God has blessed my wife and I with a daughter and three sons and now, given us the privilege of being the grandparents of eight granddaughters and three grandsons. As a family, we have had some great times together, and we have had some tough times, and I am sure both of these will continue into the future. Many times in my life I have thought to myself and expressed to my wife, “What would we do if we couldn’t pray for our children and grandchildren!”
The author of Psalm 127 has so far mentioned a couple of scenarios where he emphasizes that if we try to accomplish things without God it is in vain. Those things are when a builder builds a house and when a guard watches over the city. Now in verses 3-5 he mentions a third and just as significant endeavour where we need God’s wisdom and intervention day by day, and that concerns being a parent or grandparent.
He writes:
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Longman comments:
“This psalm stresses the importance of putting God first in our lives. Both stanzas (vv.1-2 and vv. 3-5) teach that God provides every good thing (shelter, protection, food, sleep and family) … the main theme reminds us of our dependence upon God… Success depends on the Lord, not our own efforts. True, the builders must build the house and the guards must stand watch over the city [and we must endeavour to raise our families well], but unless God builds and protects, then all human effort… [is in vain].” This effort “is not just talking about construction [or guarding], but about a family… and in particular, about children.” And so, the psalmist “makes the point that, no matter how intense our efforts, success comes from God and from nowhere else.” (# 30)
Sadly, in my culture, marriage and family life have been eroded by many false beliefs and philosophies that continue to creep in, the further our society moves away from our Judeo-Christian heritage, i.e., from the truths of God’s Word. As a result, many families are broken and many children are no longer considered a heritage from the Lord, and many offspring are no longer seen as a reward from him.
It seems to me that it is time to get back to the basics and to some wise advice from God to his people when it comes to bringing up children in a God honouring way:
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18-21)
Jesus said concerning “every good thing (shelter, protection, food, sleep and family)”:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Worship and Wisdom - Psalms and Proverbs 
Thank you friend for wise words. What our times and communities are showing are the missing links, golden links in the generational chain where the precepts and values of Godly behaviour have not been passed down from parents to children and children’s children… oh Lord restore the Honours of your Name… for in you are all the families of the Earth named.
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