Psalm 126

Psalm 126 (NIV)

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126 is one of the songs that the people of Israel would sing together as they journeyed up to Jerusalem for various major feasts or holidays.  Bible scholars believe that this psalm was written after the Babylonian exile.  It reflects on how it suddenly ended, but now there is a time of new trials and difficulties that the worshipers are asking God to help them with.  

I want to take this psalm and directly apply it to us.

This psalm is in two parts.  Verses 1 thru 3 reflect back on what God did for us in the past and verses 4 thru 6 ask God for help, for divine intervention now, and the inspired author gives us wise counsel about how to live in times of suffering; what to do.

Let’s read verses 1 thru 3 again:

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, 

we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

When we got saved, when we got baptized, our lives changed.  I know my life changed.  We see things differently.  There are a lot of “ah ha’s”, and “oh, I see it now”.  But there is this deep joy where we reflect and say something like “this is like a dream.”  Because being saved is indeed a new life.  What God does to us is beyond our human comprehension.  Being saved and walking in the new Christian life almost seems too good to be true, but it is true and it is real.  So when God saves you and changes your life, it is perfectly normal to say, “am I dreaming?”

Verse 2 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.”  Having this continual joy in our salvation is the normal Christian life.  

This is what Apostle Peter wrote about this joy in 1st Peter chapter 1, verses 8 and 9:

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Have you and are you experiencing this joy?  I believe being overjoyed and singing to God and about God is the normal Christian life.

When we take joy in our salvation, whether we got baptized over 50 years ago or just last year, we are celebrating the most important event in our lives.  

Calling to mind how God saved us, with deep gratitude and thankfulness, is to bring ourselves into the reality of relationship with our saving God.  This is where we live.  What God has done for us through Christ is what defines our lives and is the place from which we live.

Now, let’s read the second half of this psalm that addresses the present:

Beginning with verse 4:

Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, 

will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Notice that very similar words are used in verses 1 and 4, “when the Lord restored the fortunes” and “restore our fortunes.”  We are in a sense asking God to “do it again.”  We are already saved, born-again disciples on our way to heaven, but something has been lost or something is now missing and we are now asking God to restore to us.  And this cry to God is:

“Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.”

The Negev was an area in Southern Israel that was bone dry, but would experience lots of water when it rained.  These words are saying to the Lord, “give us a reversal of fortune.”  Or saying, “We are at a loss and need your help.”  

We know that after we get saved:

We still have problems.
We still have troubles.
We still have trials and temptations.

The gospel message does not promise us that we will no longer have problems, no longer suffer, and no longer have losses.  But now that we are God’s children, we know He is with us and He has overcome 

the world. Jesus said in John 16:33 that,

 
"in the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

In the last two verses there is wisdom and instruction about suffering as a believer.

There is a spiritual law that is also mirrored in the natural realm called sowing and reaping.  We are first told about this in Genesis 8:22 where it states that there is “seedtime and harvest” for the lifetime of the earth.  God says that He will always provide food from the earth through sowing and reaping.

In Mark chapter 4, verses 26 through 29, Jesus applies this principle of seedtime and harvest to the kingdom of God, and Mark writes this, 

“He also said, ’This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’”

Now back to Psalm 126 verse 5:

“Those who sow in tears.”

What does it mean to sow in tears?  

Sowing in tears means we face life’s trials and troubles, and walk through them.  We don’t deny it is happening, we don’t escape them through distractions or sinful activity.  But we embrace our suffering with God while asking Him, according to His will to change our circumstances, to bring a reversal, to bring rain where it is dry.

Can you do this while calling 9-1-1? Yes.
Can you do this and keep your loved ones, and especially your children safe? Yes.
Can you sow your tears and embrace suffering while seeking wise counsel? Yes.
Can you hire an attorney to help you while you sow tears? Yes.

The psalmist says that when we sow our tears, we will reap with songs of joy.  We know that in agriculture, the farmers sow seed and then there is a waiting period.  This holds true with all sowing and reaping.  We are promised here that those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

The next verse is a bit of a repetition, with more detail, saying:

“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

We “go out”, we walk out our weeping.  We are obedient despite our uncertainty, trusting God, step by step, walking in faith.  “Going out” means walking in faithfulness.

We have a promise here that the seeds of our tears that we plant, will return to us as a harvest of joy.

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.

The sowing of the seeds of our tears is a willing and obedient investment on our part, in our faith, in Christ, while we are suffering, in a drought, or in any sort of trial or tribulation.  And in time, God promises us a harvest of joy.