Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 127:3
Lo, children [are] a heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
3. Lo, sons axe an inheritance from Jehovah;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
As He bestowed upon Israel the possession of Canaan (Exo 15:17; Deu 4:21), not as an hereditary right, but of His own free-will, in accordance with His promise, so of His free gift and grace does He bestow the blessing of numerous children. The P.B.V. well expresses the sense, “Lo, children and the fruit of the womb are an heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord.” If the thought of recompence is included at all in ‘reward,’ it is, in accordance with the spirit of Psa 127:1-2, as a recompence for the fear of God (cp. 128) that children are given, not, as the Targum glosses, introducing the later Jewish doctrine of merit, as a reward for good works.
the fruit of the womb ] A more general expression including daughters. Cp. Psa 132:11; Gen 30:2; Deu 7:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
3 5. All blessings are God’s gift, but especially the blessing of a numerous family. In dilating upon its advantages the Psalmist passes away from the primary theme of the Psalm.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord – They are an inheritance derived from the Lord. They are bestowed by him as really as success is in building a house, or in guarding a city. The idea is, that everything which we value, or which we desire, is a gift from God, and is to be received as from him, and to be acknowledged as his gift. The general idea here, as in the previous verses, is that of entire dependence on God.
And the fruit of the womb is his reward – Or rather, a reward; that is, they are of the nature of a reward for a life of devotion to God; they are among the blessings which God promises, and are evidences of his favor. Our translation by inserting the words is his obscures the sense, as if the meaning were that they belong to God as his reward for what he does for us. The reverse of this is the true idea – that they are a blessing with which he rewards or favors his people. Of course, this is not universally true, but the promise is a general one, in accordance with the usual promises in the Bible in regard to the result of piety. Children are to be reckoned among the divine favors bestowed on us, and for their lives, their health, their virtues, and the happiness derived from them, we are, as in other things, dependent on him – as in building a house, in guarding a city, or in the rest and comfort derived from toil.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 127:3-5
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord.
Children–Divine gifts
Children come not into the world by chance or fate. God sends them as His gifts.
I. They are gifts of great value.
1. They are of great value in themselves.
(1) The intellectual possibilities of a child. In the babe which the mother for the first time presses to her bosom, there may be powers that will work out into the greatest of poets, sages, apostles, reformers, even angels.
(2) The emotional possibilities of a child. What capabilities of love and hate, wrath and tenderness, rapture and misery.
2. They are of great value to the parents.
(1) Look at the influence of a child on the mind of a parent. It unseals a new fountain of love. It creates a new world of interest, it supplies new motives for diligence, sobriety, and virtue.
(2) Look at the power of a child to bless the parent. It comes with the filial instinct deeply planted in its nature, an instinct which, as it rightly develops itself, makes the parent the object of its strongest and purest affection, its most loyal and devoted service. When God gives to parents a loving and loyal child, He gives that which is of more worth to them than lordly estates, or even mighty kingdoms.
II. They are gifts involving great trusts.
III. They are gifts that may become great curses. Man has a faculty of perversion. In nature he can turn food to poison, make the quickening sunbeam his own destroyer, and transform the blessings of Providence into curses. Thus he can deal with his own child, his choicest gift from God. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
About children
I. Children are a Divine treasure. God prizes children because they are–
1. His images.
2. His instruments. From a holy child the Most High can let His glory shine forth as truly as from an aged saint. In the goodness which He can form in the young, there is an attractive beauty by which all hearts are melted, and which is fitted to convince the proudest gainsayer. It is not the largest flowers which the gardener cherishes most tenderly, or to which he points his visitors as the best proof of his skill and taste.
II. Children are a Divine gift.
1. One of inestimable value. They are to take our places when we go away–to repair the losses caused by the removal of others–to labour in that with which we are now busy–to carry on and to carry further whatever of noble and useful effort we have begun–not merely to replace but to surpass us.
2. One of happy influence. They diffuse a Divine harmony over the hearts of those who take them as from God, and train them as for Him. They keep alive our noblest feelings. To them we owe much of that tenderness of heart, which is so imperilled by the business, and cares, and wickedness of the world. They are a witness from God which we cannot suppress.
III. Children are a Divine trust.
1. We must strive to show them a right example.
2. We must give them a careful training.
3. We must show a kindly interest in them.
4. We must give them our fervent prayers. (A. MacEwen, D. D.)
Children–Gods gift
What we want is for every father and mother to be moved be say when a little one is put into their arms, This child is a heritage from the Lord, a sign of the Divine favour towards us, a precious charge of love to be brought up in His nurture and admonition.
I. Try to estimate their worth. As Gods gifts they possess an inestimable value. Nothing He sends can be worthless. The humblest flower which He pencils into beauty by a ray of sunlight is not to be overlooked. Of every work that bears the mark of His creative touch, however insignificant, the exhortation may be uttered, Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. How much more shall it be said–and said by the Master of men Himself–of those little flowers of humanity that spring up and bud and blossom in our homes. The hopes of two worlds, of time and eternity, meet in every child born into our homes. Have we ever realized as completely as we might do what they are and may become? If we have attempted this, then all relationships in which they may stand to us are as nothing compared with this, that they may become heirs of immortality and eternal life.
II. Try to understand their individual characters. A family is a little world. Each member of it has a personality of his and her own. But what that is who can tell? There is no magic method of discovering it. God has hot intended to save us the trouble of constant watchfulness by sending with each child a tabulated description of its character. Everything is unformed, yet there is a distinct individuality lying and working underneath, and that manifests itself as education and circumstances develop the mind and heart. What we have to do is to wait, and watch, and guide; acknowledging the existence of variety, yet training it in wholesome ways.
III. Try to appreciate the power of your influence. Do they learn from us to honour and to attain the highest principles? Do they see that we as Christian men and women esteem godliness and truth above all other things? Let our influence be such as to nurture in them a fervent love of what is right because it is right, and a profound abhorrence to all that is mean, selfish, double-minded, impure, un-Christlike, and then will their minds respond with quick sensitiveness to all forms of goodness, and turn with spontaneous hatred from that which is contrary to uprightness and truth. (W. Braden.)
The pleasure given by children
There is a pathetic passage in the autobiography of Herbert Spencer, which was published some time ago. At the age of seventy-three he wrote, When at Brighton in 1887, suffering the ennui of an invalid life, passed chiefly in bed and on the sofa, I one day, while thinking over modes of killing time, bethought me that the society of children might be a desirable distraction. And so he wrote to a friend, Will you lend me some children? The children were sent to him, and of them he wrote, instead of simply affording me a little distraction . . . afforded me a great deal of positive gratification. And the great scientist who had no children to love longed for the gifts that had not been bestowed upon him.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord] That is, To many God gives children in place of temporal good. To many others he gives houses, lands, and thousands of gold and silver, and with them the womb that beareth not; and these are their inheritance. The poor man has from God a number of children, without lands or money; these are his inheritance; and God shows himself their father, feeding and supporting them by a chain of miraculous providences. Where is the poor man who would give up his six children, with the prospect of having more, for the thousands or millions of him who is the centre of his own existence, and has neither root nor branch but his forlorn solitary self upon the face of the earth? Let the fruitful family, however poor, lay this to heart; “Children are a heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” And he who gave them will feed them; for it is a fact, and the maxim formed on it has never failed, “Wherever God sends mouths, he sends meat.” “Murmur not,” said an Arab to his friend, “because thy family is large; know that it is for their sakes that God feeds thee.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Children; which he mentions here, partly because they are the chief of all these blessings, and partly because all the forementioned toil and labour is in a great measure and most commonly undertaken for their sakes.
Are an heritage of the Lord; they come not from the power of nature, and from a mans conversation with his wife, or with a multitude of wives or concubines, which Solomon had, but only from Gods blessing; even as an inheritance is not the fruit of a mans own labour, but the gift of his father, or rather the gift of God, both enabling and inclining his father to give it to him.
His reward; not a reward of debt merited by good men, but a reward of grace, of which we read Rom 4:4, which God gives them graciously, as Jacob acknowledgeth of his children, Gen 33:5. And although God give children and other outward comforts to ungodly men in the way of common providence, yet he gives them only to his people as favours, and in the way of promise and covenant.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3-5. Posterity is oftenrepresented as a blessing from God (Gen 30:2;Gen 30:18; 1Sa 1:19;1Sa 1:20). Children arerepresented as the defenders (arrows) of their parents in war, and inlitigation.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Lo, children [are] an heritage of the Lord,…. As all success, safety, and the blessings of life, depend on the providence of God; so this very great blessing is a gift of his; having children, and those good ones, as the Targum interprets it; for of such only can it be understood: so, in a spiritual sense, the children of Christ, the antitypical Solomon, are the gifts of his heavenly Father to him; his portion and inheritance, and a goodly heritage he esteems them;
[and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward; “fruit” y is the same with “children” in the preceding clause; see Lu 1:42; a reward he gives to good men, not of debt, but of grace; the Targum,
“a reward of good works:”
so regenerate persons are a reward to Christ, of his sufferings and death, Isa 53:10.
y “Nascitur ad fructum mulier”, Claudian. in Eutrop. l. 1. v. 331.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With it goes on to refer to a specially striking example in support of the maxim that everything depends upon God’s blessing. (Gen 30:2; Deu 7:13) beside also admits of the including of daughters. It is with (recalling Gen 30:18) just as with . Just as the latter in this passage denotes an inheritance not according to hereditary right, but in accordance with the free-will of the giver, so the former denotes not a reward that is paid out as in duty bound, but a recompense that is bestowed according to one’s free judgment, and in fact looked for in accordance with a promise given, but cannot by any means be demanded. Sons are a blessed gift from above. They are – especially when they are the offspring of a youthful marriage ( opp. , Gen 37:3; Gen 44:20), and accordingly themselves strong and hearty (Gen 49:3), and at the time that the father is growing old are in the bloom of their years – like arrows in the hand of a warrior. This is a comparison which the circumstances of his time made natural to the poet, in which the sword was carried side by side with the trowel, and the work of national restoration had to be defended step by step against open enemies, envious neighbours, and false brethren. It was not sufficient then to have arrows in the quiver; one was obligated to have them not merely at hand, but in the hand ( ), in order to be able to discharge them and defend one’s self. What a treasure, in such a time when it was needful to be constantly ready for fighting, defensive or offensive, was that which youthful sons afforded to the elderly father and weaker members of the family! Happy is the man – the poet exclaims – who has his quiver, i.e., his house, full of such arrows, in order to be able to deal out to the enemies as many arrows as may be needed. The father and such a host of sons surrounding him (this is the complex notion of the subject) form a phalanx not to be broken through. If they have to speak with enemies in the gate – i.e., candidly to upbraid them with their wrong, or to ward off their unjust accusation – they shall not be ashamed, i.e., not be overawed, disheartened, or disarmed. Gesenius in his Thesaurus, as Ibn-Jachja has already done, takes here in the signification “to destroy;” but in Gen 34:13 this Piel signifies to deal behind one’s back (deceitfully), and in 2Ch 22:10 to get rid of by assassination. This shade of the notion, which proceeds from Arab. dbr , pone esse (vid., Psa 18:48; Psa 28:2), does not suit the passage before us, and the expression is favourable to the idea of the gate as being the forum, which arises from taking in its ordinary signification. Unjust judges, malicious accusers, and false witnesses retire shy and faint-hearted before a family so capable of defending itself. We read the opposite of this in Job 5:4 of sons upon whom the curse of their fathers rests.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. Lo! children are the heritage of Jehovah. Solomon here adduces one instance in which, in a particular manner, he would have us to recognize the truth which he has hitherto asserted generally — that the life of men is governed by God. Nothing seems more natural than for men to be produced of men. The majority of mankind dream, that after God had once ordained this at the beginning, children were thenceforth begotten solely by a secret instinct of nature, God ceasing to interfere in the matter; and even those who are endued with some sense of piety, although they may not deny that He is the Father and Creator of the human race, yet do not acknowledge that his providential care descends to this particular case, but rather think that men are created by a certain universal motion. With the view of correcting this preposterous error, Solomon calls children the heritage of God, and the fruit of the womb his gift; for the Hebrew word שכר , sachar, translated reward, signifies whatever benefits God bestows upon men, as is plainly manifest from many passages of Scripture. The meaning then is, that, children are not the fruit of chance, but that God, as it seems good to him, distributes to every man his share of them. Moreover, as the Prophet repeats the same thing twice, heritage and reward are to be understood as equivalent; for both these terms are set in opposition to fortune, or the strength of men. The stronger a man is he seems so much the better fitted for procreation. Solomon declares on the contrary, that those become fathers to whom God vouchsafes that honor.
As the majority of children are not always a source of joy to their parents, a second favor of God is added, which is his forming the minds of children, and adorning them with an excellent disposition, and all kinds of virtues. Aristotle in his Politics very properly discusses the question whether πολυτεκνια , that is, the having of many children, ought to be accounted among good things or no; and he decides it in the negative, unless there is added εὐγενεια , that is, generosity or goodness of nature in the children themselves. And assuredly it would be a far happier lot for many to be without children, or barren, than to have a numerous offspring, proving to them only the cause of tears and groans. In order, then, to set forth this blessing of God — the having offspring — in a clear light, Solomon commends a virtuous and generous disposition in children. The similitude introduced for this purpose is, that as an archer is armed ‘with a well-furnished bow, so men are defended by their children, as it were with a bow and all arrow. This similitude might seem, at first sight, a little too harsh; but if it is examined somewhat more closely, its elegance will be readily admitted. The Prophet means that those who are without children are in a manner unarmed; for what else is it to be childless but to be solitary? It is no small gift of God for a man to be renewed in his posterity; for God then gives him new strength, that he who otherwise would straightway decay, may begin as it were to live a second time.
The knowledge of this doctrine is highly useful. The fruitfulness even of the lower animals is expressly ascribed to God alone; and if He would have it to be accounted his benefit that kine, and sheep, and mares conceive, how inexcusable will be the impiety of men, if when he adorns them with the honorable title of fathers, they account this favor as nothing. It is also to be added, that unless men regard their children as the gift of God, they are careless and reluctant in providing for their support, just as on the other hand this knowledge contributes in a very eminent degree to encourage them in bringing up their offspring. Farther, he who thus reflects upon the goodness of God in giving him children, will readily and with a settled mind look for the continuance of God’s grace; and although he may have but a small inheritance to leave them, he will not be unduly careful on that account.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Children.With the true patriarchal feeling of the blessing of a numerous offspring, the poet here directly alludes to Gen. 30:2. Heritage of Jehovah is, of course, heritage from Jehovah, i.e., a promise granted by Him, just as Israel itself was a possession He made for Himself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Lo, children From dwellings, and the right ordering of our labour, the psalmist proceeds to the family.
Heritage A possession derived from a father by the law of blood relation. Children are a wealth, and the gift of God. To reverse this doctrine is a renunciation of the laws of God, both as written in Holy Scripture and implanted in our nature.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
How truly blessed is it to a gracious parent, when the Lord giveth gracious children! What a blessed meeting will that be in glory, when such shall surround the throne! The Lord Jesus is introduced by the Prophet, as presenting his seed, his people, which the Father hath given to him, in that day, saying, Behold I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me. And the apostle quotes it by way of confirmation in allusion to Christ: Isa 8:18 , compared with Heb 2:13 . And may we not say of under pastors in Christ’s household, who labour in the word and doctrine; how truly blessed to see the fruit of those labours, at that day, in precious souls, won by the word, under the Spirit’s quickening and regenerating power, to Jesus! It will be a blessed surprise to many a faithful servant of Jesus at that day to behold such! And parents also! no doubt many among them will find cause to bless the Lord, and not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 127:3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
Ver. 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord ] This Solomon could not but be sensible of. See the title of this psalm; especially, if by children are meant good children, as, Pro 18:22 , by a wife is meant a good wife. And here the poor man that hath no inheritance otherwise hath one from the Lord; for such are oft full of children; neither may he wish, as one graceless man did, that God would keep such his blessings to himself, for he had too many of them.
Is his reward
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 127:3-5
3Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psa 127:3-5 This strophe at first seems unrelated to Psa 127:1-2, but the thrust of the Psalm as a whole is God’s active involvement in the life of the nation of Israel. This Psalm is addressed to the current king. A nation is only as strong as its family structure.
Healthy children are part of the blessing section of both Lev 26:9 and Deu 7:13; Deu 28:4; Deu 30:5. It was a sign of a healthy covenant relationship with God. Remember He is the One who commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply (cf. Gen. 2:27-28; Gen. 9:1,7).
Psa 127:3
NASB, TEV,
REBgift of the Lord
NKJV, NRSV,
LXXheritage from the Lord
NJBa birthright from Yahweh
JPSOAa provision of the Lord
The word (BDB 635) basically means an inheritance (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 77) or property, possession.
1. inheritance of a person – Gen 31:14; Num 27:7-11; Num 36:3; Num 36:8; Psa 37:18
2. inheritance of Israel – Deu 4:21; Deu 15:4; Deu 19:10; Deu 20:16; Deu 24:4; Deu 25:19; Deu 26:1; Isa 54:17
3. lot or portion – Job 20:29; Job 27:13; Job 31:2
This Psalm can be interpreted as a stated truth to
1. an individual (#1 above)
2. to the king of Israel and, thereby the nation (#2 above)
I think #2 fits this Psalm best.
Psa 127:5 This line of poetry emphasizes a strong population (or tribal group) able to defend themselves because of
1. their God
2. their God-given population
It is possible this is a reference to the secure dynasty of the Davidic King (cf. 2 Samuel 7).
They shall not be ashamed In this context of a dynastic promise to the King, I think shame refers to a military defeat. For ashamed see note at Psa 119:6.
in the gate This was the place of law, commerce, and social activities.
The AB (p. 224) offers another suggestion related to this last line of poetry. The basic Hebrew phrase can refer to a battle scenario where the enemy is defeated. The translation would be, but shall drive back his foes from the gate.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. To whom is this Psalm addressed?
2. Who is the beloved of Psa 127:2?
3. Define ashamed in this context.
4. The last line of the poem must be understood in light of who is addressed, why?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
children = sons. The reference to the fact that Hezekiah was rejoicing in Isaiah’s message that he should have a son, made it a suitable Psalm for Hezekiah to select (2Ki 20:12, 2Ki 20:18. Isa 39:7).
of = from. Hence he sings Jehovah’s praise.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 127:3-5
Psa 127:3-5
“Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
So are the children of youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
They shall not be put to shame,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.”
The imagery here is that of a large family, a special inheritance from God, “Enabling a man to meet his enemies in the gate of his city.
“As arrows in the hand of a mighty man” (Psa 127:4). “A large family gave a man a strong position in the ancient community. The comparison of children to arrows is common, especially in the poetry of the Arabs.
“So are the children of youth” (Psa 127:4). This especially refers to “Sons in their youth, in their prime and vigour of life.
“Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them” (Psa 127:5). A “quiver” was the device in which arrows were carried; and what us praised here is a large family.
“When they speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psa 127:5). The whole implication here is that of a warlike society in which personal and family wars were the order of the day.
Before leaving this, it should be pointed out that children are “of the Lord.” Only the Lord is able to give them; and, although they come “through” earthly parents, they still belong to God; and the parents who fail to recognize this and to rear their offspring in the fear and admonition of the Lord are of all human beings the most reprehensible.
More than once, this writer has observed children which were reared, not to fear God, but as mere animals, who turned upon their aging parents, oppressing them, deserting them, and in one instance murdering them. Parents who neglect to bring up their children as God has commanded are merely kindling the fires of their own hell.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 127:3. Heritage means something received from another. Hence, although children are the offspring of human beings, their presence should be regarded as a gift from the Lord. This is far different from the attitude manifested by many people who regard children in an objectionable light.
Psa 127:4. Arrows are referred to as an illustration of the value of children. The comparison is with the idea of defense or support. If a man is equipped with arrows he has wherewith to defend himself. And if he begets children in the days of his youth and strength, they will be a support for him when he is old.
Psa 127:5. The illustration is still drawn from the bow and arrow. A quiver is a case for holding arrows. A man with a quiver full of arrows would be well supplied for a conflict; so a man with many children would be equipped for the battles of life. He would not be ashamed nor afraid to meet the enemy at the gate of his city.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
children: Psa 128:3, Psa 128:4, Gen 1:28, Gen 15:4, Gen 15:5, Gen 24:60, Gen 30:1, Gen 30:2, Gen 33:5, Gen 41:51, Gen 41:52, Gen 48:4, Deu 28:4, Jos 24:3, Jos 24:4, 1Sa 1:19, 1Sa 1:20, 1Sa 1:27, 1Sa 2:20, 1Sa 2:21, 1Ch 28:5, Isa 8:18
Reciprocal: Gen 4:2 – a keeper Gen 5:4 – and he Gen 11:11 – begat sons Gen 15:2 – childless Gen 16:2 – the Lord Gen 28:3 – and make Gen 29:31 – he opened Gen 30:22 – opened Gen 48:9 – my sons Exo 1:21 – made them Deu 7:14 – male or Rth 4:11 – the Lord Rth 4:13 – the Lord 1Ch 8:40 – many sons 1Ch 25:5 – God gave Neh 5:2 – our sons Job 1:2 – seven sons Job 5:25 – thy seed Job 21:11 – General Job 29:5 – my children Job 42:13 – General Pro 5:16 – dispersed Pro 17:6 – Children’s Luk 1:13 – thy prayer Heb 2:13 – which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 127:3. Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord They come not from the power of mere nature, but from Gods blessing, even as an inheritance is not the fruit of a mans own labour, but the gift of God. He can, in a moment, blast the most fruitful stock, or he can make the barren woman keep house, and become a joyful mother of children. The psalmist mentions children here, because all the forementioned toil and labour are, in a great measure, and most commonly, undertaken for their sakes; and because they are the chief of all those blessings to which he refers. And the fruit of the womb is his reward Not a reward of debt, merited by good men, but a reward of grace, as the apostle expresses himself, Rom 4:4, which God gives them graciously, as Jacob acknowledges of his children, Gen 35:5. God indeed frequently gives children, and other outward comforts, to ungodly men, but this is in the way of his common providence; whereas he gives them to his people as peculiar favours, and in the way of promise and covenant.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. The providential blessings of God 127:3-5
The folly of working all the time and not trusting in the Lord should be obvious when one considers that much of what we enjoy does not come from working hard. Many of life’s best blessings come as gifts from God. Children are one of these great gifts. God gives them to a couple or withholds them, as He chooses, regardless of how much a husband and wife may strive to obtain them. Under the Mosaic economy God promised to bless the godly with children (Deu 28:4), but He gave no such promise to Christians. Therefore it is a mistake to conclude that the more children a Christian couple has the more godly they are.
In Solomon’s day, grown children normally cared for their parents in their old age. They would defend them as the parents became increasingly dependent and vulnerable. That is what Solomon evidently had in mind in Psa 127:4-5. Children (sons) can be a defense for their parents from exterior and interior foes. Arrows defend against attacking invaders. Negotiating in the gate pictures defending against enemies who would seek to rob the defenseless through legal maneuvering and bring shame on them. Thus children can be a kind of insurance policy, but not one that someone can work hard to buy. They are a gift from God.
The godly need to recognize that people are never self-made. We owe all that we possess to God’s providence ultimately. Consequently, we should avoid the trap of depending totally on ourselves for all we need in life. Instead, we should trust God as we work and acknowledge His good gifts.
"No amount of human sacrifice or toil can accomplish much unless God’s blessing is upon His people." [Note: Ibid., p. 346.]