Psalm 127 is a psalm which reminds us that successful building – in any and every sphere of life – depends on solid foundations and trust in God (see Prov 3:5-6). Jesus Himself reminded us of this when He told His disciples, ‘Apart from me you can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) These statements may seem to us to be flagrantly untrue, for there are clearly many things that man can achieve without God. Nonetheless, the Bible affirms that for things to last, we need the spiritual element as well as any other skills that are required.
The building references in this psalm obviously remind us of the temple building (in both Solomon’s time and after the exile, when building restoration was overseen by Nehemiah), but they also remind us that God needs to be involved in our everyday lives as well, whether that’s referring to actual building of houses or our family life (in Hebrew, ‘banim’ refers to builders and ‘bonim’ to sons, so there is a poetic connection between the two themes in this psalm.) Jesus told us that God is interested in the everyday aspects of living (clothes, food, houses and so on) (Matt 6:25-34) and gave us the key to success in reminding us that if we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, all the other things will fall into place! (Matt 6:33) Restful reliance on God may seem idealistic, but this psalm warns against our frantic lifestyles and self-sufficient culture. God grants sleep to those he loves (Ps 127:2); rest is commanded in Scripture (Ex 20:10) not only because we need it physically, but because we also need to acknowledge that the end of our capabilities is actually only the start of God’s. This psalm deals with very concrete, practical situations and affirms God’s presence and activity at the heart of everyday life.