_The virtue of God’s blessing.—Good children are his gift._
A song of degrees for Solomon.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh _but_ in vain.
_It is_ vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the
bread of sorrows: _for_ so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children _are_ an heritage of the LORD; _and_ the fruit of the
womb _is his_ reward.
As arrows _are_ in the hand of a mighty man; so _are_ children of the
youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be
ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
This Psalm contains a most blessed and important doctrine. It is of
the same subject-matter as that contained in the book of Solomon,
called Ecclesiastes. The Psalmist teaches, that all governments and
commonwealths rightly constituted are the good and free gifts of God:
and that none of them can be either rightly constituted, at the first,
nor preserved afterwards, by any human wisdom or might: but that all
these things are in the hand of God: that, where he giveth not peace,
where he giveth not men desirous of the arts of peace, and wise
therein, where he holdeth not the helm of the state,—that there, all
human wisdom, however great, all laws, all ordinances, all might, all
arms, all preparations are vain.
In the next place, the Psalmist saith, that where God blesseth not a
domestic household, where he giveth not concord between husband and
wife, success and happiness in the bringing up of children, diligence
and faithfulness to men-servants and maid-servants; there, all labour
and industry and toil are vain: concerning all which I have spoken
more largely in my more full commentary on this psalm.