The Labor That Fails

Psalms 127:1-2

“A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 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. 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.”

There are things in life that most people desire such as a good family life, protection from violence, success in their work, victory when there is war, worship that pleases God, and churches that flourish and grow. -- For such things people expend much time and energy to attain. Yet our effort alone will not ensure that we obtain such things.... Consider what is written in Psa 127:1-2 where the keynote is the word “vain” (used three times). Solomon’s theme is “that human enterprises only succeeds by the divine blessing” (JFB) -- Not all labor succeeds; there is “the labor that fails”.

In the Psalm, several examples are provided; elsewhere in the Scriptures we have other examples when not all labor is successful. Let’s first consider the examples in the Psalm, such as in our families. Good homes are certainly desirable. There are blessings to being part of a large family. There is nothing wrong with desiring such. However, good homes require God’s blessings. In Psa 127:1, the word “house” may refer to the temple, but the context suggests it refers to the home or family. A large family is indeed a blessing from God - Psa 127:3-5 “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 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.” Not to imply that a small family or no family is a curse. For there may be times when it is God’s will that one be single or have a small family - 1 Co 7:7,32-35. Yet without God’s involvement, our effort will fail. It is necessary that we invoke God’s blessings our efforts. This also involves not putting family over God! - Mt 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”; 22:37 “And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If we put family before God, then our labor regarding our family will ultimately fail!

The principle also applies in our security. Protection from violence is desirable, which is why cities had walls, with watchmen standing guard. Providing security is part of providing for one’s family - 1 Ti 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” True security requires God’s protection. Unless God is our guard, efforts to protect are vain - Psa 127:1b “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” While providing locked doors and security systems, don’t leave out God! - Psa 121:1-8 “A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” Any labor to provide security without looking to God for help will fail.

Solomon then applies the principle in our work. God would have us to work with our hands. To walk properly toward those who are outside - 1 Th 4:11,12 “and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” To provide for those less fortunate than us - Ep 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” True success requires God’s favor despite efforts to work long and hard - Psa 127:2 “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.” Our efforts will be little more than gathering and collecting for others - Ecc 2:26 “For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.” We must therefore not put our jobs before God! - Mt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If we want to succeed in business (where we can enjoy the fruits of our labor), then seek to succeed with God first! Otherwise our labor is in vain.

Now let’s see how the principle of this Psalm is applied elsewhere... In our battles; when war is inevitable, victory is desirable especially when attacked by evil aggressors. Governments therefore build armies and weapons to defend themselves. However, victory does not depend upon might alone, nor does preparation alone guarantee success in battle - Pro 21:31 “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.” Armies and weapons are not sufficient to ensure victory - Psa 33:16-17 “The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.” We must also look to the Lord as our help and our shield - Psa 33:18-22 “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Many greater nations have fallen in the day of battle because of their arrogance and pride. A nation cannot hope for victory unless God wills it.

Now let’s apply the principle to more spiritual themes, as in our worship. God desires that we worship Him. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well - Jn 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” It is our duty that we proclaim His praises - 1 Pe 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” But not all worship is acceptable. There is worship that is an abomination - Pro 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.” There is vain worship, based on commandments of men - Mt 15:9 “in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" Such worship is labor that fails to please God.

Finally, consider the principle as it applies in our congregation. We are encouraged to labor for the Lord. A labor that is not in vain - 1 Co 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” A labor that God will not forget - He 6:10 “For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.” Success does not come from labor alone. God is the one who gives the increase - 1 Co 3:6-7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” He is the source of any sufficiency that we may have - 2 Co 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,” While we work as though it depends on us, we must pray as though it depends on God (for it does!).

Whatever our endeavor (labor), it will fail unless God is involved... Will we look to God to build our families? Will we look to God to deliver us from evil? Will we look to God to bless our work? Will we look to God as our shield and protector? Will we look to God to guide our worship of Him? Will we look to God to give us the increase in His Vineyard, the church? Remember the words of Solomon...

“Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;”

“Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.”

“It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.”

To ensure that our labor not be in vain, this prayer by Moses should be our attitude:

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” - Psa 90:17

Are you looking to God to establish you in all your labors...?

They Shall Still Bear Fruit in Old Age - Cont.

Psalms 92:12-15

That God can and does use the elderly should be rather apparent as we have looked at the elderly God used, especially when we take a few moments to consider God’s use of older people in the Bible.But what about today? We'll now consider God’s use of older people in the church today as we continue this lesson.

There is always a need for “elders”…. Did God not design the local church to be overseen by elders? - Ac 14:23 “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”; Ti 1:5-9 “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Men who were older, capable of teaching and leading the flock? Men who were to serve as overseers and examples of God’s flock? - 1 Pe 5:1-4 “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Yet many male members seem to retire from active service in the church about the same time they retire from secular work! Around age 65, which is rather young compared to the examples we saw! Just when they might be useful to the Lord, they are retiring! If unqualified to serve, why not spend a few years growing and developing the necessary qualifications (if possible), and then serve? Many young men who want to preach prepare themselves in just a couple of years, why can’t older men do the same?

There is always a need for older women. Who will do what Paul commanded in Ti 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” To be “teachers of good things”, especially to teach the younger women how to love their husbands, love their children, be good wives and homemakers. Sadly, many women stop teaching when they reach the age they are commanded to teach! Don’t feel qualified to teach? Then prepare yourself! Commit yourselves to learn God’s word, and in a short time you will be prepared!

There is always a need for service the elderly can provide. Some examples:

Hospitality and benevolence - many elderly are financially secure, able to do what many younger families cannot.

Edification and evangelism - with so much time on their hands, why not use it to study with others?

Even the most infirm can do things like send cards, make phone calls, spend time in prayer and fasting - Lk 2:37 “and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”; 1 Ti 5:5 “She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,” -- I heard of one invalid who spent her time praying for the sick, for those involved in teaching others, etc. From our text we see what else the elderly can and should do:

“To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock...” - Psa 92:15

To proclaim God’s strength to the next generation - Psa 71:17-18 “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”

To recount God’s mighty works to the next generation - Psa 78:1-8 “Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

God can certainly use people of all ages who are willing to prepare themselves to be of service to Him and who are willing to present themselves in service to Him. We may retire from secular jobs, but not from our service to the Lord...! Certainly physical infirmities may limit what we can do, but only death can stop us from doing what we can! Is the problem really one of physical infirmities, or spiritual laziness...? We can’t stop the aging process, but we can be renewed inwardly daily! - 2 Co 4:16 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” Our problem may be related to our youth-oriented culture where the wisdom and experience of the elderly is not respected. Where our society is too quick to put the elderly “out to pasture”. Other cultures reflect the scriptural norm... Where the elderly are revered, their wisdom and experience appreciated. Where the elderly continue in roles of influence and leadership, even to death. I believe the righteous can and should “still bear fruit in old age”. I hope that this lesson will encourage the elderly to reexamine their usefulness to the Lord and His church. Let the attitude of “Paul, the aged” be your attitude as well:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” (Philippians 3:12-15)

They Shall Still Bear Fruit in Old Age

Psalms 92:12-15
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

A goal for many people in life is a happy retirement.... They spend years saving and planning for the time in which they retire. They look forward to the free time to do what interests them. But is the concept of retirement applicable to the kingdom of God? We may rightly retire from secular jobs, what about our service in the church? Granted, physical infirmities may sometimes be a hindrance, but is such a valid reason for “retiring” from the work of the church? In Psalms 92:12-15, we find a description of the righteous in which they are described as palm trees and cedar trees flourishing in the house and courts of God. -- Note vs. 14: “They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing” This passage certainly suggests that there is a place of service for the elderly in the work of God. They are able to “bear fruit” and remain “fresh and flourishing”, despite their old age. That God can and does use the elderly should be rather apparent, especially when we take a few moments to consider God’s use of older people in the Bible.

Consider Moses and Aaron. They were chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage at the ages of 80 and 83 - Exo 7:7 “Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.” They were already past the normal life span - Psa 90:10 “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” (written by Moses Psa 90:1a “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.”)

Consider Joshua and Caleb. Joshua was given the charge of leading the conquest of Canaan, during the last thirty years of his life (he lived until he was 110, Josh 24:29 “After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 years old.”). Caleb was also very much involved in the conquest while in his eighties - Josh 14:6-11 “Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.' And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.”

Consider Daniel. He served God from the days of his youth, for over 70 years! - Dan 1:21 “And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.” He was well over eighty when he served as one of three governors over the kingdom of Babylon - Dan 6:1-3 “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”
He was well over eighty when thrown into the lions’ den – (Dan 6:4-27); Prospered in the reigns of Darius and Cyrus the Persian – (Dan 6:28); and received a series of visions – (Dan 8-12).

Consider Zacharias and Elizabeth. These were the parents of John the Baptist. They were “both well advanced in years” - Lk 1:7 “But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” Yet he was serving in the temple, and she gave birth to John!
Consider Simeon and Anna. Two elderly people who bore witness to the Christ child when presented to the temple to be circumcised - Lk 2:25-38. Anna was at least 84, and had been serving God “with fastings and prayers night and day”

Consider Paul, the aged. As he refers to himself in Phile 9 “yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you--I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus”. Yet we know at this time in his life, he was busy writing letters (Eph, Col, Phi, Phe), even while in prison; traveling, visiting, encouraging churches, when he was released from prison.

There are many other examples of how God used those in their “golden years” to serve Him. These we have considered certainly illustrate how the elderly can “still bear fruit in old age”. But what about today? We'll consider God’s use of older people in the church today in our continuation of this lesson.

The Art of Confessing Our Sins - Cont.

Psalms 51:1-19

As we continue this lesson we will consider what David ask for in addition to forgiveness, as an example for us. As we confess our sins we should look to God for more than just forgiveness! We should also ask for a complete renewal and total restoration! We should also ask for a return of “the joy of salvation” (that joy experienced when we first obeyed the gospel! - Ac 8:35-39 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”

As we consider further David’s confession of sin, we find it proper to resolve to offer further service (13-17) David resolves to teach other sinners and transgressors - Psa 51:13 “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

He resolves to praise God for His righteousness in delivering him from sin - Psa 51:14-15 “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.”

Knowing that God delights in something more than animal sacrifices - Psa 51:16 “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.” A broken spirit and contrite heart is what really pleases God - Psa 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”; Isa 66:1-2 “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”; 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Such resolution is in keeping with true repentance for God desires more than just forgiveness, but total restoration - Psa 51:6 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” And zealous service is indicative of true repentance, as taught in 2 Co 7:10-11 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” As we confess our sins we should look beyond obtaining forgiveness for past sin. We should look beyond obtaining present joy and gladness of heart -- We should be making commitments regarding future service!

Finally, as we come to the end of David’s psalm, we find that “The Art Of Confessing Our Sins” includes that we pray for God’s purposes, (18-19) “Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.” David offered a prayer regarding God’s purposes. That God would fulfill His purpose for Zion - Psa 51:18. That God would be pleased with Israel’s sacrifices - Psa 51:19. -- Thus his confession of sin ends with a desire for that which pleases God. As we confess our sins we should not be selfish, praying for only our needs. What about God’s desires? His purposes? -- As Jesus taught us in “The Lord’s Prayer”, it is important to pray for God’s will as well as our own (cf. “Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”).

I hope I have not made the practice of confessing sins sound complicated.... Certainly there are occasions where a simple “I have sinned...” may suffice as illustrated in the prayer of the tax collector - Lk 18:13-14. Yet if we desire to be less self-centered in confessing our sins, we can follow David’s example...
Appeal to God’s mercy and lovingkindness
Acknowledge our sins to God
Understand where we are and where God wants us
Pray for renewal and restoration
Resolve to offer grateful service
Pray for God’s purposes

By praying as David did, we are sure to experience two things: forgiveness itself and the joy of forgiveness. -- As David expressed in Psa 32:1-5, written after receiving forgiveness for his sins. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” The Christian who confesses his sins is the truly happy individual (“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven...”), for they have the assurance of salvation (see 1 Jn 1:9). Have you confessed your sins to God today?