It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep(Psalm 127:2).
This Song of Ascents sings of God’s blessing in our everyday life, especially pertaining to home life. Why is it vain for someone (especially the man of a house) to work hard to provide for the needs of his household? Doesn’t the Bible extol the virtue of hard work? Indeed it does. And this song is not making a case for laziness or being slack in our work. The point of vanity is from verse 1:
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.In other words, if the LORD is not in it, then no amount of time and effort expended will be enough; whether it’s building a house, defending our community, or providing for the needs of our household. We will be busy – and probably tired – but not accomplishing God’s work by His strength. But if God is in it: well, the end of verse 2 says that He is able to provide for us even while we sleep. Being rightly related to the Lord – having Him at the center of my home life – ensures that my labor will not be in vain. As we embark on a new year, whose providence am I trusting in: my own, the government’s, or the providence of the eternal God who made the heavens and the earth?