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[1] Psalm 127 is in the middle of the Psalms of Ascent. There are seven Psalms of Ascent before it (120-126) and seven after (128-134). In five short verses, Psalm 127 summarizes the meaning of the universal preoccupations of our lives ü
building
of houses ü
work ü
the
desire for peace within our borders ü
a good
nights sleep/rest/recreation/the enjoyment of our labor [Sabbath rest] ü and the enjoyment of our children/marriage |
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[2] The repetition of “unless” and “vain” reminds us that we cannot find fruitfulness in the labor of our life unless God pronounces His benediction upon us. |
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[3] “Painful labor” (v.2) is the same word used of the pain that Eve and women would have in childbirth, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth…” (Gen.3:16) and it is the same word in God’s curse of the ground, “Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it” (Genesis 3:17; see Gen.5:29). Women painfully labor bringing forth children into the world and men painfully labor in the field as they bring forth food. |
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[4] The name God gave to Solomon was Jedidiah (2 Samuel 12:25) which means “beloved
of Yahweh.” This may be connected to
the heading of the Psalm, “A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.” |
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[5] “The two
halves of the psalm are neatly illustrated by the first and last paragraphs
of Genesis 11, where man builds for glory and security, to achieve only a
fiasco, whereas God quietly gives to the obscure Terah a son whose blessings
have proliferated ever since” (Kidner, Psalms
73-150, p.441). |
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[6] There is a wordplay in the Hebrew between
“builders” in v.1 and sons/children in vv.3-4. Covenant children are one of the ways by
which the kingdom of God is “built.” |
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[7] God promised Abraham “very great reward” or “I am your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). The Apostle Paul taught that this great reward was ultimately Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). |
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[8] This is the same phrase used in Psalm 132:11 of God’s oath to David, “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.” |
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[9] “The man who begets many sons in his youth creates
the equivalent of a little army on which he can depend. In the social structure of ancient Israel, this
may not have been an entirely fanciful notion. One might recall that David’s original
power base was in part a kind of family militia, led by his three nephews”
(Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms, 450). |
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[10] Psalm 127 ends on a note of blessing and Psalm 128
begins on a note of blessing. |
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[11] The word “enemies” echoes the Gospel Promise God gave in the hearing of Adam and Eve,
This is also the Seed promise God swore to Abraham on the same mountain Israel was ascending as they sang this Psalm of Ascent. And because Abraham by faith obediently offered up his son, his beloved son Isaac, Yahweh swore,
This
is promised is developed further when David heard Yahweh speaking to his
Lord, Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.” Yahweh will stretch forth Your
strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
(Psalm 110:1-2) |
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[12] To hear Psalm 127 sung listen to Sons of Korah. |
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[13] One of the chief characteristics of Hebrew poetry is repetition of words/phrases and one of the prominent forms of repetition in the Psalms is parallelism. Psalm 127 is one of several Psalms of ascent that contains staircase parallelism. This Psalm about building structurally looks built. Below I have tried to represent this ascent which is linked by the words unless, builds, vain and sons:
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