Vanity of Self-Sufficiency

Heavenly Father, we long to see

your name exalted

and the pride of man humbled.

And that's the aim of this psalm.

So Lord,

we pray that you would

humble us and bring us down so low

to a point where we accurately

assess who we are

in light of how great you are.

So that in our humility, in our

emptiness,

you might exalt us,

you might fill us,

you might be all in all.

That you might finally receive the glory

that is due to your name in our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Psalm 127, verses 1 to 5.

Psalms 127 · chapter mention

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 lay 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,

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 God's holy and authoritative word.

There's a famous saying

that you guys may have heard of.

It says,

Man proposes,

but the Lord disposes.

It's a famous translation

of a Latin phrase

that Thomas DeCempis

made famous through his book,

The Imitation of Christ.

The Imitation of Christ.

It's really a distillation

of Proverbs 19, 21,

which many of you are familiar with.

Many are the plans

in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord

that will stand.

Because there is a widespread illusion

among humankind

that we are masters of our own fate.

But the truth is that we control

an infinitesimally small fraction,

a small fraction of the myriad factors

in life, in the world,

in society,

and around us

that affect us,

influence us.

In fact,

we are not in control at all

if we really reflect on that reality.

And Psalm 127

is a timely reminder of that,

that we should engage

all of our endeavors

with conscious dependence on the Lord.

The first two verses,

the first trophy,

talks about the vanity

of self-sufficiency.

And then verses three to five

talk about the blessedness

of God dependency.

So let's look at verses one to two.

First,

it repeats the phrase

in vain three times.

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.

The word vanity here

means worthlessness

or futility,

that it's futile,

that it is for naught,

it's a waste

to engage in these activities

apart from the Lord's superintendence.

First,

it says,

unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

The Hebrew word for house

is often used in scripture

to refer to God's temple,

the house of God.

And for a number of reasons,

I think that's the original context

in which this psalm was composed.

And I think it had the house

and the household of God

in view at first.

First,

if you look at

the subtitle of the psalm,

we know that it belongs

to a collection

that we've been in

for a few months now,

the Songs of Ascent,

Psalms 120 to 134.

The consistent theme

of all the psalms

in this collection,

Songs of Ascent,

is that it captures

a longing

for Jerusalem

and for God's temple.

It depicts

this metaphorical

ascent

toward the dwelling place

of God.

And secondly,

the rest of the subtitle

says,

of Solomon.

So,

this means

either that Solomon

composed the psalm

or that the psalm

deals with the circumstances

that are related

to Solomon.

And verse 1

can be referring

to the time

when Solomon,

of course,

was building up

Jerusalem

and constructing

the temple of God,

the house of God.

And then,

thirdly,

verse 2 says,

the Lord gives

to his beloved

sleep.

The phrase,

his beloved,

is likely

a reference

to Solomon

because we know

from 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 12:24

chapter 12

verse 24

and 25

that the Lord's

beloved

is Solomon's

nickname.

It says

in that passage,

in that verse,

2 Samuel 12,

24,

25,

the Lord loved

Solomon

and sent the message

by Nathan the prophet.

So,

he called his name,

Solomon's name,

Jedediah

because of the Lord.

Jedediah means,

literally,

the Lord's beloved.

It's the same word

that's used here

in this psalm.

So,

the subtitle

gives us a clue

to that,

of Solomon.

So,

if Solomon wrote

Psalm 127

as the subtitle

seems to suggest

or if that's

the original background

in which the psalm

was written,

Solomon understood

that unless

the Lord

builds his house,

unless the Lord

watches over his city,

even the diligent

construction efforts

by the greatest

architects

and engineers

and craftsmen,

builders,

even the vigilant

defense of

the bravest

military

would be for nothing.

It would all be waste.

But this doesn't mean

that the psalm

only applies

to Solomon's

original context.

We know that

this poem

was included

in the Psalter

for God's people

to use

in corporate worship

for generations

to come.

So,

we know that's not

the only context

in which it applies.

The word house

is generic.

It can refer

not only to God's temple,

but it can also refer

to people's houses,

literal,

physical houses,

or to their households,

their families.

And the rest of the psalm

does seem to apply

the phrase more

generically in that way,

to build a house

in a metaphorical sense

of building one's family

as well.

And so then,

we can apply this

to our own lives

in a number of ways,

and we could ask ourselves

the questions

like this,

what is the house

that you are laboring

to build in your life?

What is the city

that you are watching

over in your life?

What do you worry

about in life?

However you answer

that question,

if the Lord

is not in the picture,

this psalm is telling us

that it's in vain,

it's futile,

worthless.

If we examine our lives,

I think often

we substitute

our own names

in the place of the Lord.

If you look at verse 1,

unless Sean

builds the house,

those who build it

labor in vain.

Unless Sean

watches over the city,

the watchman

stays awake in vain.

That's what I do sometimes

in my sinfulness,

right?

What arrogance

and self-importance

we are obsessed

with how vital

we are

to our families

and to our society,

but the Lord says,

no,

that's not the truth.

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.

Unless the Lord

builds the church,

all pastors

labor in vain.

we are not in control

of our own lives.

Our strict diet,

exercise regimen

for our health

and well-being

can be derailed

by cancer

or a car wreck.

Our disciplined study

and diligent work

for our career success

can be derailed

by a recession.

Our best laid plans

can be derailed

by a pandemic.

And these are only

the most dramatic

examples, right?

There are countless ways

to demonstrate

that we are simply

not in control

of our own lives.

Now,

I'm not saying

forget about these things

altogether.

We should work diligently.

We should take care

of ourselves.

We should be prudent.

I mean,

eating Oreos

and drinking Coca-Cola

every day,

trusting that God's

going to keep you healthy

is not faith.

That's presumption,

right?

That's not entrusting

ourselves to God's

purposes and priorities.

That's co-opting God

for our purposes

and priorities, right?

Similarly,

being irresponsible

during a pandemic

and attending

packed rock concerts

and playing flag football

with a whole bunch

of people,

presuming upon God's

extraordinary protection

while neglecting

the ordinary means

of protection

that he has given us

is not faith

but presumption.

It's difficult

to balance this sometimes

because presumption

often masquerades

as faith

and faithlessness

often masquerades

as wisdom.

And Numbers 13-14

give us a good example

give us good examples

of both.

After the Israelite spies

returned from

surveying the land

of Canaan,

the land that the Lord

had promised to give them,

they bring a

discouraging report

saying,

all the people

we saw in it

are of great height

and there we saw

the Nephilim,

the sons of Anak

who come from the Nephilim

and we seem to ourselves

like grasshoppers

and so we seem to them.

So think about it

from a worldly perspective.

Would you want to go

fighting against

a society full of

LeBron Jameses?

Would you want to fight

against a society

full of Olympic athletes

even when they

outnumber you?

That makes no sense.

That is stupid.

That is worldly-wise foolish.

And so at that point

people lose courage

and rebel against the Lord

saying it would have been

better for them

to stay in Egypt

but Joshua and Caleb

challenged them saying,

the land which we

passed through

to spy it out

is an exceedingly good land.

If the Lord delights in us

He will bring us

into this land

and give it to us.

A land that flows

with milk and honey.

Only do not rebel

against the Lord

and do not fear

the people of the land

for they are bred for us.

Literally,

that's like,

I guess that's Hebrew idiom

for saying piece of cake.

You know,

they're bred for us.

Their protection

is removed from them

and the Lord is with us.

Do not fear them.

Now the people,

however,

don't listen to Joshua

and Caleb

and they try instead

to stone him to death

forcing the Lord

to intervene

and show up in His glory

to put the fear of God

back into their hearts.

And as a punishment

for their faithfulness

the Lord decrees

that Israel will have to

wander the wilderness

for 40 years

and none of the people

who grumbled against Him

will enter the promised land.

Only their children

and Joshua and Caleb

who are faithful to Him.

And now at that point

people regret

what they have done

and they proceed

to march toward battle

against the Amalekites

and the Canaanites

despite the fact

that the Lord

had already declared

that He's no longer

with them in battle.

And so it says

in Numbers 14

Numbers 14:44–45

verses 44 to 45

Now this episode

is a picture of a contrast

between faith

and presumption.

Joshua and Caleb

had faith

that God would give them

victory in line

with His purposes

and priorities.

The people of Israel

on the other hand

vacillated between

faithlessness

and presumption

which are actually

two sides of the same coin

because both have man

rather than God

at the center

of their outlook.

Measuring their military strength

up against that

of the Canaanites

and judging their prospect

for victory

purely in human terms

without putting God

in the equation

and then losing courage

and refusing to go up

in the battle.

That's faithlessness.

Of course

from the point

of worldly wisdom

it was stupid

and foolish

to fight

when your strength

is small

compared to that

of your enemies

but it's not stupid

if God is on your side.

Likewise

insisting on

going up into battle

when you are outnumbered

and when you don't have

God's special assurance

of deliverance

thinking that you could win

that's presumption.

we have to avoid both.

Now in our area

where we live

in Cambridge

a city full of

competent people

self-sufficient people

we more often find

faithlessness

masquerading as

wisdom.

Many people are anxious

and fearful

because they believe

that they are

masters of their own fate

and that is

the truth

if you

come to grip

with it

a terrifying possibility

if that is true.

But verse 2

exhorts us otherwise

it says

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.

So let me ask you

these questions

what keeps you up

at night?

What preoccupies you

with anxiety?

maybe it is

what people think

of you

maybe

it is

concern of

keeping yourself

and or your family

and friends

healthy

maybe it is

making sure

that you are

getting paid

and putting food

on the table

maybe it is

advancing your career

being successful

you might

you know

be more careful

with sanitary things

and social distancing

than anybody else

in the world

you might work

more hours

than anybody else

in the world

you might study

harder than anybody

else in the world

you might be more

gifted than anybody

else in the world

but it is all in vain

if the Lord

is not with you

in your endeavors

that is the vanity

of self-sufficiency

especially for the Christian

and then in contrast

in verses 3-5

the psalmist

gives us this picture

of the blessedness

of God dependency

he says

behold

children are a heritage

from the Lord

the fruit of the womb

a reward

notice the contrast

in verse

between verse 2

and verse 3

it's described

as the bread

of anxious toil

that we lose sleep over

always toiling

trying to earn our way

towards survival

and self-adventment

and contrast

that with the phrase

of verse 3

the fruit of the womb

of reward

not anxious toil

but a reward

that God graciously gives

and this is the picture

of what happens

when the Lord

builds a house

the Lord builds

the household

children are a heritage

through the womb

a reward

it's given by the Lord

not earned

by clawing our way

and pulling ourselves

up by our own

bootstraps

and then verse 4

continues

so the two images

of building one's house

and one's household

and of watching

over a city

guarding a city

in verse 1

both of those

have their kind of

matching sections

in verses 3 to 5

children are heritage

fruit of the womb

of reward

and our children

that we're blessed with

when we're in our youth

they grow up

and are able to

stand with us

to defend us

and to come by our side

like arrows

in the hand of a warrior

this is the city

this is the household

that is built up securely

that is protected

by the Lord

and that is described

not as in vain

it's not vanity

but rather it is

blessedness

our own striving

and our own

and our own

self-sufficiency

is vanity

but our striving

in the Lord

in God dependency

is blessedness

verse 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

and

and ultimately

like all the psalms

and like all

passages of scripture

this is fulfilled

in the Lord Jesus

who is the

who is described

in 1 Corinthians

as the builder

the one

who

who

who builds

the household

of God

ultimately

in

in the

strength of the Lord

in the spirit

of the Lord

and he

does everything

well

and

and he

was a picture

during his life

of being completely

entrusted to his father

saying and doing

only what he saw

his father say

and do

and

and in

in perfect

example of that

he died on the cross

in obedience to the father

in perfect submission

not

not working

for the bread

of anxious toil

but trusting

his father

resting in him

and out of that

came

the fruitful

the fruit of the womb

a reward

the fruit of many children

in the household of God

all of our salvation

and

and

and that is what

gives us all

when we hope

that even

even

when

the circumstances

in this world

are not ideal

even when things

are not going

the way we would like

it is

God dependency

that is blessed

not self-sufficiency

and

and when we trust in him

and live in that way

God

we

our lives too

will be fruitful

in much the same way

Jesus life

even though it may have

looked like

a tragedy

from a worldly

point of view

was fruitful

towards salvation

of many

so let's

um