Patience that Leads to Rest

Patience that Leads to Rest

(Psalm 127)

Yearly Theme:  “Patience is…”

Series Title:  “Character Traits of Patience”

May 22^nd, 2022

Something to think about:

GOD’s way is always best, even if it’s difficult at times, and GOD’s way always leads to rest as we patiently run a race that not many people compete in. 

We come to a Psalm attributed to King Solomon today.  It’s a Psalm about striving and building a life, a home, and a community under the leadership of GOD.  We can set out to do so many different things in life in our own strength and power, but unless we’re following GOD in these pursuits, our work is in vain.  Let’s take a look:

Psalm 127:1-5 (NLT),

¹ Unless the Lord builds a house,

the work of the builders is wasted.

Unless the Lord protects a city,

guarding it with sentries will do no good.

² It is useless for you to work so hard

from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat;

for God gives rest to his loved ones.

³ Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from him.

⁴ Children born to a young man

are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

⁵ How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!

He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. ^[1]

Biblical scholar Albert Barnes, writes, “From the psalm itself it would seem that it was composed mainly with reference to one who was entering on domestic life, and that it was intended to get before such a one the views which ought to guide him, or the thoughts which ought to occur to him.”^[2]  In the ancient Jewish culture (as in many orthodox Jewish homes today), domestic life centered on GOD is of paramount importance, as it should be for us in the Christian community.  The family structure is a divinely created system ordained by GOD as a means to a healthy functioning society.  This short Psalm reflects that system and its source:  GOD.  Living out the mandates of GOD within the world is a means of blessing and rest.

Here’s the takeaway this morning:

Key Point:  “GOD gives rest to those He loves.”

There are two main points from this passage that prove this point:

• The diligent worker who relies on GOD need not  .

Psalm 127:1-2 (NLT), ¹ Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.  Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.  ² It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

• The home built by GOD is a  .

Psalm 127:3-5 (NLT), ³ Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  ⁴ Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.  ⁵ How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!  He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

Something to take home:

As the old story goes,

“One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest.  The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break.  The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day.  At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had.  ‘I don’t get it,’ he said.  ‘Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.’  ‘But you didn’t notice,’ said the winning woodsman, ‘I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.’”[3] (Source unknown).

If we look at a life dedicated to GOD, fully trusting in Him for the outcome of circumstances, we become more at peace with life and what it throws at us.  When we take the time to allow GOD to sharpen us through blessing and rest, we are able to accomplish more than we ever could in our own strength and power.  When we take the time to follow GOD’s lead in building a life, a family, or a healthy society, we have less worry about what tomorrow will bring, and are able to fully live in the present.

1. A. Motyer writes, “All life must be lived to the full, all its joys enjoyed and its duties performed in unworried reliance on him who is the doer of all. Joyful activity, toilsome activity—but full of untroubled rest.”^[4]

Key Point:  “GOD gives rest to those He loves.”

^[1] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Ps 127:1–5.

^[2] Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms, vol. 3 (London: Blackie & Son, 1870–1872), 249.

[3] Source Unknown.  Copyright 2022, Family Times.

^[4] J. A. Motyer, “The Psalms,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 574.