Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

“Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.” (1 Kgs. 7:1) In the end he did not follow his own advice and his family suffered greatly.

In a larger sense this psalm points to the building of the church, the ‘house of the Lord’ and cau- tions that it must be done under the Lord’s direction and guidance. Jesus said: “…I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Mt. 16:18) Paul reminds the Corinthians to build the church wisely as junior partners with God; this is good advice for every aspect of life! “We work together as part- ners who belong to God. You are God’s…building–not ours.” (1 Cor. 3:9) The presence of God secures the city from invasion more than the presence of ‘sentries’ on its walls. It does not say that there should not be sentries, but that they, without God are inadequate. We were not meant to live in a perpetual state of fear and sleepless nights worrying about our families, our church or our city. When the city of Dothan in Israel was surrounded by a great army of Aramean troops and their horses and chariots Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of his alarmed servant to the see Lord’s sentries; “The Lord opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kgs. 6:17) Solomon points out a major fault of people trying to establish a successful ‘house’. Because of their lack of faith in God’s partnership, they work long, worried hours and ‘ …feed …on sorrow and trouble and care and make your lives a burden to yourselves…’ 3 It is certain that we cannot be a ‘worrier’ and a ‘worshiper’ at the same time. Jesus instructed us to love and serve God and make an effort to live a ‘worry-free’ life: “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Mt. 6:31-33) The last part of verse 2 is also translated: “…so much he gives his loved one in sleep!” (Kraus) that means ‘he blesses his loved ones when they are sleeping’. God identified Solomon as his ‘loved one’: “and sent word through Nathan the prophet that his name should be Jedidiah (Solomon)–“beloved of the Lord” –because the Lord loved him.” (2 Sam. 12:25) God also came to Solomon in his sleep and blessed him far beyond his own abilities to be successful: “That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and God said, ‘ What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” (1 Kgs. 3:5) Jesus is the ulti- mate ‘beloved of the Lord’: “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him.” (Mt. 17:5) and bestows his rest and blessing to all who are united to him in faith: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:29) The Hebrew word here ‘admits the including of daughters’ 4 and is not referring to sons only. One of the greatest mistakes parents can make is to work so much in ‘building their financial house’ that they neglect the care and relationship with their children. This verse reminds us that God’s most precious gift (inheritance) and his greatest reward comes to us in the package of a vulnerable, trusting child who looks to its parents for their every need. Jesus set such a great example to us of an extremely busy per- son who stopped everything he was doing to meet the needs of children: “Some children were brought to Jesus so he could lay his hand on them and pray for them. The disciples told them not to bother him. But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them. For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.’”(Mt. 19:13, 14) Jesus further dignified children when he placed a child in the middle of his disciples and said: “Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” (Mt. 18:4, 5) In the Christian life, the care and love of children should go beyond our own family and in doing this we are ministering directly to Jesus. II A GIFT FROM THE LORD - 3-5 Relating to Your Loved Ones “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” (3) “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.” (2)

“Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands. How

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