Unless the LORD Builds: Work, Rest, and the Gift of Children. Psalm 127 teaches that human effort, planning, and vigilance
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Jesus Christ.
John 1:17
Sandor Viczian
Unless the LORD Builds: Work, Rest, and the Gift of Children.
Psalm 127 teaches that human effort, planning, and vigilance are ultimately empty if the LORD is not the one establishing and guarding the work. It warns against anxious striving—rising early, staying up late, and living on “the bread of sorrows”—as though outcomes rest on human pressure rather than God’s providence. The psalm then reframes fruitfulness as a gift from the LORD, especially in the blessing of children as a heritage from Him. It presents family and legacy not as self-made achievements, but as God-given strength and joy. The chapter’s purpose is to bring believers back to humble dependence: build, labor, and watch—but do it in faith, not in unbelieving control.
Psalms 127:1 – 127:5
1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.
2 [It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the Lord: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
4 As arrows [are] in the hand of a mighty man; so [are] children of the youth.
5 Happy [is] the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
We Believe…
In one God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
In the absolute deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His substitutionary and atoning death for all through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory to judge the living and the dead;
In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is empowered to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ;
In the divine inspiration of all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments as originally given, guaranteeing their infallibility, entire trustworthiness, and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct;
That all people are sinners and cannot save themselves. Salvation is received as a free gift of God’s grace, apart from works, through repentance and personal faith in the redemptive work of Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit;
In the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the eternal blessedness of the saved, and the eternal punishment of the lost;
In the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ who are thus members of His Body, the Church, whose work is the worship of God, perfecting the saints, and evangelization of the world.
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