Children are the blessings of the Lord.
They are put here as part of his inheritance. Children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. They are special blessings. Children (as it is to be observed) are a resemblance of our immortality, because a man revives again, lives anew (as it were) in every child; he is born again (in a civil sense) when others are born to him. There be some who account their children, but bils of charges, but God puts them upon the account of our mercies; how holily and piously speaks Jacob concerning his children. These (saith he) are the children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Some think themselves blessed, if they may have one or two children; one to inherit their estates, one or two to delight themselves in, to play with, or to bear their name; but if they come a number, to a great number, they then think themselves exceedingly burdened, then they are troubles. When God casts up the estate of a blessed man in outward things, he saith not only that he hath a child, that he is not barren, but that he hath many children, that he hath his quiver full of such arrows, as the expression is, Psalm 127:5. and that is made the blessedness of a man there, Happy is the man (saith he) that hath his quiver full of them, that hath many arrows, such are children of the youth, Verse 4. There are some rich and covetesous men, that are in this point beyond other rich in folly. You shall hear them pride themselves, that they have no children, or but few; this they conceive sets them off in the opinion of the world for the richer men, whereas one child is more riches than all the things that are in the world. And we know it is an ordinary thing (though indeed it is a very sinful thing) to say, tis true such a one is a rich man, he hath a fair estate, but he hath a great charge, a great many children, as if that did take off from his riches, or make him less happy; as if he were the poorer because he hath a larger share of that ancient blessing upon man, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. [Joseph Caryl]
Labels: Joseph Caryl
<< Home