"WHEN YOU GO HOME ON THE JOURNEY"
Psalm 127-128
July 27, 2008
SERIES: "SONGS FOR THE JOURNEY"
Once upon a time, there was a man who lived with his wife, two small children, and his elderly parents in a tiny hut. He tried to be patient and gracious, but the noise and crowded conditions wore him down. In desperation, he consulted the village wise man. "Do you have a rooster?" asked the wise man. "Yes," he replied. "Keep the rooster in the hut with your family, and come see me next week." The next week, the man returned and told the wise elder that living conditions were worse than ever, with the rooster crowing and making a mess of the hut. "Do you have a cow?" asked the wise elder. The man nodded fearfully. "Take your cow into the hut as well, and come see me next week." Over the next several weeks, the man, on the advice of the wise elder, made room for a goat, two dogs, and his brother's children. Finally, he could take no more, and in a fit of anger, kicked out all the animals and guests, leaving only his wife, his children, and his parents. The home suddenly become spacious and quiet and everyone lived happily ever after.
That story, from the Hope Health Letter, illustrates how content we ought to be with our families. There is no question that the health of the church and the health of each community rest on the family life that is practiced within them. How we need to hear this again and again in these days of so much family breakdown. We�re going to look at two Psalms of Ascent today that speak to the theme of the family. And we know that at least one of them is attributed to Solomon, although both of them could have been written by him, because both have the form of what is called the Wisdom Psalm. Taking these two Psalms together, I want to bring out two primary principles for us to consider today as we continually "go home" on this journey - until we ARE home. The first is this:
DON'T FORGET YOUR GOD. (127:1-2; 128:1-4)
God is sovereign. We have established that in previous Psalms. Because of that, we are called to two vital responses. First, WE MUST DEPEND ON THE LORD. We can't help but notice that the phrase "in vain" is seen three times in the opening verses of Psalm 127, in the context of five pursuits - building the house, watching over the city, rising early, staying up late, and toiling for food. It is GOD who builds the house (here, probably meaning both the structure in which the family lives, and the lineage or family line); it is GOD who guards the city (without him, cities crumble from within through corruption and violence, a trend which is happening all too often here today); and it is GOD who grows the harvest. And this is not just an Old Testament concept. Jesus said it very clearly:
I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. (John 15:5, Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verse 2 is certainly not advocating laziness. But it is saying that we cannot be self-sufficient, with an "I did it myself" attitude. Martin Luther's words should be taken to heart.
Who put the silver and gold in the mountains? Who fertilized the soil of the field that is ripe with harvests of grain, grapes, and all sorts of produce? Who gave animals and birds the ability to reproduce, thereby providing food for us? God preceded us and laid out the blessings that people would later discover.
God said through Moses:
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors (Deuteronomy 8:18, Today's NIV)
When we forget this, and things go well for us, we tend to become arrogant; and when they go south, we start to worry and doubt. Both are wrong. James Houston writes:
The desert fathers (a protest movement against worldliness in the early church) spoke of busyness as "moral laziness." Busyness can also be an addictive drug, which is why its victims are increasingly referred to as "workaholics." Busyness acts to repress our inner fears and personal anxieties, as we scramble to achieve an enviable image to display to others. We become "outward" people, obsessed with how we appear, rather than "inward" people, reflecting on the meaning of our lives.
Lack of rest and neglect of family may simply be a cover-up for not trusting God to provide. Be balanced. Be willing to give up control to God. Work hard, but in the end, trust him for your daily bread.
Secondly, these verses tell us that WE MUST REVERENCE THE LORD. See verse 1 of Psalm 128. These words certainly have the echo of Solomon behind them. It is he who wrote that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Here, it literally says, "Blessed is every fearer of the Lord." The term carries with a two-fold idea, that of having wonder before God's glory and mighty works, while at the same time, having a sense of fear before his holiness and justice. In other words, we are called to take him seriously. Truth be told, we tend to take ourselves far too seriously and God not nearly seriously enough. But the writer is clear: Those who fear the Lord are blessed (plural to make it more of a compound word - in other words, really, really blessed.) There is genuine happiness in having a proper respect for the Lord. It helps us to be complete according to God's purpose.
And part of that blessing, part of that reward for fearing the Lord, is good family life in itself. In verse 2, the reward is PROSPERITY. That is, the family has a rich life together, not necessarily in material things, but in true community, joy, mutual respect, and love. Then, in verse 6, the second reward is LONGEVITY. Those who are blessed get to enjoy their grandchildren and a sense of deep peace.
Now at this point, I need to interject something about the nature of proverbs. Even though this text and the entire Book of Proverbs and the other wisdom literature of the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit and infallible, we still need to interpret the Bible literally, and I mean in the classic sense in which this term is meant - that is, according to the form of literature that appears in any given section. Proverbs are not hard and fast rules. They are general principles. Not every blessed person who fears the Lord will have material wealth or constant joy. Some blessed people can still have heartaches from children who stray, or other problems. And certainly, some blessed people's lives are cut short by disease, accident, natural disaster, or violence. But in general, fearing the Lord leads to the above rewards. And those who truly know the Lord and walk with him will still have a sense of rich blessing, even if their lives are relatively short. Consider, for example, Robert Murray McCheyne, who we mentioned last week, who died at age 30; or Jim Eliot and his companions who were martyred at a young age in Ecuador while on mission to the Auca Indians; or our own Brethren member, Ted Studebaker, whose life was cut off violently while serving peacefully in Vietnam.
The main thing to remember is that for the blessed person who fears the Lord, Christ must be first. We must be believers and marry other believers if we want to have strong and stable homes. Depend on the Lord. Fear the Lord. Don't forget your God. And then other main principle shown in these two Psalms is:
DON'T NEGLECT YOUR FAMILY. (Psalm 127:3-5; 128:3-6)
The first thing to remember is this: CHERISH YOUR SPOUSE. There is no doubt that the home is the fountainhead of good civic life. America has forgotten that and is paying a huge price. Let's remember that this is written in the context of a patriarchal structure, and so the emphasis is on the wife. But this principle goes either way. We are called to "submit to one another" in Ephesians 6 before the wives are called to be subject to their husbands and the husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
Please notice, first of all, that there is just ONE VINE. Yes, I know that some of the Old Testament figures, including godly ones, practiced polygamy according to surrounding customs. But God's intention at the beginning is crystal clear: "a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife" (singular). Note also, the phrase, �within your home.� The wife and the husband should find their joy and delight there, before anything else, including their work. They should find joy and having and raising children, although couples today are choosing not to have children, for various reasons, but the root of many of them is that these "adults" don't want to have their fun lifestyles cramped by babies.
Did you hear about young bride who complained to her friend, "My husband and I are getting along together fairly well, but he simply can't bear children." "Oh, well," the friend consoled her, "You can't expect men to do everything!" Well, that's true. God has given that burden, privilege, and responsibility of childbearing to the woman. But the rest of the work of rearing children is given to both. And they should find delight in this. See how the Psalmist refers to the special nature of mealtimes in the home. One of the most American paintings is Norman Rockwell's portrait of the family Thanksgiving dinner. Most of you have probably seen it - four generations of a family enjoying fellowship at the feast. Each family meal at the table should seem like a banquet. In this day of varying schedules, and meals on the run, we need to make time for some meals where we can still talk to one another around the table. But it begins with the relationship of husband and wife, of mom and dad. The best gift you can give to your children is to let them see that you love and cherish each other.
What naturally follows this relationship is that you VALUE YOUR CHILDREN. The Psalmist gives us three word pictures to help us to understand how to see our children.
First, he says that children are a Heritage. They are not an inconvenience. They are a GIFT. There are no "accidental" pregnancies with God. I like what Rick Warren said. There may be some illegitimate parents, but there are no illegitimate children. And these gifts will pay godly dividends later. That is made clear in Psalm 127:5. Mennonite commentator James Walther clarifies the meaning of this verse:
A large family, particularly sons, would inherit family property and continue the family name. In that culture, the gift of many stalwart sons made a father feel secure in the protection and defensive power they represented. Or at the city gate, where judicial proceedings took place, a man with many sons would not be wrongly deprived of his rights, as often was the case with widows, orphans, and aliens, who had no family to protect their interests.
The second word picture the writer uses is that children are Fruit. This is in Psalm 128:3. The children will be like olive shoots off of the fruitful vine of the mother. This is a picture of long life (like the olive tree) and productivity (in staples, like olive wood, olive oil, and the olives themselves.) Therefore, we, as parents, and as a church family, need to lovingly cultivate our children.
The final word picture may seem to be the strangest one. The writer says that children are like Arrows. Now arrows cannot direct themselves. One of the most asinine things a parent can say is that they feel they need to let their children make their own decisions, even about faith. Perhaps the most well known saying in the Book of Proverbs is found in Proverbs 22:6. "Train up a child in the way he should go; when he is old, he will not depart from it." (English Standard Version) But this verse is seldom understood correctly. The verb, translated "train up" comes from a Hebrew root, meaning "palate, gums, or roof of the mouth." It is used to describe two different actions in two unrelated realms. For newborn infants, midwives would dip a finger in the juice of crushed grapes or in some olive oil. Then they would rub the palate and gums of the baby, causing the child to suck. Then they would place the infant on the mother's breasts for nourishment. The second use of the verb was for young horses. When they were wild, a rope would be placed in their mouth as a bridle, and they would then be ridden until they were "broken." The meaning is clear. Parents are to: (1) create thirst for spiritual life in their children, and (2) break the stubborn will in their children and work to replace it with a gentle, tender spirit. This is what it means to train them up. And note also, it's to be done "in the way he should go," that is, according to the way God made them. This means there is no cookie-cutter method to child training and discipline. What works best for one child will not necessarily be best for another. This is why parents need so much wisdom from the Lord.
If we will see our children in these ways and treat them accordingly, they will provide Personal Blessings. They will be for us a fruitful garden, not an ugly desert. This does not mean that everyone will have children, let alone many children. But you can still be a blessing to your family. They will also bring Civic Blessings. They will make a dent in the society for good when they grow up. We often stress the effects of the parents' iniquities to following generations. But let's also speak of the blessings of the righteousness of parents filtering down into and through their children. And verse 6 of Psalm 128 says that children can ultimately bring National Blessings. All of "Israel" can have peace as your children pass on the training that you give them right now. In a generation or two, we can see even this nation turned around, should Christ delay in coming. Reawakening and return to godly values in this land will not come from Washington or from Tallahassee. It will come from our churches, and our homes.
And so the writer ends with pronouncing a blessing. And I'll say it again, We need to be regularly blessing our children, as Jesus did. We need to love them, hug them, play with them, and let them know that they are precious to us. And this is why it is important that parents have their children dedicated to the Lord early on - so that blessing can be pronounced upon them, that their training will end with their becoming believers and living lives of doing good to the whole land.
I have two thoughts to close with. If God is first, and if we are to fear him, then we need to build our homes on him. That means we need to be believers, and we need to marry believers. No unequal yokes! Then we can work and pray together to train up godly children who will carry this on into future generations. Again, my legacy will not be a huge church. I've accepted that. But Cindy and I have two children in set-apart ministry, and they are affecting more people than, in many ways, I have. And if that is my only legacy, that is enough.
Second, we need to pray for our children and our grandchildren. These are tough and dangerous times, and they need our intercession, perhaps as never before. We need to pray for their salvation, for their safety, for their spiritual growth, for their deliverance from evil. This is a vital part of our blessing of them.
Once more, I close with two hymns by the great hymn writer, Isaac Watts, based on these two Psalms. First from Psalm 127:
If God succeed, not all the cost and pains to build the house are lost,
If God the city will not keep, the watchful guards as well may sleep.
What if you rise before the sun, and work and toil when day is done;
Careful and sparing of your bread, to shun the poverty you dread?
'Tis all in vain, till God hath blest, he can make rich, yet give us rest;
Children and friends are blessings, too, if God our Sovereign make them so.
Happy the man to whom he sends obedient children, faithful friends,
How sweet our daily comforts prove when they are seasoned with his love!
And then his hymn from Psalm 128:
O happy man whose soul is filled with zeal and rev'rend awe!
His lips to God their honors yield, his life adorns the Law.
A careful providence shall stand and ever guard thy head,
Shall on the labors of thy hand its kindly blessings shed.
Thy wife shall be a fruitful vine, thy children round thy board;
Each like a plant to honor shine, and learn to fear the Lord.
The Lord shall thy best hopes fulfill, for months and years to come;
The Lord, who dwells on Zion's hill, shall send thee blessings home.
This is the man whose happy eyes shall see his house increase;
Shall see the blessed saints arise, and leave the world in peace.
Let's pray.