Singing Psalm 127

Psalm singing continues to be a great joy in my family having a standard place at our evening meal. We began a little over a year ago with Psalm 128, and have added a few more along the way. As we began 2010 we introduced Psalm 127 the other really strong family Psalm. The version of Psalm 127 found in the Trinity Psalter was pretty rough and awkward, so I worked on editing it seeking to follow the biblical text and to achieve more clarity in expression. In the end I still wanted to do more, but decided it was time to start singing with what we had- lest the pursuit of perfection mean the actual practice of nothing.

So, here is my edited version. It is still not as smooth as the version of Psalm 128, but it has been useful to us and we all now know it by heart after singing it a few months. It is in the Common Meter so we have sung it to the tune of “Amazing Grace.”

Psalm 127

1Except the LORD shall build the house
The builders work in vain;
Except the Lord the city keep
The watchmen watch in vain.

2‘Tis vain for you to rise ear-ly,
Or late from rest to keep,
To eat the bread of anxious toil;
He gives His loved ones sleep.

3Lo, children are the LORD’s good gift;
Rich payment are men’s sons.
4The sons of youth as arrows are
In hands of mighty ones.

5Who has his quiver filled with these
O happy shall he be;
When foes they greet within the gate
They shall from shame be free.

I believe singing verses 4 and 5 have particularly hit home to my sons. They are reminded of the future God envisions for them. What an encouragement for my children, also, to sing regularly together a scriptural reminder that they are blessings from God. It has been helpful to me, also, to have verse 2 running through my head from time to time, reminding me not to fall for the frenetic lifestyle but to rest in God.


Perhaps some of you will be able to work on this rendering even further.

Value of Family

“When the Bible paints the picture of the happiest men on Earth with the most far-reaching impact on history, it does so in the context of family life, meal time, and the blessing of children (Psalm 127, 128). . . . Sometimes the most important thing happening in the world is the couple deciding to adopt a baby, or the child honoring his mother, or the daughter repenting to her father. Sometimes it is a little boy who waits patiently down the road for his daddy to return form work so that he can simply hold the hand of the most important man in his life. These are the moments that really matter – the ones that will count in eternity. They are the everyday victories of the Christian life that will one day fill the heart of the old man with joy as he looks back on a life well spent. That is why, when the world has passed away, and the trends of this present culture are long since forgotten, those simple acts of love, done in the name of Christ and for His sake by a mother to her child, or a brother for his sister, will retain value with the saints in eternity.”

Douglas W. Phillips, The Little Boy Down the Road: Short Stories & Essays on the Beauty of Family Life (xxi-xxii)
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“There are plenty of bad things that need killing”

Every once in a while I mention here items on my Children’s literature blog. Certainly one role of a pastor is to encourage families in the training of their children.

Yesterday, I posted a reflection on a line from George Macdonald’s book, The Princess and Curdie. The wise, mysterious woman character encourages Curdie, a young boy, not to destroy his weapons even though he has just done wrong with them. Instead, she urges him:

“Keep them, and practice with them every day, and grow a good shot. There are plenty of bad things that want [need] killing, and a day will come when they will prove useful.”

This is a good point and one we should be communicating. Here is what I said at the other blog:

This is the real truth, but not very often told in children’s books today. We encourage not pacifism, but restraint and wisdom. For, we know there are bad things which need destroying. I intend to raise sons who can recognize such bad things and are able and willing properly to wield destructive force when necessary.

Ross Guthrie on Baptism of Children

This past Sunday my friend, Ross Guthrie, gave the following homily preceding the baptism of three children at his church. I sought permission to post this here for two main reasons. First, the age at which children should be allowed to be baptized is an issue of significant discussion and debate. While this is not a full scale theological argument for one position here, it is a very pastoral defense of the view my church has settled on as well.

Second, I think this is simply a beautiful example of pastoral address. This is very clearly a shepherd speaking. The blessing and encouragement to the families noted here and the tenderness with the children is compelling. I hope it encourages and blesses you as it did me.

Baptismal Homily by Ross Guthrie
for Emma, Katelyn, and Karrah Jean

For just a moment, observe our candidates for baptism. A nine year old, an eight year old, and a seven year old. Children. Not only children, but children from Christian homes where following Christ is prayed for, is hoped for, is discussed frequently, and is encouraged regularly. So, I’ll ask the questions that are often on people’s minds when they see a child baptized: How can we know the child has real, saving faith? They haven’t been tested seriously by sin and the world. Do they really understand what they’re doing? Don’t they believe just because their parents believe? Is their belief really prompted by a need for Jesus? I obviously believe that these little ones should be baptized, so I’ll make an attempt to defend them from these questions often asked.

How can we know the child has real, saving faith? They haven’t been tested seriously by sin and the world. Frankly, how can I know if anyone has real, saving faith? I can present the message of Jesus’ death, burial, and bodily resurrection from the dead for the forgiveness of sins to a person and they may confess with their mouth that they believe that Jesus is Lord. But I can’t possibly know if they believe inwardly. I can only accept their testimony as an evidence of their inward belief. Accepting their testimony only assuages my own conscience in entering these waters to baptize a person. God alone knows the belief that exists or doesn’t exist within the person.

Well, these little ones haven’t been tested seriously by sin and the world. I recently heard of a congregation that set the age of eighteen as the age that they would baptize someone who had grown up in their congregation. They instructed their young ones and teenagers thoroughly and baptized them into full membership when they were eighteen. They could then begin partaking of the Lord’s Supper with their brothers and sisters in Christ. I shared this with the elders here at Christ Community Church and Walt’s response was, “That’s too late.” We then began, once again, the age debate. What is too young? What is too old? Shouldn’t they have time to prove that their faith is real and that they will withstand sin and the world? Maybe we should wait until someone is eighteen like that congregation. The teenage years are tough. Or maybe we should wait until they are twenty-four, after they’ve experienced some hardship, trouble getting employment, trouble finding a husband or wife, etc. Or maybe we should wait until they're thirty-five to see how they manage the death of a parent, or an announcement of a birth defect in their child, or an addiction that doesn’t seem to let go. Or maybe we should wait until their sixty, seventy, or on their death bed. You see my point.

Do these little ones really understand what they’re doing or do they believe just because their parents believe? Well, did any of us really, really understand what we were doing when we followed Christ? Did the apostles understand that it would cost them their very lives to follow Christ? Did Patrick and Lana really understand all that it would cost them daily to serve their family and the families of their brothers and sisters in Ethiopia? Did Katherine Guthrie really understand when she was ten what it meant to take up her cross daily and die to herself and come follow Jesus? Well, she does now. Do these little ones simply believe because their parents believe? Yes. We all come to Christ through various means. The gospel of Jesus Christ reaches us all in many different ways through the mouths of many different people. Chris and Karen are God’s grace to Connor, Cameron, and Katelyn. Being placed in a Christian family is no guarantee of eternal life, but it should be acknowledged as God’s kindness and mercy, His favor to those whom He saves through Christ-like parents.

That’s a lot of words and human reasoning and at some point I should quote some Scripture. It’s probably where I should have begun. If people were to ask the questions I addressed to Jesus on why should a child be baptized, His tone is simply, “Why shouldn’t they be?” I want to once again remind you of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” Is their faith real? These little ones have expressed to their parents that they want to follow Christ. They trust their parents and they trust God through Jesus Christ. This is the kind of faith that Jesus exhorts us to have. My heart for you in this moment is that you will look on these little ones and desire to have faith in Jesus like they have faith in Jesus. You want to help them in every way you can in their life in Christ. That is right and good. But let them help you as well. Let them be your little sisters in Christ who model a faith to you that Jesus commends.

Finally, brothers and sisters, I’ll close with these words of Christ: “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” Things are all backwards in this world. We are all enamored with professional athletes, movie stars and musicians, those who acquire great wealth and power. In the church, we admire the strong leader of the large church who touches us with his eloquent preaching and latest book. Celebrity-ism and professionalism are unfortunate marks of the church that can hardly be separated from the rest of the world. Therefore, we are more in need than ever of having our minds reworked on what it means to be great in the eyes of God. This morning, in these waters, let our little sisters serve you in reworking your mind. Let them help you think thoughts that are like God’s thoughts. In these waters, everything about greatness in God’s eyes will be made clear. These little ones who seem to be the least among us, in truth, they’re actually the greatest. “For the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” If you want to be like Christ, be like Emma. If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, be like Katelyn. Let your minds be reworked, renewed, transformed. Your hero shouldn’t be Billy Graham, John Piper, Walton Padelford, Cindy Denker. No, no, no. Model yourself after Karrah. The one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.

My little sisters, bless you for your faith. We bless you for following Christ. Come and be baptized and remind us of when we first believed in Jesus. Come and follow Jesus.

Teaching the Bible to Children

As part of our “Word Within the Word” conference a week ago, David and Sally Michael from Children Desiring God, led three breakout sessions on leading children in Bible Study. The Michaels were gracious enough to come even though their national conference was just this weekend. Their breakout sessions were packed and they did an excellent job.

Too often the importance of teaching our children well is missed by both families and churches. The Michael’s passion is to change this. These are well worth listening to for pastors, children’s teachers, parents, grand-parents, and anyone concerned with children.

Session 1- God-Centered Bible Teaching for the Glory of God
Session 2- Raising Bible-Saturated Children
Session 3- Aiming for Application and Response in Teaching Children the Bible

Gum, Geckos, and God

I am happy to be participating in a blog tour by Jim Spiegel promoting his new book Gum, Geckos, and God. Jim teaches philosophy at Taylor University and is the father of four children. This book is a record of various conversations that have come up between him and his children as they have talked about God and the Christian life in informal settings. You can see more about the tour at Zondervan’s site.
This is the tour schedule:

July 21- Spunky Homeschool
July 22- Beauty from the Heart
July 23- At a Hen’s Pace
July 24- A Holy Experience
July 25- Family Voice
July 28- Ted Wins
July 29- In a Mirror Dimly
July 30- Oversight of Souls & The Children’s Hour
July 31- Christians in Context
August 1- The A-Team Blog
August 4- Embarking
August 5- Challies.com

On its day, each blog will post a question about the book and Jim’s answer. Readers can then ask further questions in the comments section. As you can see I will host the tour on my children’s literature site as well.

I am excited about this book and have really enjoyed reading it. I hope you will stop by for the tour and check out the stops at the other blogs as well.

Shepherd Press Newsletter

I appreciate the work of Shepherd Press, and their regular newsletter is a good resource. They produce a number of good books primarily on family life. Their best known book is probably Tedd Tripp’s Shepherding a Child's Heart , which is a great book.

My point here though is their email newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it. Here is an excerpt, written by Tedd Tripp, from the most recent newsletter. Great exhortation and reminder.

Until your childrenhave seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, until theyhave come to see that he is the Lily of the Valley, that he is theBright and Morning Star, that he is the One who is altogether lovely;until they have seen and understood that it is worthwhile to divest of everything, that nothing in all the earth matters but knowing and loving Jesus, they will never know him and love him and serve him.They might play church. They might even be teen VBS helpers, or go on short-term mission’s trips, but until they are convinced that Christ is the treasure, they will never truly know him.

You cannot over-estimate the importance of showing your children the glory of God. If they do not know who God is, how God thinks,what God feels, and why he does what he does, they will have no grounds for finding joy in him, no reason to celebrate his abundant goodness and no basis for finding satisfaction in him. Delight in God cannot occur in an intellectual vacuum. Your careful display and demonstration of the wonders of God’s glorious being is crucial for your children. Joy in God is the fruit of what you know to be true ofhim. The spiritual heat of joy, delight, and wonder in the face of God cannot take place in a conceptual vacuum.

Wow! My purpose in my children's literature blog, The Children's Hour, is to recommend books we find helpful in pursuing this goal, though this from Tripp reminds me of how far we are from meeting this goal.