A Godly View of Motherhood

Psalm 113:1-9

Praise the LORD.

Praise, O servants of the LORD,

praise the name of the LORD.

Let the name of the LORD be praised,

both now and forevermore.

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

the name of the LORD is to be praised.

The LORD is exalted over all the nations,

his glory above the heavens.

Who is like the LORD our God,

the One who sits enthroned on high,

who stoops down to look

on the heavens and the earth?

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes,

with the princes of their people.

He settles the barren woman in her home

as a happy mother of children.

Praise the LORD.

P

erhaps you heard in the news this week past that a prestigious school in Manhattan banned making Mother’s Day gifts in order to protect the feelings of children of same-sex couples.[1] I suspect that many mothers would miss pencil cans created from cast-off soup cans and Styrofoam pictures. I never had difficulty in the concept of Mothers Day, but I do confess that Mothers Day presents pastoral difficulties for me.

Throughout my childhood years, I heard the tributes to mothers, both from pulpit and from pew. However, my own mother deserted her children when I was but five years of age. I shouldn’t imagine that you would have difficulty understanding my reason for ignoring observance of Mothers Day for years. I could not stand the deep pain upon hearing the accolades to mothers when I had no such memories of my own.

Long after I had entered the ministry, I found it difficult to prepare a message for the second Sunday in May. On some years, I would simply continue with the particular series of messages I was delivering, ignoring the celebration. In other years I would struggle to find an appropriate message, which too often turned into a polemic of God’s ideal for motherhood—an ideal which was distorted because it reflected too often my own ideas instead of those of the Word, I regret to admit.

Eventually, the painful challenge attending the call to honour mothers was ameliorated through God’s gift of a gracious wife. Lynda gently revealed to me the beauty of motherhood, and I grew to appreciate this day vicariously through watching the mother of our children—the children God had entrusted to our home. Consequently, Mothers Day grew to be an opportunity for me to honour my wife as a happy mother of children. I have no doubt that mothers are a divine gift. If you have a godly mother, she is a reminder of the goodness of God. I suspect that in years to come, mothers may become more precious still if we fail to prepare our youth for the parental role.

I believe it is right for churches to set aside a day in which mothers are honoured. In part, such honour is required because families are under assault. A recent Environics Poll of Canadians indicates that fifty-five percent of Canadians strongly (29%) or somewhat (26%) support marriage between same-sex couples. Support for sodomite couples has doubled in less than five years.[2] The evil euphemistically known as alternative life-styles is rapidly becoming acceptable within contemporary society. Therefore, if for no other reason than that our children should be encouraged to honour the family as God created it, we should observe Mothers Day.

You must acknowledge this vital truth that we cannot expect the public education system to provide moral instruction for our children. I am grateful for godly teachers who serve as salt and light within the public school system. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to expect the educational system to provide moral guidance for our children. That guidance can come only through godly families and through the instruction in the Faith provided through the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our children need opportunity to acknowledge God’s righteous plan in their own lives. As families are increasingly assaulted from multiple directions, we need to exalt God’s ideal for the home. Join me in an all together too brief exploration of the estimate placed on mothers in the Word of God. Among the texts exalting motherhood within Scripture is the 113th Psalm, which I invite you to examine together with me at this time.

God’s Power is Revealed through His Compassion — This Psalm is thought to have originally been a victory Psalm, sung at the time of victory during war. The style of the Psalm harkens back to the earliest days of Israel’s history as a nation. The Psalm begins with praise to God and concludes with praise to Him. Hy: Wll]h'! Perhaps more importantly in light of our recent commemoration of the Resurrection and our even more recent observance of the Lord’s Table, this Psalm begins “the Hallel” which was sung at the three Great Feasts, at the Feast of Dedication (Hannaukah), and at the New Moons.

At the Feast of the Passover it was divided into two parts, the first of which, consisting of Psalms 113 and 114, was sung before the meal, that is before the second cup was passed round. The second consists of Psalms 115 through 118, and was sung after the meal, when the fourth cup had been filled. As a point of interest, it would have been this 118th Psalm which the Lord and His disciples sang after His last Passover,[3] as related by Matthew (When they had sung a humn, they went out to the Mount of Olives [Matthew 26:30]). This is a decidedly Jewish touch, fitting in this particular Gospel.

God is God of Creation. There is no place where the Name of the Lord God is not praised. All the nations are dependent upon Him for their continued existence. He rules over the nations and He overrules the nations. How awesome is the might and power of our God. Little wonder that the people of Israel, here identified as servants of the Lord, are called upon to Praise Him.

Few of us have actually witnessed the glory of the Lord in His sanctuary. The reason I would make such a confrontational statement is that we are able to enter into worship with a casual attitude. The sanctuary of the Lord is the Church. Where the Body of Christ is gathered, there is the innermost sanctuary. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans. The second Temple, Zerubbabel’s Temple, was built beginning with the service of Nehemiah. Zerubbabel’s Temple was more of a fortress than a temple, and so it was rebult by Herod. Herod’s Temple was ultimately destroyed by Titus’ marauding troops in seventy a.d., only six years after it was at last completed.

The church gathered for worship, is now seen as the Temple of the Living God [cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16]. In a greater sense the whole of God’s people is a holy Temple [Ephesians 2:21], but the local congregation is especially designated as the Temple of God [Ephesians 2:22]. When you see any congregation gathered where Christ is exalted as Lord and where the people unite to worship Him, you have entered into the Temple of the Living God. This truth forms the foundation for the stern apostolic admonition against harming the local congregation. You will no doubt recall that warning issued in the first Corinthians letter. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple [1 Corinthians 3:16].

This knowledge lends meaning to the exclamation of praise in Ephesians 3:20, 21. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

If we could see as God sees, what would we see in our worship this morning? Would we actually see the Risen Son of God walking among us? Would we witness His august glory in our midst? Would we see Him who walks among the seven golden lampstands? Would we be awed and falling down before Him, worship?

I suggest to you that the Son of God is even now walking among us and His might is being displayed in ways that few of us acknowledge. Could we see the glory of God revealed in His people as we shall one day see, would we not find ourselves awe struck? We who have believed in Him reveal His glory as we worship and as we pray and as we see His might uniting us and adding to the congregation. This is the glory of God and we are sharing in that glory even now.

Christ the Lord is coming again. He comes to call rebel sinners to account—and we must warn all such rebels lest they perish. However, we are remiss if we fail to remind the people of God that He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed [2 Thessalonians 1:10].

You see, then, why I say that it is likely that few of us have witnessed the glory of the Lord in His Temple. The statement is less a condemnation than a plea to witness the power of God at work in our midst. It is encouragement to seek His presence that we may marvel now, and not wait until that glorious day when He shall be revealed among His holy people. We are that people and He is even now in our midst.

This is the where the 113th Psalm begins. In The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Derek Kidner titles this Psalm: Nothing too Great for Him, No-one too small.[4] It is an appropriate title. Whenever we think of God’s greatness, we consider His might and power. He created all things. By Him all things have their existence. He performs wonders on behalf of His people, giving grace and mercy in time of need. He is awesome in might and power on behalf of those who love Him. His goodness extends beyond our comprehension. He has redeemed us and called us by His Name. There is nothing too great for our God. Who wouldn’t stand in awe of such a God?

I consider the truly exciting portion of the Psalm to be this final verse, however. This same awesome God stoops to lift the needy from the ash heap. He willingly dirties His hands. He exalts the humble. Among those exalted is the barren woman. This latter demonstration of mercy merits our attention in this service. Though I would not insult anyone, I will challenge that far too many women, including some of our own dear sisters in the Faith, have been contaminated with contemporary mores which have left them with less than God’s best. Let me explain, before you take umbrage at my words.

Motherhood Through the Eyes of God — Perhaps you consider outdated concepts to have contaminated the Word of God, but it is evident that childlessness was seen as a demeaning condition for women throughout the pages of the Bible. The verse before us speaks of God making the sterile woman to keep house [literal meaning of tyIB'h' tr,q,[}]. God pointedly promises, “I will make a house for you.” God pledges His concern for the most helpless member of society—a childless woman. A similar statement of God’s compassion and loving concern is found in Psalm 68:4-6.

Sing to God, sing praise to his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds—

his name is the LORD—

and rejoice before him.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families,

he leads forth the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

We should understand that God is concerned for the weak and for the defenceless in society, and a childless woman was exceptionally vulnerable in ancient society. Should she be divorced, or another taken besides her, children assured her a place in the house.

Children were a mark of divine favour in the mind of our spiritual forebears. When Leah had borne Jacob four sons, Rachel cried out, Give me children, or I’ll die [Genesis 30:1]. Jacob understands that the gift of children lies within the purview of God. Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children [Genesis 30:2]. Later, we read that God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace” [Genesis 30:22, 23].

Hannah is another woman who struggled for children. We read specifically that the Lord had closed her womb [1 Samuel 1:5]. She prayed in her grief, asking the Lord to give her a child; and the Lord heard her prayers. Eli announced, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him [1 Samuel 1:17]. Listen to these succeeding verses. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son [1 Samuel 1:19b, 20]. We know the mechanics, but we don’t understand the process. God is the giver of life, and those who walked close to God were cognisant of His participation in the gift of children. When God wished to bless Shiphrah and Puah, midwives to the Hebrews, he gave them families of their own [Exodus 1:21].

Do you believe the 127th Psalm to be inspired of God? What do you suppose is meant by the words of that Psalm? How would you interpret the Psalm?

Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labour in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,

children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

[Psalm 127:1-5]

Clearly, God is the One who gives children, and those children are to be seen as His gift. Jesus Himself was clearly of the opinion that the birth of a child was a joyous occasion for a mother [cf. John 16:21].

Why should this be? Holy women of the past (as Peter calls them [see 1 Peter 3:5]) are models for holy women of this day. Godly women accepted their role of bearing children as ordained by God. They embraced this most significant assignment, knowing that they could influence the children He gave for good and for God. Thus, the birth of children was vindication of their role as women and indicative of God’s favour on them, just as we witnessed in earlier studies on the role of women in the church.[5]

This is the normal and historic understanding of Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:15, women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. This understanding is strengthened by the frequently recurring motif throughout the Pastoral Letters of the need for Christian women to devote themselves to the care of homes and the raising of children [e.g. 1 Timothy 5:9, 10, 14; Titus 2:4, 5].[6] This would have been especially important as the false teachers plaguing the early churches appear to have been teaching abstention from marriage [cf. 1 Timothy 4:3] and even disdain for the divinely ordained roles of men and women.

It is important to summarise this point by stating that God esteems mothers—He did give each of us a mother. Motherhood is valued in the mind of God and He is honoured when women embrace that precious role as mothers, raising their children to His glory. Just so, whenever the people of God esteem the role of mothers, God is honoured. To depreciate that role, to insinuate that being a mother is less than God’s best, to think that some profession is of greater value than serving as the happy mother of children, is to doubt God, calling into question His goodness and His compassion.

Young women may doubt that they have either the wisdom or the ability to raise children in our complex world, and as society changes with lightening speed to seemingly denigrate the role of mothers, the task of motherhood becomes more difficult still. To young women sharing the service today, may I say on the authority of God’s Word that no higher calling can be given you than this role of being a godly mother in God’s time and by His mercies. Keep yourselves pure and wait for a godly young man who shares your faith in the Son of God so that you will have a life partner who will always stand beside you in the struggle to honour God.

To you who are single moms, struggling against what must seem insurmountable odds to raise godly children in an unsympathetic world, may I say that God is still the compassionate God who hurts with you in your struggle to raise your children. He has not forgotten you, and though providing for your children is a great struggle, I would encourage you to see that those precious little ones are evidence of His goodness. Each child is a precious gift from God and He will not fail to give you strength or ability to raise sons and daughters who honour Him—if you but look to Him.

To the church, may I say that we are responsible to know the mind of God. If we know His mind we will value children and rejoice in those godly women who wish to honour God through being godly mothers. We will resist the efforts of the world which depreciates children in general, or which sees them as commodities to be used by wicked men and women. We will strengthen the hands of godly women in every way possible and seek to equip them to raise their children to the glory of God. We will pray continually for the children and seek to give what aid we can to those mothers.

Mothers Demonstrate God’s Mercy — If we accept that children are a gift from God (and not a mere biological accident), then we must accept that God gives only what is good. Children are a good gift, and likewise that woman who accepts God’s gracious gift becomes a blessed individual. She has received the best God can give, and having received God’s best she is charged with an awesome responsibility—the responsibility to raise her children to be a benediction to her life, presenting them to God.

I asked a couple of young women to share what their mother meant to them, a woman who exemplifies in no small measure such a blessed woman who accepted God’s gift and invested her life in her children. Those children are now grown, and the girls of that family were asked to reminisce about their mother. Here is what they wrote. The first note is from a daughter yet unmarried who is focused on serving the Lord as a missionary in a distant land.

Hi Mom,

When Dad asked me to write this message to you, I groaned b/c I can't possibly define all my thoughts in a couple of paragraphs! For one thing, you've meant different things to me at different times in my life.

You were my schoolteacher for many years. I guess it started with Kindergarten in the kitchen, didn't it? Later there was the huge paper solar system that covered the dining room wall for weeks. Remember helping me figure out algebra? Trying to teach me to sew Cabbage Patch pyjamas? (It's not for lack of trying on your part that I can't sew!) Remember teaching 5 adolescent girls how to grocery shop at Save-On? I could go on and on!

You've taught me more than just school subjects. I remember once when I was about 9 we were at some church function and, as I walked past, someone said, "Lynda is a gracious woman.” I could tell it was a compliment and I determined to figure out what it meant and to try to be that way: all I had to do was watch you. I've learned commitment from you. I've seen you come through a whole variety of tough and trying times and you just keep going and going and going... You've certainly modelled perseverance and endurance to me. Good thing because I sure have had to call on it a lot in recent days!

Now you are a cherished friend and I love knowing that I can talk freely to you. I love to just be with you and go for long walks or sip coffee or watch "Walker, Texas Ranger" late at night.

I could go on for a while longer but I suspect Dad is ready for me to wrap it up by now. I'll finish by saying this: remember the year I sang in church on Mother's Day? That must have been at least 5 or 6 years ago but I still remember the song because it summed up a lot of what I see in you.

"I found my Mother's Bible, it was just the other day; I watched the treasures of her heart unfold with every page. She had underlined the words of truth she wished to emphasise... underlined were words about commitment, underlined were words about contentment, underlined were precious promises that calmed her doubts and fears, underlined were words that spawned the love she's borne throughout the years… I knew her heart by things she underlined."

Happy Mother's Day. I love you.

The second daughter is mother of three active children of her own and awaiting delivery of her fourth child.

Dear Mom...

As I think of my own three children, and the wonderfully unique relationship I share with each of them, and as I eagerly await the next "instalment" of the Wilson clan, I can understand more of the sacrifices you had to make to stay at home and teach and raise the three of us yourself. I didn't really appreciate the fact that supper was always hot, home-made and on time because you didn't have to race home from work to start it. I took advantage of the fact that I had a built-in chauffeur any time I wanted a ride to the library or the mall. I felt "lucky" not to have to sit through a full day of high-school classes on a sunny day, but didn't know that I was "blessed" to have a home schooling mother.

You always had the amazing ability to see through closed doors and hear a defiant whisper from the other end of the house. It flustered me every time you told me to "get that look off your face, young lady" without turning around. I still laugh to remember walking into the house after having my ears pierced, and barely reaching the top of the stairs before I heard your shocked exclamation: "Susan Jeneé! What did you DO?!” I was amazed that you could see right through the long hair covering my ears. Now, I amaze my own children with the same talent, and you know what... it's kind of fun!

I appreciate the discipline I was raised with. A few years ago, in a store together, we witnessed a little girl throwing a tantrum on the floor. As we walked past her and her frustrated mother, you remarked, "You did that. Once.” That pretty much summed it up. I have adopted that attitude, too. Each of my children has also thrown a fit in a public place. Once.

I thank you for the consistency with which you raised us, and for showing us that wealth has nothing to do with how much you own, but with how much you are loved.

The letters could have been from any daughter writing lovingly to any mother. They happen to be the daughters my wife raised to be gracious and godly young women. Lynda would no doubt agree with another ancient woman who spoke highly of her children. When a woman boasted of her jewels, Cornelia, the mother of the Roman Statesmen known as the Gracchi (Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus), kept her talking until her children had come home from school. Gathering her children to her, Cornelia then stated, “and these are my jewels.”[7] If a woman, not a Christian, could realise this truth one hundred fifty years before the birth of Christ, shouldn’t we expect at least as much of Christian women in this day?

Perhaps you need to re-evaluate you view of children. How you view children in no small measure reflects your view of God. Are children a divine gift? Or do you see children as a nuisance? Is the presence of children within the church an evidence of God’s goodness to us? Or do those same children impose such responsibility that we want no more of it? The manner in which you see children will in no small measure reflect your view of motherhood. I suggest that in each mother we see something of the goodness and compassion of God, because that woman who raises her children before God has received great mercies by being permitted to be the happy mother of children.

We began with the concept of worship of a God great enough to accomplish anything, and sufficiently gentle to take note of the most vulnerable among us. May I say that such a God is worthy of your worship. That worship must begin with receipt of His gift of life through His Son. So it is stated with the gentleness of Christ and the compassion of the Father, that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. We are bold to call each individual to faith in this God, for He has convinced us through His Word that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].

Look to Christ and be saved today. Amen.

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[1] Marina Jiménez, “New York school deems Mother’s Day offensive,” National Post, May 9, 2001, Page URL: http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story/html?f=stories/20010409/557384.html

[2] Tom Arnold, “Support for Homosexuality Doubles over Five Years: Poll,” National Post, May 10, 2001, Page URL: http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010510/558519.html

[3] Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, in C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. V (Eerdmans n.d.) pg. 202-3

[4] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150: A Commentary on Books III-V of the Psalms, in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (InterVarsity, London, UK 1975) pg. 401

[5] cf. Thomas R. Schreiner, An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:9-15: A Dialogue with Scholarship, in Andreas J. Köstenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin (eds.), Women in the Church: a Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI 1995) pg. 151

[6] Douglas J. Moo, 1 Timothy 2:11-15: Meaning and Significance, Trinity Journal (1980) pp. 71-72

[7] Robert Burton, quoted in John Bartlett and Justin Kaplan (ed.), Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 16th Edition (Little, Brown and Company, Toronto 1992) 235:15