"A Song of Ascents
Of Solomon
Unless the LORD builds
the house,
those who build it labor in vain."
(Ps 127:1)
God is
not only a master builder,
he is also a
master-rebuilder.
Solomon's words about the Lord
"building a house"
take on a whole new
meaning when we consider them in the
the context of the
book of Psalms.
God had promised to build David a house
(2 Sam 7),
and for this reason many psalms celebrate (by faith)
the rule of the future Davidic King
(Ps 2; 18; 20-21; 45; 72; 89:1-37; 110; 132).
One of the most important
psalms in the macro-structure of the book, however, laments
the
tragic downfall of David's house
(Ps 89:38-51).
King David, and his sons
who followed him, actively participated in
tearing down this house brick by brick till the
golden crown lay in the dust
and the city with its temple and palace were
completely burned to the ground
(Ps 89:39).
But the Master Rebuilder, who cannot lie
(Num 23:19),
lifted David's crown out of the dust and ashes
when he raised Jesus
(David's greatest son)
from the dead (Rom 1:4), thereby declaring that
no house, no city, and no people are too far gone that
God cannot rebuild it again.
"In that day I will raise up
the fallen booth
of
David, and wall up
its breaches;
I will also raise up its ruins
and
rebuild it as in the days of old"
(Amos 9:11).