◄ What Does Psalm 127:2 Mean? ►

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(NASB)

Verse of the Day

Every Psalm contains its own special truth and this song, which is credited to Solomon, reminds us that it is the Lord Who blesses our daily lives, our domestic duties, our business opportunities, and our various labours. The Lord is the one Who provides for our everyday needs, and it is upon Him that each one of us should justifiably depend.

The Lord pours out His favour on our labour and establishes the work of our hands. But when our toil is divorced from His providence or when we undertake to work in our own strength, we discover the futility of our actions. When we seek to be independent of the Lord, we find it is vain to rise up early and retire late in order to eat the bread of painful labours - for the Lord gives to His beloved - even in his sleep.

What a lovely truth to realise that the Lord is not only the Author of that beloved sleep that refreshes us daily, but "He gives gifts to His beloved children - even when they are sleeping." God, in His grace, provides us with sleep, with its rejuvenating, refreshing, revitalising, and restorative qualities which benefit our spirit, soul, and body - but also, when His children are asleep, His gifts and graces continue to flow - from Him to us.

Sleep itself is a gift from the Lord to His dearly beloved children, but through sleep the Lord bestows many good and precious gifts, and pours grace upon more grace on His beloved, blood-bought children. It is as we abide in Him and rest in His love, that the Lord endows us with His perfect peace which passes human understanding, and gives us the assurance that He is with us - even to the end of the age.

Our bodies were designed, by God, to have a prolonged period of sleep each day, and research shows that sleep provides us with many benefits - both for the body and the soul. But God sends rain on the just and the unjust. The benefits of sleep are not confined to righteous men, for God is good and gracious - long-suffering and of great kindness to all humanity. However, those that are His children receive gifts and graces from the Lord, even when they are fast asleep and unaware of His good work within.

For those that are saved by grace through faith in His redemptive work, the Lord gives and continues to give innumerable benefits - but without faith it is impossible for His children to please Him. How futile, therefore, to stress about getting up early and striving to work late into the night in order to supply what we need according to what WE do, when God has promised to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory - and to bestow His grace on His beloved children, even when we are sleeping.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the benefits of a good night's sleep. Thank You also for the day by day provision of the gifts and graces that are mine in Christ and which are even poured out on me during the night-time hours. Thank You for the work that You have given me to do during my time on earth. Lord, I know that without You I can do nothing, and yet I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Keep me from the worries of the day and the fears of the night. Keep me from trying to sort out my personal problems without coming to You and relying on Your sufficient strength and promised grace. May I never forget that it is You who provides for my daily needs, and I pray that from this day forward, I may rely on You in all things. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.