Work as if everything depends on you...: Psalm 126 - v2

Stones from the Western Wall of Jerusalem
thrown down by Roman soldiers in 70 CE

Continuing on this verse by verse look at Psalm 126, today a look at verse 2:

2	V/NV/JH	Nisi Dóminus custodíerit civitátem, * frustra vígilat qui custódit eam.
		ἐὰν μὴ κύριος φυλάξῃ πόλιν εἰς μάτην ἠγρύπνησεν ὁ φυλάσσων

Nisi (unless) Dóminus (the Lord) custodíerit (he will keep) civitátem (the city), * frustra (vainly) vígilat (he keeps watch) qui (who) custódit (he watches) eam (it).

custodio, ivi or li, itum, ire to guard, watch, keep;to maintain, to hold steadfastly.

civitas, atis,  a city, state, commonwealth; the inhabitants of the city

frustra, adv.  in vain, vainly, to no purpose, uselessly.

vigilo, avi, atum, are  to be awake, keep watch, watch; to watch for, seek, long for. 

DR	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
Brenton	Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches in vain.
MD	Unless the Lord guard the city, he watcheth in vain that guardeth it.
RSV	Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Cover	Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Knox	Vainly the guard keeps watch, if the city has not the Lord for its guardian.
Grail	If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.

The city of God 

The previous verse talked about the house of God; this one talks about a city, why?  St Augustine tells us that the words mean the same thing:

But that which is the house of God is also a city. For the house of God is the people of God; for the house of God is the temple of God....This is Jerusalem: she has guards: as she has builders, labouring at her building up, so also has she guards...

The obvious allusion in terms of the literal interpretation of the verse is to the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the return from exile, since as Ezra describes, half the men worked while the other half guarded the walls against neighbouring marauders intent on preventing the rebuilding effort, as St Robert Bellarmine points out:

When the city was being built after the captivity, they had to build it and guard it at the same time, as we read in 2 Esdras. The nations round about them not only sought to prevent them from building, but they demolished everything that was built if they could; and thus the children of Israel had to proceed with the sword in one hand, and the tools in the other, and many had to stand guard continually. Yet all this guarding would have been of no avail, had not the Lord chosen to guard the city. 

The destruction of Jerusalem

The verse can also, though, in the context of the Crucifixion, perhaps be taken as a a reference to the coming destruction of Jerusalem some forty years after the death of Christ, and prophesised by him in:

And when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, And beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:41-44).

The key point though, is that while we have to work hard, labouring and guarding against the enemy as if everything depends on us, in reality our efforts will be useless without God's aid:

Why mention erection of walls and building of the city? It would also have been impossible for anyone to guard it when brought to completion had that assistance not been available. Now, he said this to persuade them by every means to have recourse again to God's grace lest they become more indifferent owing to the respite. The reason, you see, why he gave them the good things not all at once but slowly and gradually was to prevent their running back to their former wickedness because of their rapid release from troubles; instead, even in the very giving of the good things he constantly reminded them by the onset of their enemies to be ever stirring up their indifference. So the words are of general application, while taking their origin in this occasion: it is necessary to bring them to bear on everyone's situation lest we ourselves become indifferent and supine instead of contributing what is in our power, entrusting everything to God, and completely depending in everything on hope in him. I mean, as it is not possible to bring affairs to completion without his help, likewise if God helps but we are idle and inactive, it is impossible for us to reach the goal. (St John Chrysostom)

The watchmen

Many of the Fathers interpret the role of watchman as especially applying, after Christ, to bishops.  Cassiodorus, for example, says:

We interpret the Lord's city as the heavenly Jerusalem, a part of which still lodges on earth. In it the bishops strive to keep watch, to protect with unsleeping care the flock entrusted to them. The same injunction is given them not to be fired by harmful thoughts, and imagine that human precautions have any dominant effect, for only the Godhead can ward off dangers of attack. 

St Robert Bellarmine though also applies the message to the individual Christian:

The same is very apt to occur to ourselves, when we, through good works, begin to build up a house, for enemies will not be wanting to seek to destroy the work so begun, by various temptations; and, hence, the apostle arms us when he says, "Wherefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day;" and a little further on, "In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one." But unless God be with us, to guard us who slumber so often, and fight for us, all our labor will be in vain.

Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved, 3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate

And continue to the next post in this series, notes on verse 3 of Psalm 126.

Rebuilding the Church with God's aid: Psalm 126 - v1

Translating the verse

First, focus in the text of the verse.

1	V/JH	Nisi dominus aedificaverit domum:* in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.
	NV	Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborant, qui aedificant eam.
		ἐὰν μὴ κύριος οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες αὐτόν

Nisi (unless) dominus (the Lord) aedificaverit (he will build)  domum (the house):* in vanum (vain) laboraverunt (they have laboured) qui (who) aedificant (they build) eam (it).

nisi, conj. (ne and si), if not, unless.

aedifico, avi, atum, are  to build.

domus, us, /.  house, structure.

vanus, a, um vain, idle, profitless, deceptive, null, empty as to purpose or result.  

laboro, avi, atum, are to toil, labor.

Douay-Rheims	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
Brenton	Except the Lord build the house, they that build labour in vain
Diurnal	Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.
RSV	Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Coverdale	Except the Lord build the house, their labour is but lost that build it.
Knox	Vain is the builder’s toil, if the house is not of the Lord’s building
Grail	If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor;

The literal sense of the verse is, toil is useless without God’s help, a sentiment echoed in John 15:5:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

It can be interpreted, though as applying at both the individual and collective levels.

God's guidance of history

St John Chrysostom, for example, interprets it as referring to God's providential guidance of history in relation to the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Exile (as described in Ezra and Nehemiah):

This psalm has to do with the state of affairs after the return. You see, when they were freed from captivity and had returned from the savage country, the city they took possession of was in ruins, and they endeavored to rebuild the walls knocked down along with the towers. But many attacked them from many quarters and hindered the work, envying the prosperity of the Jews and fearful of their success. Then time was spent on doing these things, and so much time that over forty years was devoted to the construction of the Temple, as the Jews also indicated in saying, "The building of this Temple took forty-six years," referring not to the former build­ing of Solomon but to this later one, after the freedom from the Persians. Since, then, much time was spent in building Temple, city and walls (the building of the city, in fact, took much longer), the inspired author wanted to teach them once more to have re­course to God, and so went through all this in detail to show that everything happened without any other rhyme or reason than winning grace from God. That is to say, not only freedom from captivity but also erection of the walls by the recently released was impossible without the grace of God.

If we read the psalm Christologically, though, in the context of the crucifixion, this psalm reminds us that Christ's death was necessary in order to build the Church, which is no longer a physical entity like the Temple of old, but rather the body of Christ, which can never be destroyed: though it be destroyed in a particular time and place, it can be rebuilt through Christ.  Indeed, the Church is always in this constant process of rebuilding.

The work of sanctification

This is not something that can be done apart from Christ though. St Augustine, for example, sees the verse as a reference to the Churches ongoing work of sanctification:

The Lord, therefore, builds the house, the Lord Jesus Christ builds His own house. Many toil in building: but, except He build, their labour is but lost that build it. Who are they who toil in building it? All who preach the word of God in the Church, the ministers of God's mysteries. We are all running, we are all toiling, we are all building now; and before us others have run, toiled, and built: but except the Lord build, their labour is but lost...We, therefore, speak without, He builds within. We can observe with what attention ye hear us; He alone who knows your thoughts, knows what ye think. He Himself builds, He Himself admonishes, He Himself opens the understanding, He Himself kindles your understanding unto faith; nevertheless, we also toil like workmen; but, except the Lord build...

St Hilary of Poitiers sees the verse as directed at us each individually:

 This, then, is the temple of God, filled with his doctrine and his power, able to provide the Lord with room in the sanctuary of the heart. It was of this that the prophet spoke in the psalm: Holy is your temple, made marvellous by his justice. Holiness, justice and righteous­ness are a temple for God, and God ought then to build his house. If it were built by the hands of men, it would not stand; strengthened only by worldly knowledge, it would not hold firm; supported only by our ineffective watchfulness and useless works, it would not be secure. This house must be built and guarded in a very different way: it should not be founded on the earth or on shifting sands, but estab­lished on its proper base, the prophets and the apostles. This house should be built with living stones; with Christ to hold it together as the corner stone, it should grow by the ties that bind all the elements that go to make it up, until it becomes the perfect man and is made perfect as the body of Christ; it should be decorated with the jewels of spiritual graces and shine forth with his beauty" (Tractatus super Psalmos, 126,7-8).

Origen makes the point that our dependence on God does not mean that we are excused from hard work ourselves:

By which words he does not indeed indicate that we should cease from building or watching over the safe keeping of that city which is within us; but what he points out is this, that whatever is built without God, and whatever is guarded without him, is built in vain, and guarded to no purpose.  For in all things that are well built and well protected, the Lord is held to be the cause either of the building or of its protection. 

 ...Of God in Christ Jesus, unless this very good will of ours, and ready purpose, and whatever that diligence within us may be, be aided or furnished with divine help.  And therefore most logically did the apostle say, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy;” in the same manner as if we were to say of agriculture what is actually written:  “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” First Principles

Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved, 3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate

And for the next part on this series, click on the link for notes on verse 2

Introduction to Psalm 126 - Building up the house of God

Palma Psalter, c1280

During Lent I posted on the Gradual Psalms, but I noted that I didn't have time to cover off Psalms 126&7 in detail, but would come back to them.  Here is the first installment, in the form of a little series on Psalm 126.

Psalm 126 is the eighth of the fifteen Gradual Psalms, and goes above all, to two great, and closely related themes, namely our dependence on grace in the work of building and maintaining the temple within us, and for the fruitfulness of our efforts.

Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved,  3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate

Psalm 126: On building the temple within us

Although this is a short psalm, it is a complex one, capable of being interpreted on many different levels, in part because of the multiple connotations of the word house.

Accordingly, by way of introduction I want to start by providing something of an overview of the different interpretative approaches to the psalm which I will explore in more depth when we look at each verse individually.

Christ as the cornerstone

The first point to note is that St Benedict placed this psalm at the very centre of the hour of None, the hour that Our Lord died on the cross, for a particular reason: the verse  'When he shall give sleep to his beloved' was interpreted by St Augustine and many of the Fathers as a reference to the death of Christ on the cross.

Indeed, the whole context of the psalm was seen by the Fathers as pointing to Christ as the cornerstone of the temple, a cornerstone that joins the people of the Old and New Testaments.

Let me go through the pieces of the puzzle briefly.

First, the title of this eight psalm of the set mentions Solomon.  This parallels a reference in the book of psalms as a whole: Psalm 71, the first of the last eighty psalms also refers to Solomon as its author.

The first point to note is that the name Solomon means peaceful: Solomon is a type of Christ who is our peace.

Secondly, though, the demarcation line points to the mystical meaning of the numbers seven (creation of the world) and eight (the day of the Resurrection): the peoples who worshiped in the Temple worshiped on the seventh day (sabbath); Christians, however, worship through the temple that is Christ, on the 'eighth day' of the Resurrection. And yet, just as there are not seven Gradual Psalms and another set of eight; or seven psalms and another eighty; the two peoples are united through Christ's sacrifice.

There is a warning in the name though to, for the psalm reminds us that just as Solomon's kingdom was torn in two as a result of his sins, all the good works in the world will avail us nothing if we attempt to do them without God's aid.

What then is the house we must build?

As I noted above, the word house (domus) in the first verse works on a number of different levels.

The daily grind?

First, a house can mean a physical building.  Accordingly, Josh Moody in his book on the Gradual Psalms, Journey to Joy, suggests that the discussion of building can be seen as standing for whatever type of work we do each day: whatever type of work we do each day must be animated by Christ, or it will come to nothing.  The second half, then, stands for our proper approach to home and family.  There is something to this, I think.  

The house of God

The ascription of the psalm to Solomon, though, seems to point above all to a very particular house, namely the Temple, or the house of God.  

In this light, the first three verses were often seen by the Fathers and Theologians as an allusion to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian exile.  At that time, so serious was the threat of attack from neighbouring enemies, that half of the men worked while the other watched, armed and ready to fight off the enemy.  Their effort was successful, but only, the books of Ezra and  Nehemiah tell us, because the people also made a concerted effort to return also to fidelity to God's law, making the rebuilding effort worthy of God's aid.  

St Robert Bellarmine, for example, says:

These words were addressed to the Jews when they were building the house of God, that is, the temple, at a time that the work was progressing but slowly, by reason of the obstructions offered by the surrounding nations, as we read in 1 Esdras. They are admonished to bear in mind that the work of man is of no value, unless God, the principal builder, be there to help them; and, therefore, that they should work not only with their hands, but also with their hearts and their lips, in invoking God, and confiding mainly in his help. "Unless the Lord build the house;" unless God, on being invoked with confidence, assists the workmen, "they labor in vain that build it;" all their labor is gone for nothing, and will be so.

The Church

The image of building the house can be seen as a reference to the Church.  St Robert explains that the builders are those who preach to us and provide the sacraments:

This is also addressed to the heads of the Church who, by the preaching of God's word, seek to bring souls to him, and of them, to build up a temple, (the Church,) to the Lord... But unless the primary architect be there, he who said, "On this rock I will build my church," in vain will men build, and doc­tors preach, because, as the Lord himself said, "Without me you can do nothing." 

The children of the second half of the psalm, then, are the sons and daughters of the Church brought forth by Christ as the fruit of Our Lady's womb.

What then, of the dark times we now find ourselves in with respect to our leaders?  St Fulgentius reminds us that though things may seem bad for a time, God has promised that his Church will ultimately endure:

He alone is able to safeguard what he has given to the one receiving: Unless…Therefore, he will not permit the stealthy entry of the most wicked brigand in that person to whom the assistance of the vigilant Lord will not be lacking.  For he ‘will neither slumber nor sleep, he who guards Israel (Letter to Proba).

We are each a temple

Another possible steam of interpretation sees the house as the temple of Christ each of us individually should seek to build within us.  St Hilary of Poitier, for example commented that:

You are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells within you. This, then, is the temple of God, filled with his doctrine and his power, able to provide the Lord with room in the sanctuary of the heart...If it were built by the hands of men, it would not stand; strengthened only by worldly knowledge, it would not hold firm; supported only by our ineffective watchfulness and useless works, it would not be secure. This house must be built and guarded in a very different way: it should not be founded on the earth or on shifting sands, but established on its proper base, the prophets and the apostles.

We can fast, pray and do good works as much as we like, in other words, but unless we have faith, unless we have grace, it will all be to no avail.   The psalm is a warning to those who seek to pursue their own agenda rather than God's, as St Cassiodorus points out:

But if these men seek to build by their own powers, they are seen to labour to no effect unless the Lord's grace bestows an attitude of most genuine belief. Paul also says: Neither he that planteth is anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. We must commit our energy to perform these tasks, but with the belief that it is God that can carry them through. Otherwise we may be beguiled by empty presumptions, and be seen to ignore the Author and Perfector of things, to our own destruction.

If we do God's will though, our efforts will be rewarded by surrounding us with children and family who can help us withstand the enemy, and whose presence will speak for us at the gate to the eternal city.

Constructing our house in heaven

Underlying all of these interpretations of the psalm, I think, is the idea that the purpose of this life is to prepare for the next: Christ's sacrifice reminds us that our focus must be not on earthly things, but rather our abode in our heavenly home.  St Robert Bellarmine comments:

...for we are bound, through acts of faith, hope, and love, to build up a house in heaven; for, as St. Augustine has it, "Such a house is founded on faith, built up on hope, and finished off by charity; nor is anyone who has not previously prepared such a house ever admitted as a citizen in the heavenly country." Such a house is constructed rather by prayer and lamentation, than by manual labor, because, "we are not sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves."

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Mt 6:25-34, Jn 15:5 (v1); Mt 6:11 (3)
RB cursus	None
Monastic feasts etc	Gradual psalms; Vespers Common of women saints and Our Lady Little Office of Our Lady: None and Vespers AN 3885 (v1); 3905 (5) Invitatory Lent Sundays (2)
Roman pre 1911	Tues Vespers
Responsories	-
Roman post 1911	1911-62:  Tues Vespers. 1970: Evening Prayer - Wednesday of Week Three
Mass propers (EF)

And for more on the psalm...

You can find the next part in this series here, in the form of notes on verse 1 of Psalm 126.

Or go straight to notes on the verses you are interesed in:

Pope Benedict XVI on Psalm 126
Psalm 126 verse 1
Psalm 126 verse 2
Psalm 126 verse 3
Psalm 126 verse 4
Psalm 126 verse 5
Psalm 126 verse 6

Placing ourselvs under God's protection - Psalm 126 (Gradual Psalm 8)

Psalm 126, the eighth Gradual Psalm, is the second psalm of Benedictine weekday None.  Cassiodorus summarises it as follows:

In the eighth, it is said that nothing remains of what any individual has performed by his own will; only the things built by the sponsorship of the Lord are most firmly established.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved, 3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate

As I don't have space, in this current Lenten series, to look at this important psalm verse by verse as it deserves, I thought I would save giving you my take on it until after Easter, and in the meantime provide for your meditation a General Audience on it of Pope Benedict XVI from 31 August 2005:

Psalm 127[126], just proclaimed, places a motion picture before our eyes: a house under construction, the city with its watchmen, family life, night watches, daily work, the little and great secrets of existence. However, a crucial presence towers over everything, the presence of the Lord who watches over the works of man, as the incisive opening of the Psalm suggests: "If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labour" (v. 1).   

Indeed, a sound society is born from the commitment of all its members, but it needs the blessing and support of that God who, unfortunately, is too often excluded or ignored.  The Book of Proverbs emphasizes the primacy of divine action for a community's well-being and does so radically, asserting: "It is the Lord's blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it" (Prv 10: 22). 

This sapiential Psalm, fruit of meditation on the reality of everyday life, is built mainly on a contrast: without the Lord, in vain does one seek to construct a stable house, to build a secure city, to bring our own efforts to fruition (cf. Ps 127[126]: 1-2).  With the Lord, instead, there is prosperity and fruitfulness, a peaceful family richly endowed with children, a well-fortified and protected city, free of constant worry and insecurity (cf. vv. 3-5). 

The text opens with a reference to the Lord, portrayed as a builder of houses and a watchman on guard over the city (cf. Ps 121[120]: 1-8). Man goes out in the morning to toil at a job to support the family and serve the development of society. It is work that consumes his energy, making his brow sweat all day long (cf. Ps 127[126]: 2).3. Well, the Psalmist, although he recognizes the importance of work, does not hesitate to say that all this work is useless if God is not beside the labourer. And he affirms that God even goes so far as to reward his friends' sleep. Thus, the Psalmist desires to exalt the primacy of divine grace that impresses substance and value on human action, although it is marked by limitations and transience.  In the serene and faithful abandonment of our freedom to the Lord, our work also becomes solid, capable of bearing lasting fruit. Thus, our "sleep" becomes rest blessed by God and destined to seal an activity that has meaning and coherence. 

At this point we move on to the other scene outlined in our Psalm. The Lord offers the gift of children, seen as a blessing and a grace, a sign of life that continues and of the history of salvation extending to new stages (cf. v. 3). The Psalmist extols in particular "the sons of youth": the father who has had sons in his youth will not only see them in their full vigour, but they will be his support in old age. He will be able, therefore, to face the future confidently, like a warrior, armed with a quiver of those victorious pointed "arrows" that are his sons (cf. vv. 4-5). 

The purpose of this image, taken from the culture of the time, is to celebrate the safety, stability and strength found in a large family, such as is presented anew in the subsequent Psalm 128[127], in which the portrait of a happy family is sketched. The last picture shows a father surrounded by his sons, who is welcomed with respect at the city gates, the seat of public life. Begetting is thus a gift that brings life and well-being to society. We are aware of this in our days in the face of nations that are deprived, by the demographic loss, of the freshness and energy of a future embodied by children. However, the blessing of God's presence, the source of life and hope, towers over it all. 

Spiritual authors have often made use of Psalm 127[126] to exalt this divine presence, crucial to advancing on the path of good and of the Kingdom of God. Thus, the monk Isaiah (who died in Gaza in 491), recalling the example of the ancient patriarchs and prophets, taught in his Asceticon (Logos 4, 118): "They placed themselves under God's protection, imploring his assistance, without putting their trust in some work they accomplished. And for them, God's protection was a fortified city, because they knew that without God's help they were powerless; and their humility made them say, with the Psalmist: "If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil'" (Recueil Ascétique, Abbey of Bellefontaine 1976, pp. 74-75). Thus, it is also true today that only communion with the Lord can safeguard our houses and our cities.

And you can either go on to the next part in this Lenten series, or to more detailed notes on the psalm.