The blessings of Quivers and arrows

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]

The Scriptures Defense for the Righteous

Some parts of Scripture are clear and easy, some are obscure and very knotty; some parts of Scripture show what God made us, others, how sin spoiled us; A third, how Christ restored us. Some parts of Scripture shew forth acts of mercy to keep us from sinking; others record acts of judgement to keep us from presuming. And because the way to heaven is not strewed with roses, but like the crown of Christ here upon earth, set with thorns; because not smiles and loving embracements from the world, but wounds, and strokes, and temptations, do await all those tht have recieved the Spirit, and are enrolled for Christian warfare; because every true Israelite must expect thta which Jacob upon his death-bed spake of Joseph, thta the Archers will shoot at him, hate him and grieve him. In a word, because many are the troubles of the righteous; therefor the Scripture doth present us with sundry platforms of the righteous conflicting with many troubles.[Joseph Caryl]