Devotional
Short Note to Psalm 127: The psalm is of Solomon and regardless what
commentaries are trying to spin out, the psalm breath and taste Solomonic.
Solomon got the name Yedidah in 2 Samuel 12:25 “the beloved [Yedidah] of the
Lord” and according to 1 Kings 3:5-14, it was given while he was sleeping. In
comparison here in 127:2 it says “so the Lord will give to His beloved
[Yedidah] sleeping”. Calvin and many scholars kept to Solomon as author but
Clarke in his commentary pointed to the time of Nehemiah. Not necessary.
Solomon
learned this lesson in his life: “If the Lord will not built a house [there is
no definite article in the original so it can be any house not necessarily the
temple], vain labor they that built it” (127:1b-c).
“If
the Lord will not keep the city, vain the watchman keep wake” (127:1d-e).
“Vain
it is rising early, late sit up eating bread of toil. So He gives to His
beloved sleeping” (127:2a-d).
If
God is not the center of whatever we are doing, we might as well stop
regardless whether it is working for the church or preaching or teaching at one
of our churches or Universities. The essence of all our actions must be the
Trinity and any action void of that is in vain, regardless the appearance or
reception of the actions. Human glorification cannot sanction the decision of
God and neither can it replace His decision either. There are denominations
that act as vicarius filii dei, meaning “substitute of the Son of God” and that
Latin number adds up to 6 hundred and 6-ty six. Now you know why.
“Look,
a heritage of the Lord are sons, reward is fruit of the womb” (127:3a-b).
Females are not excluded here since they are also fruit from the womb. The Lord
takes care of a father’s heritage by giving him a son or sons and whether sons
of daughters, they are rewards from the Lord equally (127:3b). In a translation
of 16 tablets from Niniveh, C. H. W. Johns in his book “Assyrian Doomsday Book”
1901 mentions situations listed where females were holders of heritage in the
absence of men. That was in 650 BCE. (For pastors see www.archive.org
online and page 6ff. mentioned these cases). Scrap the idea that the Old
Testament style is to discriminate against females or the Levant culture was
that way. Do not superimpose modern feminism and gender-deviations’ outcry
against the biblical text, over the Bible and then try to quiet its demands.
“As
arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are sons of one’s youth” (127:4a-b).
“Happy
is the man that has filled his quiver of them” (127:5a). Why are they happy? “They
shall not be put to shame when they will speak to their enemies in the gate”
(127:5b-c). The reason they will be happy is that when the father has to go to
speak in a court-setting in the gate before the elders as judges, the sons
stands next to him as organ-pipes and it makes a good impression on the judges
that they are all defending the father’s cause.