Psalm 127

 127 (Biblical text in italics) This is a “wisdom psalm” written by King Solomon.  The ESV Study Bible gives a few helpful themes: “without the Lord’s blessing, human toil is worthless” and “diligence is neither greed nor restless anxiety.”

1 Unless Yahweh builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless Yahweh watches the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain. When we try to do things ourselves, be it control things about our home or protect those we love, we end up failing.  We must trust the Lord to do all these things and be about the business of obediently following Him, no matter what He asks us to do.  We must work in faith, trusting God with the outcome of our labors.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early,
That you sit out late,
O you who eat the bread of painful labors;
For in this manner, He gives sleep to His beloved. The Lord doesn’t want us to be focused strictly on busyness and “getting ahead” or even on protection of those around us.  He give us work AND rest.  The rest teaches us to have faith in His provision rather than only depending on ourselves to provide.  See 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 for a good illustration of this concept.

3 Behold, children are an inheritance of Yahweh,
The fruit of the womb is a reward. Children are a good thing, not the burden society paints them to be or pawns to be able to have a “do over” ourselves or make ourselves popular.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth. Like arrows, children are most effective when they are sent out from us.  In our youth, we have children and raise them, but when they become adults, we must send them out, trusting God to lead them, guide them, remind them of the lessons of their childhood, and fix any of the many mistakes we have made as parents.

5 How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with enemies in the gate. Here, we see a father standing at the gate with his grown children.  Filling the quiver is good, but making sure each arrow is strong, straight, and flies true is what really leads to “not being ashamed.”  We cannot guarantee that our children will follow in the way we have taught them, but we can give them the best possible start by leading them in the way of the Lord.