Rest fits in the middle of the work.
The Lord Watches Over the City
The psalm confronts the illusion of total human vigilance
This short devotional is about anxiety, from Psalms 127:2.
for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Psalms 127:2
The scene
We are in Jerusalem, a city with high walls, guards at the gates and stone houses.
Psalm 127 begins at a building site: builders raise the house, and a guard watches over the city. Both work, and the psalm says that, if the LORD is not building and guarding, that effort is in vain.
Then comes the one who gets up before dawn and stays up late, eating the bread of toil. And the psalm closes the sentence with a gift: so He gives sleep to the one He loves.
Psalm 127 teaches that working is not worthwhile.
Working is good; what tires us is thinking that everything depends on us. The LORD builds and guards. Rest in His care.
In our day
The mind stays at work even after we lie down: the unanswered message, the month’s bill. It seems that if we stop watching, the house will fall.
The psalm does not despise work, but it reminds us who guards the city. Jesus slept in the boat and calmed the wind (Mark 4:38-39). The city does not depend on our open eyes: we can hand over to Him what was left undone.
Relief. The psalm reminds us that it is the LORD who guards the city, not the guard's eye.
When the watch passes to God, there is room for rest. Rejoice in this care and work with a heart at peace.
Rest. The psalm reminds us that it is the LORD who guards the city, not the guard's eye.
When the watch passes to God, there is room for rest. Rejoice in this care and work with a heart at peace.
Trust. The psalm reminds us that it is the LORD who guards the city, not the guard's eye.
When the watch passes to God, there is room for rest. Rejoice in this care and work with a heart at peace.
Weariness. The psalm sees the one who gets up before dawn and stays up late, eating the bread of toil.
God does not despise this tiredness: He Himself builds and guards what our hands cannot hold. Receive rest as a gift.
Worry. The psalm sees the one who gets up before dawn and stays up late, eating the bread of toil.
God does not despise this tiredness: He Himself builds and guards what our hands cannot hold. Receive rest as a gift.
Overload. The psalm sees the one who gets up before dawn and stays up late, eating the bread of toil.
God does not despise this tiredness: He Himself builds and guards what our hands cannot hold. Receive rest as a gift.
Today, when I lie down thinking about what was left undone, I will pray: Lord, guard what I cannot guard.
God keeps watch when our eyes close.
There's a hiding place for the day trouble shows up, and it isn't your own strength.
Cordeiro Devocional
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