Psalm 127:4-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 127:1-5

We are here taught to have a continual regard to the divine Providence in all the concerns of this life. Solomon was cried up for a wise man, and would be apt to lean to his own understanding and forecast, and therefore his father teaches him to look higher, and to take God along with him in his undertakings. He was to be a man of business, and therefore David instructed him how to manage his business under the direction of his religion. Parents, in teaching their children, should suit their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 127:4

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man ,.... Are shot out with great strength; come with much force, and do execution, and do not return in vain; with which men defend themselves, and annoy their enemies; see Jeremiah 50:9 ; so are children of the youth : not young children, or children in their youth; but such who are born to their parents when they are in their youth; and which are generally healthful and strong, and their parents live to see them grown up; and who are useful... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 127:5

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them ,.... That is, his house full of them; called a quiver, referring to arrows before mentioned, this being the case in which they are put up: to have many children was always reckoned a great temporal blessing and happiness; see Job 1:2 . The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "that fills his desire" has as many as he desires or wishes for: the Targum, "who fills his school of them:' so Jarchi... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 127:4

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man - Each child will, in the process of time, be a defense and support to the family, as arrows in the quiver of a skillful and strong archer; the more he has, the more enemies he may slay, and consequently the more redoubted shall he be. Children of the youth - The children of young people are always more strong and vigorous, more healthy, and generally longer lived than those of elderly, or comparatively elderly persons. Youth is the time for... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 127:5

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them - This is generally supposed to mean his house full of children, as his quiver if full of arrows; but I submit whether it be not more congenial to the metaphors in the text to consider it as applying to the wife: "Happy is the man who has a breeding or fruitful wife;" this is the gravida sagittis pharetra "the quiver pregnant with arrows." But it may be thought the metaphor is not natural. I think otherwise: and I know it to be in the Jewish... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 127:5

Verse 5 5.They shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Here Solomon describes such children as, distinguished by uprightness and integrity, have no hesitation in rendering an account of their life, that they may shut the mouths of the malevolent and of calumniators. In ancient times, as is well known, judicial assemblies (104) were held at the gates of cities. He therefore here speaks of the gate, as if in the present day one should speak of the bench, or the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 127:1-5

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 127:1-5

The blessing of God. The psalm is in keeping with that prevalent piety which led the devout Israelite to trace God's hand in everything, and ascribe both good and evil, both joy and sorrow, to his directing power. I. UNBLESSED LABOR . 1. We can do nothing at all without the Divine co-operation. We constantly depend on the presence of his material, on the action of his laws, on the activity of the forces he keeps in play. We all recognize this in agriculture; that it is vain for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 127:1-5

The builder's psalm. Our ignorance of the exact reference of this psalm enables us to apply it, as perhaps otherwise we might not be able, to all builders whatsoever. Four such seem to be pointed at here. I. THE TEMPLE - BUILDERS . 1. We know that this was one of the solicitudes of the returned exiles—to uprear again the temple of the Lord. And in the books written after the return from Babylon we read about this and the difficulties they had to encounter, and the success... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 127:4

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth ; rather, the children of youth ; i . e . children born to a man in his youth. Such children protect their aged parents as effectually as arrows in the hand of a warrior. read more

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