“The
blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the
Lord!” -Psalm 129:8b (ESV) [Read Psalm 129]
This
short psalm of Ascents is actually a song of victory over Zion’s
enemies. Since this one fell on Mother’s Day in the sequence of
going psalm by psalm to write these devotionals, I read the psalm
three times before I determined that the second portion of verse 8
could be the text for a message of encouragement for mothers.
But
first, let us look analytically at the Psalm to see its message for
Israel’s day and for ours. Verses 1-4 tell how Israel has been
persecuted severely by enemies, yet has been preserved. Verses 5-8
pray a prayer of retribution on enemies, and states that the enemy
will never say of Israel: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
we bless you in the name of the Lord” (v/8b).
Yet
those very words sound like a prayer for blessings upon a beloved
child. Can we thus apply that prayer as one prayed by beloved
mothers? How often have they battled enemies of discouragement,
heartache, and agony for wayward children? Yet godly mothers never
gave up hope, never stopped praying, never stopped loving their
children. And we have heard so many times stories of victory of how
an erring child repented of waywardness and set a new direction in
life. A mother’s love, like the love of the Lord for His people,
is steadfast and binding.
President
Abraham Lincoln made the statement, “All that I am and hope to be
is because of the prayers of my godly mother.” A saintly mother
never gives up on her children. She guides in good times and in
difficult periods. She prays when immediate answers to prayer do not
seem to be forthcoming. And she rejoices when she sees the blessing
of the Lord extended to her children.
Dr
B. B. McKinney (1886-1952) gave us beautiful words in a hymn which is
a prayer, “God, Give Us Christian Homes.” The third stanza is
about a godly mother and her influence in the home: “God give us
Christian homes! Homes where the mother, in caring quest, Strives to
show others Your way is best. Homes where the Lord is an honored
guest; God give us Christian homes; God, give us Christian homes!”
As
the Israelites long ago prayed for the blessings of the Lord, let us
even now pray for godly mothers and the influence they wield on their
children. Thank God for your own mother and do what you can to help
young mothers to bring up their children in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 05.08.2016
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