For Expectations, Met & Unmet
Psalm 127
1 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.
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.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
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.
One Prayer
In ministry circles, I have often heard the 127th Psalm quoted in multiple different contexts. In some, verse 1 is often cited as a reminder that, despite any efforts a laborer puts in, it is in vain unless the Lord goes before them. In other contexts, verses 3–5 are cited as a reminder that children are a gift and are to be stewarded and sent out missionally to the ends of the earth. Both of these interpretations may be correct, but how do the two relate? Clearly, in the mind of the Psalmist, these two stanzas were not written as two separate ideas, but one prayer that came from the overflow of Solomon’s heart.
This Psalm should come as a shock to us, as Solomon, the builder of God’s great “house” (v. 1, see also 1 Kings 6) cries out to the Lord that his building is in vain apart from the Lord’s initiatory grace. The only way that any of Solomon’s designers and architects could accomplish the labor was through the free gift of God’s grace. Similarly, to carefully create a defensive force that would protect the city apart from the Lord protecting them is in vain (v. 1b). This only reinforces the interpretation of the text that this should humble us in our planmaking. You’ve made plans. Plans to thrive in ministry, plans to prosper (Jer. 29:11), plans to have children, plans to get married, plans to be successful in your workplace. In fact, you may be accomplishing those plans, just as Solomon did. But the reminder from Solomon’s heart is one of humility—unless the Lord initiates and continues the work, there’s no hope for the provision you long for.
This vision for humble work is only encouraged by the following stanza. When combining the two ideas, however—namely that (1) the Lord is the initiatory and sustaining work, and that (2) the Lord graciously provides children as a gift—it is easy to see that the “gift” that Solomon particularly has in mind is not necessarily only the building of God’s “house” (the temple), but that God is the one who builds Solomon’s family. Children are a “heritage” (literally, “inheritance”) from the LORD (v. 3). They are a “reward” to the faithful. Any man would be blessed to have a household full of them (v. 5a), and that blessing is shown toward that family through great honor even in the midst of one’s greatest enemies (v. 5b).
Our Planmaking
Oftentimes, especially in a young church like our own, it can be easy for us to articulate plans for our family with much hope (as we should!). Maybe we want to get married by the end of this year, and have children in the next two. Maybe you want to be spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially ready before taking the next step in your family. And—to be clear—none of those things are necessarily bad plans. But the danger with that kind of endless planmaking is that, even subconsciously, we create expectations that become lines in the sand that prove either that God is extra faithful to us, or completely unfaithful to us. If God does not open the womb, if the wedding isn’t planned, if catastrophe occurs, then he has abandoned us and is not good in His character.
What Solomon’s prayer is meant to remind us of is that our endless planmaking is in vain if the Lord does not bless our plans. The Lord may not open the womb, the Lord may not want you in that job position, the Lord may not want you married just yet. One particularly stands above the rest as proof of this, and it’s right in the heart of Solomon’s Psalm. You can selfishly work your way into some job position. You can coerce someone into marriage. But, even despite our best efforts of manipulation of the womb, only God can miraculously provide children. To meditate on this reality should humble us as we “family plan,” and as we make plans in any portion of our life. Just as God miraculously provides children, so God miraculously brings about our other plans.
God’s Promise
Yet, in the midst of quite a humbling Psalm, there is a beautiful promise for us as we make our plans: God longs to give us good things. As a Father who loves us (Psalm 103:13, Matt. 7:11), he longs to give us good gifts. Notice the promise in verse 2: Despite the vanity of one’s anxious planmaking (“eating the bread of anxious toil”), God promises something to those He loves: sleep. The Lord promises what the Hebrews knew as Sabbath—the ability to stop from work and trust in God’s gracious provision by faith. For the Christian, we can look and say that God has shown us this finally in the person and work of his Son. There is no better example of God’s gracious provision of children than the time he opened the womb of a virgin woman to give us the Savior of the world. That child would be the heritage of the nations. And that child would be the One through whom we would receive ultimate sleep.
For those who are suffering from the failure of our own planmaking, the promise of sleep is a salve for our weary souls. The Lord wants to give you rest, and he wants to go before you to provide for you. On the opposite end of arrogant planmaking is that of hopelessness, but Solomon is far from saying that it’s a bad thing to expect big things from God. In fact, he emphasizes the exact opposite. He doesn’t want us to be hopeless, but hopeful. This is why “children are a heritage from the LORD”—the Lord wants to answer the prayers of our planmaking!
Met & Unmet Expectations
In response, for those of us who have made plans, there are two responses:
For those of us who have experienced the meeting of our expectations and planmaking, we must remember that the only reason our plans have been accomplished (whether for family, work, or otherwise), is because the Lord has sovereignly ordained that they come to pass. We should also be careful to worship the Lord for sustaining us in those gifts, lest we overlook the fact that the Lord could take away any good gift at any moment (see Job 1–2, for example).
On the other hand, for those of us who have not seen our expectations or planmaking met, remember the promise that the Lord wants to give you good gifts, and particularly “sleep” in the midst of your anxious planmaking. The longing to see God answer your prayers in line with his desires (Ps. 37:4) is a good thing. It’s actually a good thing that you desire children (Ps. 127:5), or that you desire that promotion to be able to steward God’s resources, or that you desire to be married (Pvb. 31:10), if those things are asked for and received from the Lord.
For all of us, the promise remains the same: The Lord gives to His beloved sleep. Rest in that. Know that this promise is sealed upon us, and shown to us fully in the person and work of His Son. For there has been no greater example of God’s gracious provision.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32 ESV
