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(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
Psalm 127 is said to have been written by King David to and for the benefit of his son Solomon who was to succeed him as King of Israel.
At that time, Israel was the most powerful nation on earth due to the relationship it had with God the Father and its obedience to and worship of Him.
Established by God, Israel was the nation chosen by Him to deliver the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, the Messiah, the Gospels, and the New Testament Scriptures to the world.
Israel would eventually drift from God and fail in its obligation to Him, leading to its national destruction, its conquest, and the division of its land and its people.
Despite these failings, in the Book of Jeremiah, God made a promise to the Hebrews that they would always be a nation before Him (Jeremiah 31:35-37).
As well, God reassured them through the last book of the Old Testament:
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6).
God made no such promise to any other nation.
The whole of God’s Word was and still is addressed to the entirety of humankind, and to this day, His love letter is just as timely, just as appropriate, and just as necessary as it ever has been.
God has provided His Scriptures for many reasons, not the least of which are His Laws, the revelation of His nature, His love, and His plans for mankind.
The Scripture, as Jesus made clear, “cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
The Word of God is also a revelation of the cause and effect of obedience to His Laws, Precepts, and Ordinances and the consequences of disobedience to them.
We are all witnessing the realities of the deterioration of America and the destruction of our nation. Many today still say, “God Bless America.”
Indeed, He did over the course of its history. So why is America quite literally falling apart now, and why is it likely that He can no longer bless America?
Although reasons for the deterioration of nations and the resulting judgment are found throughout the Scriptures, I believe the answer can be understood clearly, even in just the relatively short set of verses that comprise the message of Psalm 127.
Cause and effect portray a clear understanding of our present-day situation as it contrasts what America was founded on (obedience to God’s Word) with what it has become through rebellion and rejection of the principles of its founding (disobedience).
A look at Psalm 127 illustrates its relationship to America at its founding.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain;” (Psalm 127:1a).
The Lord did indeed build the house, beginning with the Puritans. An unmolested copy of the Mayflower Compact of 1620 makes it quite clear that these pioneers came to the shores of what would eventually become the United States of America for: “The Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”
“unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain” (V 1b).
The Lord did indeed protect and preserve the city (cities) of America through many wars and conflicts throughout its history, especially up to the end of WWII.
America was still a predominately Christian nation, and many of the speeches by the nation’s leaders emphasized America’s dependence on and acknowledgment of God in those days.
Although the League of Nations (founded in 1920; disbanded in 1946) existed at the time, America’s focus and reliance was still on God to sustain us in the effort to destroy the Axis powers. After its failure, the United Nations took over (founded in 1945).
America began to depend on and operate under the control of human institutions instead of wholly depending on God. America began to look to idols just as Israel did when it began to fail.
Now, the blood of America’s sons and daughters is being spilled without any commitment to winning, and the reasons for the fighting continue to deteriorate.
We became involved in the Korean Conflict [1950-1953]: (make no mistake, it was a war for those who fought there). America had lost its first war.
We all know what happened to the U.S. in the Vietnam War (and it was not the fault of the men who fought there either).
Despite these things, America continued to grow and prosper under God’s protection. At that time, Christianity was still the predominant faith.
After WWII, the United States was the most powerful nation on earth, but things began to change, and not for the better. America’s focus shifted from God to “prosperity.”
“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat— for He gives sleep to His beloved” (V 2).
Along came the 60s, and another substantial shift in America began to manifest.
God, the One and Only, that was the Rock on which America was originally constructed, was, in a relatively short period of time, not just abandoned but deliberately “pushed out” of the sphere of government as well as public education and discourse.
The Bible was no longer a foundation of learning, and school-sponsored prayer was prohibited in public schools. While individual prayer could not legally be prohibited, it has been under escalating attack ever since 1962. Today, it is viciously attacked.
This has resulted in long-term societal decline from which this nation has not recovered and, given the present circumstances, likely never will.
From this point, the progression of evil accelerated. In 1970, the State of New York, the first to do so, legalized abortion statewide.
Three years later, the United States Supreme Court would follow New York’s horrible example. This evil would be further expanded by individual states until the present day, where the killing of the unborn has become “legalized” and expanded into infanticide.
There is some effort to stop this practice in some states, but it is often just accelerated in adjoining states. Thus, America is further divided.
Today, America is the murder, perversion, and pornography capital of the world.
It is the final two verses of Psalm 127 and the disparity in how God views children and how America (as a nation) has rejected Him that is the emphasis of this article.
The Cause of Judgment and The Effect of Disobedience
“Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward” (V 3). Emphasis added by me
Here, the value that God places on children can be plainly understood. Jesus also indicated that abuse of children would bring about severe consequences:
“Jesus said to His disciples, ‘It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble’” (Luke 17:1-2). Emphasis added by me.
In Proverbs 6:16-19, we are told that there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. The third of these is “Hands that shed innocent blood.”
In ancient Israel, this degradation and depravity reached a point so low that the prophet Jeremiah was sent by the Lord to the valley of Hinnom, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, where the Hebrews brought their children to be sacrificed to the demonic god Molech. This place was called Topheth. He was told to take a clay jar with him.
This was the judgment that God pronounced on the nation that practiced child sacrifice and burned their children alive:
“Then you [Jeremiah] are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them” (Jeremiah 19:10-11). Emphasis added by me.
The Hebrews played loud trumpets and other instruments to mask the screams of the infants from those in the city as they were being brutally slaughtered.
God did indeed fulfill this promise as He fulfills all His promises of judgment to all those who refuse to listen. Israel was judged and destroyed. They were without remedy.
Today, in our efficiency, we have mothers’ wombs to mask the screaming, and we have modern chemicals and forceps in place of placing infants in the arms of Molech.
Would God view the murdering of innocent babies by burning them alive with chemicals or dismemberment as any different than passing them through the fire?
America has murdered millions upon millions of innocents. We are clearly the leader in this horrid statistic. Over 60 million babies have been sacrificed!
What is one of the more practical purposes in having a healthy population of children according to this Psalm?
“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (V 4-5a).
And, what might be the consequences of a reduced population of young men when the time comes that America, likely under judgment by God and due to its weakened military state, is confronted by the enemies at our gates?
“He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate” (V 5a).
And what are our youth being taught, and what is left of our military, once the most powerful in the world?
It is being systematically weakened and reduced in number.
Our enemies are out there, they are increasing, and they are waiting near the gates.
One of the most common judgments that God has employed throughout human history is causing rebellious nations to be invaded and destroyed after numerous warnings. America has not heeded any of the warnings we have received. Even after 9/11, the churches were only briefly busy with people wondering why America was attacked. Within weeks it was right back to ops normal. Cry out to God, then go play golf.
Psalm 127 has not changed in its meaning or application through thousands of years, but America has voluntarily relinquished its understanding of it.
As with any house, no matter how well constructed, it must be carefully maintained, or it will eventually become uninhabitable.
Have “we” reached the point where there is “no remedy”?
I think that depends on how we define “we.”
If “we” is taken to mean our nation, I am very doubtful God will be willing to heal us. The yeast of evil is very firmly entrenched in America. (See Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11.)
Do we stop praying for our nation? I would never recommend that. It is God who decides the fate of nations and leaders.
If “we” is taken to mean individual people who reside in America (or anywhere else in this world), then I would suggest that God’s Mercy and Grace are always available to penitent individuals as the real remedy for anyone who still draws breath in this life.
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life:
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com
The post The Message of Psalm 127 and the Demise of America :: By Dave Hubley appeared first on Rapture Ready.
