Psalms 127:5

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. 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 - they shall not suffer the shame of defeat, but shall prevail, through the advocacy of their sons, when they have a lawsuit with adversaries in the gate - i:e., the place of justice. The transition from "arrows" and a "quiver" to a court of justice ("the gate," the place of concourse and of judicial proceedings: cf. Psalms 69:12) implies that whether in war or in trials at law, the energies of sons prove a strong defense to aged parents. Contrast Job 5:4, 'His children are crushed in the gate,' the once prosper...

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 courts, or the senate. Let it be observed that what is chiefly praised in children is innocence, that fathers may estimate this grace at its true value. In the preceding clause he had compared children endued with virtue and excellence of nature to arrows. Now, that no man may put a violent construction upon this comparison, as if it were intended to give children leave, like robbers, to rush upon doing mischi...

Verse 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 style_, and the style of the times of the captivity, when this Psalm was written, and we find the _pudendum muliebre_, or human _matrix_, thus denominated, _Ecclus 26:12_: Κατεναντι παντος πασσαλου καθησεται, και εναντι βελους ανοιξει φαρετραν. The reader may consult the place in the _Apocrypha_,...

HAPPY IS THE MAN - Hebrew, The happiness of the man. See the notes at Psalms 1:1. THAT HATH HIS QUIVER FULL OF THEM - The quiver is a case in which arrows are carried; and as a man - a hunter or warrior - feels secure when he has his quiver full of arrows, so a man is blessed in proportion to the number of his sons. This is in accordance with the idea often presented in the Bible, and the promise often made there of a numerous posterity as a proof of the divine favor. THEY SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED - They shall not turn back discomfited, hanging their heads with shame and confusion. See the notes at Job 6:20. BUT THEY SHALL SPEAK WITH THE ENEMIES IN THE GATE - Margin,

EXPOSITION A DIDACTIC psalm, preaching a contented trust in God as more conducive to the prosperity of a man, or a state, than any amount of fussy activity. The ascription to Solomon is borne out (1) by the use of Solomonic words; _e_._g_._ 'etseb_,_ ne'urim_,_ yedido_;_ _and (2) by the agreement of the general sentiment with Proverbs 10:22. PSALMS 127:1 EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE; rather, _a house_;_ i_._e_. any house whatsoever. THEY LABOR IN VAIN THAT BUILD it. They will effect nothing—no house will be built. Except the Lord keep the city; rather, a city. The watchman waketh but in vai

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 interprets the children, of the disciples of the wise men. It may be applied to young converts, the children of Christ and of the church; which, when numerous, is a blessing to him and her; see Isaiah 49:20; THEY SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED; the father and his children, as Aben Ezra; parents rath

Psalms 127:1. _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._ The psalmist had been speaking about house-building, and there is the building up of the house in the sense of a family being built up by children. Some people think children an encumbrance, but they are «a heritage of the Lord,» and they are to be looked upon with gladness. One said, «I have twelve sons,» and his friend answered, «That is exactly Jacob's number.» «Yes,» said the first speaker, «and I have Jacob's God to enable me to sustain them.» There is a comfort in that thought; may God grant that none may be troubled by those who

PSALM 120-134 The Psalms of Degrees Fifteen brief Psalms follow, called songs of degrees, or, ascents. They were in all probability used by Israel going up to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the feasts of the Lord--”Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.” They are indeed Psalms of “the goings-up” for we rise higher and higher as we read through them. Prophetically they give us again the steps from trial and suffering to the glorious consummation. As they are so simple in language and construction no lengthy annotations are needed. Psalms 120:1 begins with distress, picturing again the suffering of the righteous godly remnant. In Psalms 121:1 the Keeper of Israel, the Covenant Keeping God, is revealed

CXXVII. A. This Ps. is, as is now generally admitted, composed of two independent Pss. In Psalms 127 A, _i.e._ in Psalms 127:1 f. the Psalmist's theme is _the vanity_ of toil without Yahweh's blessing. The house was taken to mean the Temple: hence in the received text, but not in the LXX, the Ps. is ascribed to Solomon. At the end of Psalms 127:2 render, So, _i.e._ as fully as others get by their toilhe giveth to his beloved in sleep. But the text is almost certainly corrupt. B. PSALMS 127:3. SONS A GIFT BESTOWED BY YAHWEH. Psalms 127:4. children of youth, _i.e._ begotten in the vigorous youth of

HAPPY IS THE MAN. Hezekiah was that man. See the Beatitudes. App-63. MAN. Hebrew. _geber._ THEY: i.e. the sons. NOT BE ASHAMED. Figure of speech _Tapeinosis_ (App-6): quite the opposite. SPEAK. meet, whether for negotiation or for fighting....