Psalm 126
1When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,we were like those who dreamed.2 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.”3 The Lord has done great things for us,and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev.5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
PSALM 126 KNOWING GOD IN OUR RETURNING
Springford Baptist Church; September 11, 2022.
Well, I have been on holidays and now I am very grateful to be back home again. Returning home is a blessing and there are feelings of comfort and security associated with home. We sit in a comfortable chair and say with great sincerity, “It’s so good to be home again.
When we were not able to meet together in person at church because of COVID, it was really good to be together again worshipping our God and appreciating the gift of our church family.
When we go through times of illness and we are not able to be in church, again there is blessing in returning.
Some of these same feelings and emotions are expressed in Psalm 126. In the circumstances of this Psalm there is an even greater sense of joy in returning because this Psalm was written after the Jewish people had returned following 70 years of exile in Babylon. Can we imagine? They had been taken from their homeland and everything familiar to them. In their prayers and crying out to God and longing to return home, finally this was possible.
The longer that we have been away from home, the greater the joy of our returning. While we began to wonder if it would ever happen, it is finally a reality.
In our returning, we must never lose sight of God. There is opportunity to know God in an even more profound way when we return from times of extreme difficulty. We are reminded that God has kept us and cared for us during those times. We do not pretend that those times were not hard and we acknowledge that many tears were shed.
Rather than stay in a place of resentment that we went through such adversity, we can choose to receive the joy that comes with returning, being brought back.
Notice verse 1 of Psalm 126: “1When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,we were like those who dreamed.”
We can identify with this can’t we? After praying for some time and finally having prayers answered, it can seem like a dream, literally, “too good to be true.”
Recognize with me that it is the LORD Who brought them back.
When we think about knowing God in our times of returning, we ask, “Why don’t we expect good things to come from God? Why are we seemingly surprised with the times of returning and the times when our hope is restored? God in His love does want to bless us and to bring us home to Him.
Now we will consider the next 2 verses of Psalm 126:
“2 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.”3 The Lord has done great things for us,and we are filled with joy.”
Do we recognize what is happening here?
There is a spilling over kind of joy for those who have returned. Their faith in God and His care for them is renewed. Mouths are filled with laughter and tongues are bursting with songs of joy!
Our gratitude to God cannot be contained either and there is an outcome to this uncontained joy. God is given credit. Others notice and conclude, “The Lord has done great things for them”. At the time of the writing of this Psalm, other nations were drawn to observe the joy of the returned exiles and to give God honour.
Verse 3 is a personal declaration of the truth that was still almost unbelievable, “The Lord has done great things for us,and we are filled with joy.”
If all we do is observe what the LORD has done for others, that could lead to resentment. In our knowing God we want to be seeing what the LORD has done for us.
What has the LORD done for you that fills you with joy this morning?
Maybe you are a person who tends to keep things more to yourself, you are more private. The thought of bursting out with joy might seem uncomfortable to you. If this is so, you can still thank God from the depths of your heart for the things He has done for you.
Our knowing God and our faith in Him for whatever is yet to come is strengthened when we do give thanks to God.
I will also say that if you are still waiting to see how God will answer your prayers and deliver you from something really difficult, in your waiting you can choose to trust Him for what He will do. Evidence of God at work in the lives of others can give us hope for what He is yet to do for us.
Verse 4 is about restoration. It is looking to God to restore what has been good when we return from a place of deep sadness. We read, “Restore our fortunes O LORD like streams in the Negev.” The streams of the Negev are bone dry in summer until the winter rains restore their flow.
In the same way, at times our faith in God, our knowing and trusting God may seem parched and dry. We may struggle to know the reassurance of God’s Presence when facing hard times. Like the refreshment of rain, God appears and brings us the gift of restoration in our returning to Him. We are again drawn to believe that God does care for us and will care for us.
The final verses of Psalm 126 are a promise to claim in knowing God:
“5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
Because of the joy of returning already experienced there is anticipation of God doing more. Even when sowing is accompanied by struggle, trouble or sorrow, harvest brings joy.
In this season of harvest, will we choose to look to God for the joy and blessing that comes with the harvest of what He is accomplishing in our lives?
Our faith in him can grow deeper and stronger when we have cried out to Him, honest tears of desperation. Perhaps we could hardly believe that we would ever return with songs of joy and yet that is what God is prepared to do. He can bring us back.
When God brings us back from a place of exile and despair, God is inviting us to remember what He has done for us. He is allowing us to know Him in our returning in a way we never would have if we had not walked through that dark valley.
Our ongoing prayer is for us to keep looking to God and trusting Him for our returning whenever we feel far away.