He Grants The Barren Woman A Home

Those that have been long barren are sometimes, on a sudden, made fruitful. This may look back to Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, and Samson's mother, or forward to Elizabeth; and many such instances there have been, in which God has looked on the affliction of his handmaids and taken away their reproach. He makes the barren woman to keep house, not only builds up the family, but thereby finds the heads of the family something to do. Note, Those that have the comfort of a family must take the care of it; bearing children and guiding the house are put together, 1 Tim. 5:14. When God sets the barren in a family he expects that she should look well to the ways of her household, Prov. 31:27. She is said to be a joyful mother of children, not only because, even in common cases, the pain is forgotten, for joy that a man-child is born into the world, but there is particular joy when a child is born to those that have been long childless (as Lu. 1:14) and therefore there ought to be particular thanksgiving. Praise you the Lord. Yet, in this case, rejoice with trembling; for, though the sorrowful mother be made joyful, the joyful mother may be made sorrowful again, if the children be either removed from her or embittered to her. This, therefore, may be applied to the gospel-church among the Gentiles (the building of which is illustrated by this similitude, Isa. 54:1, Sing, O barren! thou that didst not bear, and Gal. 4:27), for which we, who, being sinners of the Gentiles, are children of the desolate, have reason to say, Praise you the Lord. - Matthew Henry