food and drink,

almost become an anesthetic

to help you cope

with the pressure you feel

from the people

and the work

that you have to do?

Well,

this is another question.

Is that because,

functionally,

you're living

and even eating

as an atheist?

Do you go to work,

come to the dinner table,

even,

don't even get to the table.

You sit on the sofa

or you sit

in the driver's seat

of your car

on your way

to another meeting

because you've got

to keep going.

And then you lie down

in your bed exhausted,

riddled with anxiety

because you think,

this is all down to me.

Well,

the second half of verse one

speaks about protection,

about keeping the things

that we're building,

of how futile it is

to stay up all night

guarding our stuff

as if we can protect it

on our own.

when we're scrambling

to hold on

to our material possessions

without the Lord,

without relying on God,

without being confident

that he is with us.

It's like that dream

people talk about

where they've got coins

and they just keep

falling through

your fingers.

That's what our material

stuff is like.

We can't hold on to it.

J.D. Rockefeller,

when he died,

he was,

they said that he was

the richest man

in the world.

probably the richest man

that I'd ever been.

And somebody asked

his accountant,

how much did he leave?

And his accountant said,

he left all of it.

The psalmist is saying,

worrying,

building,

and protecting in life

becomes meaningless.

But he's saying

it's meaningless

because we don't rely on God.

So here it is,

right at the end of verse 2,

in the center of this psalm,

here's the solution

to our tendency

to fall into workaholism

on one hand,

anxiety on the other.

The Lord gives

his beloved sleep.

C.S. Lewis,

who wrote the Narnia series,

was a Christian thinker as well.

And he said this about work.

He said,

if we thought we were

building up a heaven on earth,

if we looked for something

that would turn the present world

from a black pilgrimage

into a permanent city

satisfying the soul of man,

we're disillusioned.

But if we thought

that for some souls,

and at some times,

the life of learning,

humbly offered to God,

was in its own small way

one of the appointed approaches

to the divine reality

and the divine beauty

to which we hope

to enjoy hereafter,

we can think so still.

So Lewis is saying

that whether you're

an engineer,

a joiner,

a nursery teacher,

we can rest safe

in the knowledge

that when we're working

with God,

we are working

for God's kingdom.

And as Lewis puts it,

we can think so still.

Or as Psalm 127 puts it,

the Lord gives

his beloved sleep.

It's such a humbling

humbling and beautiful reminder

of the limits of humanity,

the limits that we have ourselves,

our own frailty,

and also God's care

for his people,

that every night

we have to lie down

for about a third of our lives

and be blind,

defenseless,

unconscious

for hours at a time.

There's a beautiful song

by a Scottish singer-songwriter,

he's called John Martin,

and it's called

May You Never,

and the repeated refrain

in that song

is,

may you never lay your head down

without a hand to hold,

may you never make your bed

out in the cold.

And this is what Psalm 127

is telling us

about God

and sleep.

anxious about

what you're building

or about how you're going

to hold on

to the things

that you have.

God's saying to everyone

who trusts him,

come and lay down,

take my hand,

and know

that I'm watching

over you.

And God gives

his beloved sleep.

This is a precious gift,

in fact,

sleep's two precious gifts

in one.

It refreshes us

and it restains us

but it also reminds us

that we're not in control

and that God is.

And that means

that our life

doesn't come down

to us.

We sang Psalm 121

earlier on

and that Psalm asks,

when I look to the hills,

fearing danger,

where will my help

come from?

And the answer is,

the Lord keeps me.

And that word keep,

in Psalm 121,

it's used

six different times

and it's the same route

that we have

in Psalm 127

for watchers over

or watchmen.

So while

Psalm 127

tells us

that God

gifts

his people sleep,

Psalm 121

reminds us

that God

never sleeps.

And so we can lay down

safe and secure

in the fact

that

although we can't guard

all the things

of our lives,

God can.

Do you feel like

you're in need

of this secure,

peace-filled,

life-giving sleep?

Because I do.

Which is probably why

Matthew,

Matthew chapter 11,

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

28 to 30

is my favorite

verses

in the Bible.

Jesus says,

come to me,

all you who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me,

for I'm gentle

and lowly in heart

and you will find rest

for your souls,

for my yoke is easy

and my burden

is light.

And then it's interesting

that straight after

recounting these words,

Matthew writes

that Jesus is Lord

of the Sabbath,

the God-ordained

time of resting in him.

It's also a shadow

of the wonderful

forever rest

that lies ahead

of people

who put their trust

in Jesus.

So if you want to rest

from the anxiety

of toil,

the struggle

of building

and protecting life,

accept Jesus

and come to him.

Put on Jesus' yoke

which is light

and easy.

But here's the thing,

to put on

this light

and easy yoke,

we have to take off

the heavy,

difficult yoke

of whatever it is

that's dragging us down.

Is it living up

to people's expectations?

Is it protecting

the things that you have

because you think

it all relies

on you?

Life doesn't become easy

necessarily overnight

when you put your trust

in Jesus.

It's not what he's

saying here.

But it does become

more peaceful

because we rest

not in what we've

stored up for a rainy

day,

but because of what

God has done

through Jesus,

his beloved,

for his beloved.

And that takes us

to our third,

final point.

Who is our

eternal inheritance?

Well,

the psalmist has told us

that one gift from God

has been able to sleep

even although we're

traveling through

a cursed world

and working

in a cursed workplace.

And that tells us

of a second blessing

that he gives to people

and that's children.

Verse 3 says,

Behold,

children are a heritage

from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb

a reward.

He calls his children

a heritage,

an inheritance,

and he calls them

a reward or wages.

So,

first of all,

I think maybe poignantly

that it's Mother's Day

today,

I didn't plan this,

but it gives

incredible honor

to those who

are raising children.

So,

those precious souls,

precious gifts

from God.

When I was in school,

we would say,

my mom just

stays at home.

Just.

C.S. Lewis

would disagree

with that just.

To paraphrase something

he wrote in a letter once

about,

it's a woman

who was struggling

being a mom,

everything was difficult.

And he said,

the homemaker

has the ultimate career.

All other careers

exist for one purpose

and that's to support

the ultimate career.

So,

keeping those at home

fed,

warm,

and safe

is the most important job

that there is,

Lewis says.

But it's not

a career

where you get

pay rises.

You don't get

promotions,

you don't get

an OBE

for services

to staying up

for 72 hours

straight

while your kids

are vomiting.

But the Lord knows.

He knows

that you read

your Bible

to your children

when nobody else

could possibly know.

He knows that

when you hold

your baby crying

and praying

at 3am

when you feel

like everyone else

in the world

is asleep.

He knows

that you need

him to be there

with you.

The psalmist

is saying

to you,

carer,

the Lord knows.

And the Lord's

not putting

a tally mark

onto your sheet

saying,

good job,

well done.

It's a credit

to your account.

He's saying,

my beloved,

I'm right here

with you

singing with you

to your little baby.

As you teach them

to pray,

I'm with you.

I'm the one

making those

precious seeds grow.

Trust me

to care for you

as you care

for your children.

And then in verses

4 and 5,

the psalmist

kind of suddenly

changes tone

because he chooses

battle language

to describe children.

He calls them

arrows in the hands

of a warrior.

He calls the one

who has them blessed.

The one with many

children will not

be put to shame

in front of his enemies.

So in the ancient world,

children,

and particularly

sons,

because of the society

they lived in,

they were protection.

More men

meant more power.

And having sons

was a sign of blessing

because it literally

meant you had

more workforce,

more soldiers,

whatever you need

those men

to be.

The references

to being not

to be shamed

in the city gates

because in those days

they would gather

at the gates

of the city

and make decisions,

make judgments

about how things

were going

to be handled.

So having somebody

in the family

capable of representing

you well

was super important.

So I think

we can think

about children

as arrows

in terms of the church.

So the church

passes from generation

to generation

and in itself

is extraordinary

when you think

about that.

And it's through

covenant children

that the church

will continue right

until the very end

of the age.

These arrows

are prepared

and they're sent.

That's also how God

through the church

pushes back

into the darkness,

pushing against

the forces of darkness

with a quiver

full of shards

of light.

We were

in the garden

a little while ago

thinking about

work

and protection

takes us back there

as well I think

because Adam

was to work

in the garden

but he was also

part of that job

was to protect it

and he failed.

He failed twice

as a protector.

He failed to protect

the garden

but he also failed

to protect his eve

from the snake.

And this just shows us

how desperately

we need

a protector.

Someone who will come

and protect us.

We need a son

who can place us

in a garden

and never let anyone

come and harm us.

The talk of children

can sometimes feel

awkward or problematic

because we know

that not everybody

is going to be a parent

and that's utterly

heartbreaking for people

and

it feels as though

speaking about children

is something

difficult to do.

but we know

that the Lord

can bring peace

to even the most

broken hearted.

If that's you

if you're in that position

you're not any less

beloved

because God

hasn't given you

children.

So to help us

understand the full

significance

I think

of what this message

about children

really means

we need to think

about the psalm

in the original

context

that it exists.

this is a psalm

of ascent

so this would have

been likely sung

by the children

of Israel

as they journeyed

up to Jerusalem

to worship God

in the temple

and to commemorate

their great feasts.

So there's 15 psalms

of ascent

and psalm 127

is the one right

in the middle

like the peak

in the pyramid

and this psalm

is attributed

to Solomon

so Solomon

was king of Israel

I don't know

if it was

two by or for Solomon

different people

think different things

maybe he commissioned

the song

because he was the one

who built the temple

and that's where

God's priests served

on behalf of the people

or maybe it was

written by Solomon

we know that he wrote

1005 songs

or maybe it's dedicated

to Solomon

because he's the one

who's kind of

the epitome

of human success

he's got all the wealth

and all the knowledge

the wisdom

but he came

to a disappointing end

when he started

to build without the Lord

people used to say

or some people say

that this psalm

is actually

two proverbs

kind of spliced together

so you've got

the first couple of verses

that are about building

and then you've got

the next three verses

that are about children

but I don't think

that's the case

and one of the reasons

I think that that's

not the case

that this psalm

is clearly one

combined thought

is a play on words

in the story

of 2 Samuel 7

so there David

who's Solomon's dad

David's king

and he decides himself

that he's going to

build a house

to the Lord

but God says to David

you're going to build

me a house

no

I'm going to build

you a house

when David said house

like in verse 1

he meant a temple

he's going to build

a temple for the Lord

but when God said house

he meant a dynasty

or a heritage

like in verse 3

God was going to build

David

a kingly line

of succession

and Solomon

inherited his father's throne

but it's from

this Davidic

kingly line

that the true

the great

king

was going to come

in Matthew

we can read

Jesus' genealogy

and it tells us

the genealogy

of Jesus Christ

the son of David

so Jesus

it's Jesus

who's the true

fulfillment

of the kingly

house of David

Solomon

he built

a physical temple

a house

where God

would dwell

God's presence

would be

with his people

but Jesus

is the temple

God himself

come to live

with his people

and Jesus

is also

the forever priest

in the temple

who makes sacrifices

and stands

before God

on behalf

of his people

so Jesus

is the temple

and Jesus

also said

he was going

to make

his people

his church

to be a living

temple

in Genesis

Jesus

God didn't just

curse the ground

and leave it

to rot

he promised

that the offspring

of the woman

the fruit of her womb

would come

and crush

the enemy

and that's Jesus

Jesus has come

and he's broken

the curse

and even although

we're still living

in a world

that's fallen

and broken

and where

work and security

and even family

so often feel

difficult

when we put

our trust

in Jesus

we get to

live

in him

work

rest

and praying

because we're

covered

by his righteousness

his goodness

so that means

that while

work rest

and play

might still be hard

God is teaching us

that he is with us

but also

that something

better

is waiting

for us

in John 14

2

Jesus says

he's going

to prepare

a place

for his people

in his father's

house

the forever

temple

so Jesus

is the one

from the kingly

line of David

who wasn't

welcomed

as a king

but who was

mocked

and slandered

and rejected

who wasn't

defended

in the gate

in front of his

enemies

but he was put

outside the city

to die

despite his

divine power

and strength

he didn't pursue

riches

or wealth

even his own

comfort

but he humbled

himself

and completed

the work

that God

gave him

to do

even to the

point

of death

God's beloved

became cursed

for us

not so that

we can make

more money

or get bigger

houses

or even

as heartbreaking

as it is

for some

people

to have

a family

so that we

can live

in this

new garden

city

that was

designed

and built

by God

where work

will never

be in vain

but will be

utterly

satisfying

where peace

and tranquility

will reign

because God

will live

with his

people

at the end

of the Bible

it talks

about

Jesus

as a

bridegroom

coming

for his

bride

and that's

the church

the bride

of Christ

is the church

when instead

of eating

anxious toil

the bread

of anxious toil

will feast

with Jesus

at a marriage

supper

Jesus finished

the work

that God

his father

gave him

to do

so that he

could bring

his people

glorious

blissful

eternal

rest

let's

pray

Lord God

we ask

that you

would bless

us to this

day

we

confess

we so

often

attempt

to build

our lives

on foundations

that are not

sure and

certain

we're often

so

tempted

to build

on our

own strength

or rely

on other

people

put pressure

on them

to deliver

for us

Lord help

us to be

looking to

you for

everything

that we

need

realizing

that Jesus

is our

greatest

treasure

the true

treasure

the one

thing

needful

and that

we would

be

our whole

lives

would be

oriented

around

pursuing

him

forgive us

for our

sins

in Jesus

name

Amen