Family
Issues #4 Faithfulness in Childrearing (Psalm
127)
Introduction As we continue to
see God bless our body with more and more little ones,
we must remind one another of the promises God has given to us and reflect
those in how we train our children up in the Lord. We too easily fall into the sin of
pragmatism, thinking that if we just follow a well-developed, proven list of
how-tos, our children will turn out right. But, as the psalmist points out, the core
issue is not our particular methods, as important as those might be. The core issue, the foundation of faithful
childrearing, is faith in God, in His promises, in His grace to His people.
The Truth About Expertise (v1-2a) This
is one of the songs of ascents, sung as the people climbed the hills to worship
in Jerusalem. They are singing of the
temple-house and of their beloved city.
But the context of the entire psalm also shows us that they are singing
of households little temples and cities that each family is building. In the New Covenant, we see that we are the
temple (of Gods Holy Spirit) and that we are the New Jerusalem. Those physical structures were real, and yet
we are the reality of what they represented.
This is a psalm about our households, Gods households of faith.
Raw Materials
What do you have before you to build this household in and of yourself? Faltering, stumbling, fallen parents, and
sinners for children who are by nature, objects of wrath (Eph 2:3).
The Vanity of
Faithlessness Households must be built and they must be
protected. The man or woman who thinks
that they have just the right stuff, following just the right method or
personality and that all they have to do is follow some blueprint are on the
road to vanity emptiness tragedy.
Hard Work that Never
Ends Parenting, building and protecting a home is
a task that is overwhelming and never ends.
The temptation is to work harder, to try harder, to get up earlier and
stay up later (actually and metaphorically).
This is the person that says, unless I build the house
, not unless
the Lord builds the house.
The Source of Faithful Childrearing
(v2b) Because of the vanity of working in our flesh,
so he gives his
beloved sleep. This is a metaphor
of the gift of faith. And it is faith in
God, in His promises to us, that grant us such rest the world cannot understand
(Psalm 3:5-6). With faith, it doesnt
matter how faulty the raw materials are (in ourselves), or how dangerous the
world around us appears.
What Are We To
Believe? (Deut 30:6) The promise of heart obedience is
for us and our children (Acts 2:38-39).
The Lord is building your household.
Given What We
are Commanded This verse teaches us that God is pleased to
give His beloved this kind of sleep. We
are commanded to have this kind of faith and told that without it we cannot
please God (Heb 11:6). We are also told
that this faith is Gods gift to us (Phil 1:29). You cannot work up this faith it is the
gift of God.
The Rewards of Faithful Childrearing
(vv 3-4) It is faith that unites us to Christ and makes us partakers of all
His promises which are Yes and Amen in Christ (2 Cor 2:20). And what are His promises to us?
A Heritage
We are promised a multi-generational household of faith. This is confirmed throughout the scriptures,
in Psalm 102:25-28, 103:15-18, Ezek 37:24-26, Luke 1:48-50, Acts 2:17-19.
Sweet Fruit
Fruit is the proper end of the tree, and godly offspring is the proper end of
the marriage covenant (Mal 2:15). It
does not come from our works apart from faith.
This is a reward that comes by our faith. Spurgeon says, they are doubtful
blessings only because we are doubtful people. And this reward is the fruit of the womb, the
ordained praise of nursing infants (Psalm 8:2, Matt 21:16).
Sharpened
Arrows Spurgeon also says, A man of war is glad
of weapons which may fly where he cannot. The rearing of children is a martial
exercise. And its goal is stated in the
next verse.
The Goal of Faithful Childrearing
(v 5) The goal is not that our children would simply turn out ok. The goal is to secure the promised victory
over the world. This psalm has the Great
Commission in mind and is rooted in the promises of Gods victory through the
faithful discipling of the nations.
World evangelization is accomplished through the training up of faithful
generations in the Lord.
Applications Without a List
This is not a to-do list. You must
think of this much more as a state-of-being.
It is the place you must start and the place you must regularly return
and reflect in order to faithfully train up your children in the Lord.
Hear the Word
of the Lord Some of you would rather trust yourselves
than the Lord. This is the sin of pride
and you are commanded to repent of believing such lies. Some of you are struggling to find that faith
and you must cease looking inside yourself, for you will never find it
there. You must look away to the object
of that faith He is pleased to give His beloved sleep. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.
Plead the Word
of the Lord Pray for a lasting heritage. Pray for sweet fruit from the womb. Pray for sharpened arrows a quiver
full. Pray for these things because God
is pleased to give them to you.
Believe the
Word of the Lord You are commanded to believe the Word
of God. He has promised his beloved
sleep. He has promised your descendants
to be in Christ as well. In you all the nations
shall be blessed (Gal 3:6-9).
Act Upon
(Within) the Word of the Lord By faith, now go
and walk in the good works that God has prepared for you. Childrearing is not a crapshoot. It is a work of faith. Dave Hatcher
July 27, 2003