Psalm 127:4, 5
As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it," so it is true that they who build a household must give God all the credit. Children are Gods gift; and even as no one has room to boast of bringing himself into being, no one can rightfully boast of having brought children into being. God brings them into being through man and gives them to man. Man gives God nothing. All is His eternally.
And what a gift children are! As we read in Psalm 127:4-5, "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of thy youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.'" We may sing it thus (PRC Psalter):
Lo, children are a great reward,
A gift from God in very truth;
With arrows is his quiver stored
Who joys in children of his youth.
And blest the man whose age is cheered
By stalwart sons and daughters fair;
No enemies by him are feared,
No lack of love no want of care.
God may not have given you a house. You may not own a city. But if He gave you a covenant child, He made you rich with a most precious gift. Many children do not make a man poor. No covenant parent has room to complain about how much it costs to bring up a child. He may not be able to buy or build a house. Many of the dainties of this earth may never be his. But if God gives him a child, He has made him rich with that which lasts beyond this earth and all its treasures. As a covenant parent with covenant children he will have with him in the house of many mansions, and in the holy city, a gift of God, while the multi-millionaires have seen all their wealth go up in smoke.
Before those who have and fight for gold and silver, he need have no fear, and by all means need not be ashamed of the gift God gave him. No one with gold and silver can take thorn from him. They are his children forever. Gold and silver are ours only for a few years.
Read: Mark 10:13-16
Psalter versification: #359:3,4
Daily Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #278
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Numbers 26:1-51
Luke 2:36-52
Psalm 60:1-12
Proverbs 11:15
****
Quote for Reflection:
"…Nowhere perhaps is the devil so active as in a congregation of Gospel-hearers. …From him come wandering thoughts and roving imaginations – listless minds and dull memories – sleepy eyes and fidgety nerves, weary ears and distracted attention. In all these things Satan has a great hand. People wonder where they come from, and marvel how it is that they find sermons so dull, and remember them so badly! They forget the parable of the sower. They forget the devil." --J. C. Ryle
Additional Info
- Date: 17-March
