"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." (Psalm 127:4)
This is the central verse in the 101 verses contained in a remarkable group of fifteen psalms called "The songs of degrees" (Psalms 120-134). The central verse in the central psalm of this group is the preceding verse: "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalm 127:3). The origin of these psalms and this peculiar superscript has always been uncertain. Four are said to be by David, one by Solomon; the other ten are anonymous.
A reasonable supposition, however, is that they were composed by King Hezekiah, after he had been miraculously healed of a lethal illness. "I will add unto thy days fifteen years," God had said, and gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign as confirmation, causing the shadow on the sun dial of Ahaz to go "backward ten degrees" (2 Kings 20:6, 10). In thanksgiving thereof, the king proclaimed, "Therefore we will sing my songs . . . all the days of our life in the house of the Lord" (Isaiah 38:20).
