"Unless
the Lord builds
the house..."
(The
FUTILITY of human effort... without
God.)
("Not by might,
and not by power -- but by thy
Spirit")
A tablet
from the on-going INTERNET BOOK, "The Doctor's
Terrific Tablets"
(
http://www.terrific-tabs.com
)
by John
N. Todd III, M. D.
(link)
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your thoughts to the author
I especially love
this "tablet", concerning God's power and
influence and guidance -- in the
individual lives of His people. I will start out with
a single Biblical reference that encapsulates this splendid
spiritual truth. Then I will quote
other scriptures which interrelate with, and extrapolate the
same subject.
After that, I want to show a number of Biblical references
that define a separate but closely-related spiritual
point.... and that point is as follows: it is
not by the power and strength
and intellectual might of human-beings that
great victories are won....
either in international wars, or in our humanly personal and
interpersonal "conflicts". In other words, in matters of
significant concern, either worldwide among the great
nations, or individually among God's
people
(link).... it is invariably the will, and
wisdom, and purpose of God that prevail
-- regardless of the opinions and efforts of us
humans.
During my lifetime, in the year 1990, one of the great
manifestations of this "victory" of
God occurred, when the prolonged international
strife between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world,
suddenly and "magically" and mysteriously came to an end --
without war, and without bloodshed. These events were
culminated by the destruction of the "Berlin Wall";
and then were followed by a series of international
developments that no human-being had
predicted.... and that no one could ever have hoped
for. I say that this sequence of
events could never have occurred, in a
world of bellicose human-animals -- without the
direct intervention of, and
ordaining by, our Almighty God.
Let me quote now the first powerful scripture -- from
the Psalms:
Psalm 127: 1
(Moffatt) "Unless the Lord builds the house,
they labor in vain that build it. Unless
the Lord keeps the city, the watchmen waketh
but in vain."
The scripture above is
one of my all-time favorites, dating back to
my days in medical school, when I first heard it, and
understood it, and memorized it -- and when I
was first impressed by its profound
truth. At that time, in about 1953, in
Birmingham, Alabama, while I was in Medical School.... I
attended a "Methodist" Sunday-school class, where the
teacher -- Mr. Hugh Comer (a wise and wealthy Alabama
industrialist) -- began every
one of his Sunday sessions by reciting this
beautiful-and-true scripture from Psalm 127.... and Mr.
Comer ended each of his Sunday-school-lessons
by quoting again the very same verse.
This Biblical quotation tells me that unless God
protects us (His people), and that unless He
guides us in our plans, and in our efforts -- then it
does not matter what humanly provisions and
schemes we may have designed.... our human plans and
projects will not (cannot)
succeed. (See link God's
people.)
Consider now these additional scriptural references. Read
them out loud:
Isaiah 55:
8 (NIV) "For my thoughts are not your
thoughts -- neither are your ways my
ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways -- and my thoughts than
your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come
down from heaven, and do not return to it
without watering the earth, and making it bud and
flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower, and
bread for the eater; 11 so is
my word that goes out from my mouth.
It will not return
to me empty; but will
accomplish what I desire -- and
achieve the purpose for which I
sent it.
Lamentations 3: 37 (NIV) Who can speak, and
have it happen, if the Lord has not
decreed it? 38 Is it not
from the mouth of the Most High that both
calamities and good things
come?
1 Corinthians 3: 5 (NIV) What, after all, is
Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants,
through whom you came to believe -- as the
Lord has assigned
to each his task. 6
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but
God made it grow.
7 So neither he who plants, nor he who waters
is anything -- but only God, who
makes things grow...... 9
For we are God's fellow-workers.
You are God's field --
God's building.
Acts 5: 38 (NIV) (Gamaliel speaking):
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave
these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or
activity is of human origin -- it
will fail. 39 But.....
if it is from
God, you will not be able
to stop these men -- you will only find yourselves
fighting against God."
Job 42: 1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
2 "I know that you can do all things; no
plan of yours can be thwarted. 3
You asked, `Who is this that obscures my counsel
without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did
not understand -- things too
wonderful for me to know.
Proverbs 16: 3 (NEB) "Commit to
God all that you do, and your
plans will be established".
Same (NIV) Proverbs 16: 1 To man belong the
plans of the heart, but
from the LORD comes the reply of
the tongue. 2 All a man's ways seem innocent to
him -- but motives are weighed by the
LORD. 3 Commit to the LORD whatever
you do, and your plans will
succeed. 4 The LORD
works out everything
for His own ends --
even the wicked for a day of
disaster.
Zechariah 4: 6 This is the word of the LORD to
Zerubbabel: "Not by might, nor by
power, but by my
Spirit," says the LORD Almighty.
Psalm 44: 3 (NEB) It was not our
fathers' swords that won them the land, nor their arm
that gave them the victory; but thy right hand,
and thy arm, and the light of thy
presence. Such was thy favor to
them. 6 I will not trust in my
bow, nor will my sword win me the
victory; for thou dost deliver us
from our foes -- and put all our enemies
to shame.
Same (NIV) 3 It was not by their sword
that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them
victory. It was your right hand, your arm, and the
light of your face -- for you loved
them...... 5 Through you, we push back
our enemies -- through your name we trample our
foes. 6 I do not trust in my bow.
My sword does not bring me victory; 7
but you give us victory over our enemies -- you put
our adversaries to shame.
Isaiah 26: 12 (NEB) "O Lord, thou wilt bestow
prosperity on us; for in truth, all our
works are Thy doing."
Phillipians 2: 13 (KJV) For it is
God which worketh in you, both to
WILL, and to DO -- His
good pleasure.
1 Chronicles 19: 13 Be strong, and let us fight
bravely for our people, and for the cities of our God.
The LORD will do what is
good -- in His sight."
Psalm 108: 12-13 (NEB) "Grant us help
against the enemy, for deliverance
by man is a vain
hope. With God's help, we shall do valiantly;
and GOD HIMSELF will tread
our enemies under foot."
Matthew 15: 13 (NRSV) (Jesus speaking)
"Every plant that my heavenly Father has
not planted will be
uprooted."
These scriptures
reiterate to me that unless God
is involved with whatever we do -- either as
individuals, or as a group, or as a
nation -- there is no chance that our efforts
will ultimately succeed.
That is, if what we "creatures" do is of only
humanly aspiration and design -- then our plans
may (or may not) succeed -- in
"human" terms. But..... if what
we do, or hope to do, is inspired by
God, and occurs within His plan and purpose and
guidance -- it will succeed -- unequivocally, and
without fail.
As mentioned above, this "truth" applies not only to
the battles that occur in international wars,
but also to the relatively minor "wars" that
God's
people
(link), individually, find themselves involved in, day by
day -- and year by year.
The awareness of this truth gives courage to
God's people; and helps them to accomplish the
giant step from "faith" in God -- to
"trust" in God. (See link Trusting
in God.)
So -- memorize this scripture.... to
keep it -- as a part of
you:
Psalm
127: 1 "Unless the Lord builds
the house, they labor in vain that build
it. Unless the Lord keeps the
city -- the watchmen waketh but in vain."
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