The virtue of God's blessing, 1, 2. Good children are his gift, 3-5.
1 [A Song of Degrees for Solomon.]
Unless the LORD builds the house,/
they labor in vain who build it./
Unless the LORD keeps the city,/
the watchman wakes in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise early,/
to sit up late,/
to eat the bread of sorrows,/
for he gives his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage of the LORD,/
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man,/
so are children of the youth.
5 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Psalms, Chapter 127[➚]
John Calvin's Chapter Summary:
This Psalm shows that the order of society, both political and domestic, is maintained solely by the blessing of God, and not by the policy, diligence, or wisdom of men; and that the procreating of children is his peculiar gift.