This psalm initially seemed out of place with the other psalms of degrees, but the more I meditated upon it, the more it seemed to fit. The psalmist is focused on David, a past king of Israel. He is thinking on his words, his desires, his accomplishments, and the Lord's blessings and promises upon his life. If you will allow me liberty to make practical application then we might say what David was as Israel's king is a foreshadowing of what the saint's King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ is to every believer.
If that be so, then we can learn from this psalm that the saint's victorious life is dependent upon the him focusing not upon himself, circumstances, or others, but, upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the following two verses.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Many times the believer lives defeated because he is focused on the wrong things. He may be looking out at the circumstances of life, or down at the path he must travel, or to his enemies on his left or right, when the Word of God instructs us to be looking up to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us focus on Him and all other things will begin to grow strangely dim.
In Psalm 131 we come to the next step in our spiritual ascension from spiritual defeat to victory, and I think it's obvious that the subject on the psalmist's mind is humility. Surely I don't have to say that true humility is essential in the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
As we climb the next step in our journey to spiritual victory we see the psalmist facing a problem in his life! Life's problems can dominate our thinking, plague us with worry and anxiety, and overall render us useless spiritually. One of the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In this Psalm, as the psalmist increases his foothold on the victorious Christian life, we see a truth all of God’s children much grasp if they hope to live victoriously. He realized that the Christian life is not a life of ease, but one of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
As we survey and progress through the Songs of Degrees we might take time to consider Psalm 128 as an extension of Psalm 127! In Psalm 127 we see: 1. The home (a place of protection for the children) is in building (v1) 2. The home’s success...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
As we come to Psalm 128 the next step in progressing to spiritual victory is a biblical fear of God. It appears the key thought of this psalm is the fear of the Lord, and the blessings that accompany it. First, when we talk of fearing God we are...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Children As Arrows (Ps 127.3-5) Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Physical Rest for the Saints (Psalm 127:2) In verse 2 the psalmist is thinking of the saint who upon realizing the need to build the house, and protect the city purposes to achieve this by depriving himself of sleep (rising early), and investing...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Psalm 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. From our text we see the need to build, the inability to do so, and the only One who can build, the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In keeping with our practical theme of the "songs of degrees" we see yet another step in the psalmist's journey from spiritual defeat in Psalm 120 to the victorious life in Psalm 134. The psalmist now turns to his family, specifically his...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
