The Lord Builds the House

The next two Songs of Ascents speaks quite clearly to the material we’ve been considering in Colossians 3. Psalms 127 and 128 remind us that unless the LORD builds the house, all of our labors are in vain. What does that look like? How does God build the house and guard the city? First, He fills your wombs and homes with children like arrows in the hands of a warrior and like olive plants all around your table. Second, He blesses your homes husbands and fathers who fear the Lord and live fruitful and productive lives in the world. Third, He glorifies your homes with fruitful and productive wives who are the very heart of your homes. What is your response to these blessings? Worship. You bring your household to worship asking him to cleanse and forgive you of your sins so as to restore and renovate your homes. Each Lord’s Day your family is in need of an Extreme Makeover and God is the Master-Builder. Employing the tools of Word, Sacraments, and Prayer, He sets to work each week renovating your household. Even this morning, He intends to fashion each of you men to fear Him and walk in His paths in the callings He has given you. He intends to form you wives and mothers to rejoice in childbearing and view your children as a blessing and reward. He intends to form you children into arrows to go forth from here to occupy positions of influence in the world. And the result of all this is God’s blessing resting upon the New Jerusalem. In blessing and building your households, He intends to bless and build His Household, the Church. So having heeded the call to worship this morning, set your hearts and minds upon the Master Builder who alone is able to build your house for He is the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.