Christ My Rock and Foundation (Psalms 127:1, Ephesians 3:18-21)

Sermon on 7 June 2026 by Sister Hui Ling

Psalms 127:1 - “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”

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Ephesians 3:18-21 - “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭Song of Ascent is usually sung by pilgrims to encourage their hearts as they climb steep terrain. Psalms 120 to 134 are related to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was an existing fortress when David conquered and took it down. David became the King of Judah first and ruled from Hebron for 7 years. When Saul and his son died, the rest of the tribes recognised that David was king. God then set him as King of Israel and Judah. He took the city of Jerusalem through water pipes and continued ruling for 33 years. Jerusalem belonged to Israel and was where kings would rule. When David took our Jerusalem, many people would pay tribute to him. One of them was King Herod the tyrant.

2 Samuel 5:3-7 - “So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.”

‭‭In many generations and kings after David, there were some kings that were good and pleasing to God. But many kings also did not please God. One of them was King Solomon, David’s son. King Solomon built a temple of God, and although successful, also built many palaces for himself and his wives. Solomon’s palaces were bigger than the temple of God. He did not obey God and worshipped other idols that his wives worshipped. The Kingdom that God established for David was split. God gave the Kingdom of Israel to Jeroboam if he obeyed His commandments, but he did an even worse job than King Solomon. He built more altars and led Israel to worship other gods.

1 Kings 14:13 - “All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.”

The first destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 26). God is a merciful God. With repentance, love for God’s name and honour, and commitment to God’s commands, He will be merciful. Nehemiah, Ezra and the exiles repented and had the courage to do what is right. Many years after the first destruction, they celebrated the feast of tabernacles. Unless God builds the house, the work of the builders will be wasted.

Rebuilding of Jerusalem walls by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7, Ezra 6)

John the Baptist came to pave the way for Jesus. In the end he got beheaded and was rejected like all the prophets before him. Although Jesus came and did miracles, they still didn’t believe him.

Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.

John 2:19-22 - ““All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.”

Back to Psalms 127:1, we have to ask ourselves what house we are building. Are you building it by yourself or are you letting God build it? Even after you build your house, how do I protect it? Do I protect it with my own will and wisdom? Or do I count on God to protect it?

2 Samuel 5:9-12 - “So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward. And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him. Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace. And David realized that the Lord had confirmed him as king over Israel and had blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.”

King David didn’t just acknowledge his own tactical abilities but gave the credit to God for his success. He realised that God gave him success for the sake of the whole nation. That’s why God established His kingdom and made David successful. David also stumbled along the way but repented.

2 Samuel 12:7-15 - “Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.” After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.”

God is your rock and cornerstone for your house. Your house can be your family, your children, or anything that you are building. Without this strong foundation, your house could fall. When your house is built up strong and mighty, remember the foundation which is the love of Christ. Without God the builder, all your efforts will fail no matter how hard you try. Let God protect it with love.

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Ephesians 3:18-21 - “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” 

Amen.