I. Introduction
A. Hopefully some of you remember the sermon I preached on Jan.2 from Haggai 1-2, where he exhorted those who had returned to Jerusalem after the exile to get back to rebuilding the temple.
B. For years I’ve wanted to preach a long sermon series on the exile and restoration. But alas, it’s not going to be possible. But I will use opportunities before I retire to talk about time period of Bible history. And since I have a few miscellaneous sermons to preach this spring, I will do that.
C. Psalm 126 was written in the same context as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
D. Psalm 126:1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
II. Let’s begin by looking at what the psalmist says in v.1-3 about the historical context.
A. 1-3 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
B. Their elation is understandable.
C. The Jews had drunk fully the bowl of God’s righteous anger on account of their idolatry.
D. Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people of Judah had been taken into exile by Babylonians.
E. They had been oppressed and abused by foreign powers for several generations. Now they were despised and humiliated under Persian rule. It had been a long time since they had received any good news.
F. But then a king named Cyrus came to power in Persia, and the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus to suddenly send any Jews who wanted to go back to their homeland at his expense and security, in order to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians 70 yrs earlier. Ezra 1:1-4
G. This is what the psalmist refers to: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.”
H. But all their joy didn’t last very long. Things didn’t turn out the way they had expected. In the 70 year absence of the Jews, people had moved into their territory, and they weren’t too happy to have these Jews come back and claim the territory. They opposed the Jews moving in and especially their attempt to rebuild the temple. So, the Jews who had returned got discouraged and stopped rebuilding the temple.
I. This is also when Zechariah encouraged the people by telling them that the Lord would be a wall of fire surrounding the project to protect them from their enemies (Zech.2:5), and that the project would be done “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD” (Zech.4:6).
J. In Psalm 126 we can see that the psalmist writing out of this same disappointment, when, right after writing how elated they were when the Lord restored their fortunes, he prays in v.4, “Lord, restore our fortunes” again.
1. The opposition confronting the Jews has changed his tune. They’re not filled with laughter any more, their tongues are no longer filled with shouts of joy.
2. In fact, in v.5-6 it’s clear that they are now weeping.
K. But think about this. The psalmist is sobered by the frustration and difficulty of their setback. But instead of despairing, the psalmist turns to God: “Restore our fortunes, O Lord!”
1. But even that is not the first thing he does. Before he gets to that, he begins by reflecting on ways God has restored fortunes and answered prayers in the past.
2. And he sums this up in v.3 with an expression of gratitude: “The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.” And note that he doesn’t say, “We were glad” (as in v.1-2) but “We are glad.”
3. In spite of the setbacks and obstacles, before he gives his attention to that, he and his friends first rejoice in God’s restoration of the fortunes of His people in bringing them back to their homeland.
4. His present distress hasn’t drowned out His gratitude for how God had redeemed them in the past.
L. This is a great model for prayer. It’s the same model as we find in Phil.4:6: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.” In fact, Psalm 126 is like Philippians 4:6 in the form of a psalm.
M. We face many obstacles, too, and frequent opposition. It often gets discouraging.
N. Just like the psalmist, when we pray for God’s help, we should always do so in light of the way God has already rescued us! Like the Jews, He has given us a new home, the land He promised us long ago. He is building His new temple, and He calls us to work on it as well.
O. When we get discouraged, we don’t need to despair or panic. God has already proven Himself to us! We are redeemed! We belong to Him! He still rules over our lives, working all things for good!
P. Gratitude in prayer isn’t just a matter of being polite, or giving thanks to whom it is due. It’s a matter of recognizing Who we’re coming to, Who we’re addressing, and what amazing things He has already done for us! True prayer is not problem-centered, it is God-centered! When we pray, we should be more gripped by the God we’re addressing than by the need we’re addressing to Him.
III. Now let’s talk about the petition itself. In a 6 verse psalm, there is only one brief prayer request...
A. V.4, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!”
1. Restore our fortunes: Get us back on track, put Your blessing on us like before. You brought us here, now help us get through this.
B. But what is this “streams in the Negeb”?
1. There are desert areas of the earth which look dead. But occasionally they do get rain, and when it comes, the area is suddenly transformed from barren wasteland to lush green garden.
2. The animals, plants and people in the area were desperate for water. And when the rains come and the streams flow once again, it makes all of them so happy! This happens in the south of Israel, in the Negeb/Negev.
3. Well, the psalmist feels like their situation looks dry and barren. But he knows what can happen if the rain of the Lord comes down. And so he cries out to the Lord: “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!”
C. Again, this is such a helpful example of prayer.
1. It’s a big prayer – to a big God.
2. He doesn’t ignore the problem, by any means.
3. But instead of focusing on the enormity of the problem, he focuses on the enormity of God.
4. The psalmist prays in the confidence that God has the power to turn this desert into a lush garden, because he remembers how God has done it before.
5. And, there’s one more important component to his prayer. As the next couple of verses show, he knows that, no matter what happens in the now, even if his present desert doesn’t turn into a lush garden, in the end God will bring a spectacular harvest which will produce shrieks of elation/joy.
6. And God put this hear to teach us how to pray!
IV. Now, let’s look at those last two verses where he talks about this final exuberance...
A. 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
B. Here the psalmist reflects on the nature of life with God by using the image of sowing and reaping.
C. On a farm, they plow and sow in the off-season, long before it is time to reap and harvest.
1. If a farmer fails to do his work in the preparation season, he’ll pay for it at the time of reaping.
a. Prov.20:4, “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
b. Now, we can all understand the sluggard, can’t we? Work is hard. Trying to yoke some big ox and move him through the field to plow up the ground. And it’s not like it will make a lot of difference if I do it this afternoon instead of this morning, or tomorrow instead of today.
c. And what good does it do? Nobody gives awards for plowed fields. You get yourself all smelly and dirty. You come in at the end of the day, and your wife doesn’t run into your arms and say, “Thank you so much for plowing the fields!” No! She says, “Don’t you dare come in here and track all that dirt into my house! Get out! And you stink! Go get clean.”
d. It’s so much easier to put it off till later! After all, there are plenty of other legitimate things to do which don’t involve getting filthy or exhausted.
2. The problem with living for today is that today ends and tomorrow comes.
a. And eventually harvest time arrives, and the one who never did the prep work is left high and dry.
D. But it’s hard being a farmer. Their work is tedious and frustrating. They experience crises and heartbreaks just like everybody else.
1. Weeping is a part of living. But there are still things which need to be done.
2. The cows need to be milked and the fence needs to be repaired, and the fields need to be sown.
E. It’s like parenting. One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to comfort and reassure your children after some crisis has happened – even though your own heart is breaking. You can’t take a day off to grieve – because your little ones need to be fed and changed and made to feel secure.
F. One of the hardest things to do as a spouse is when your spouse insults or speaks harshly or even cruelly and everything in you wants to retaliate, but you say, “I love you” with tears in your eyes.
G. It may be hard, sometimes extremely so, but the psalmist has something to tell us about those who do what they need to do even when their hearts are breaking: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! And the one who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
H. Shouts of joy
1. This is one word in Hebrew, and it is a very interesting word. It is translated shouts of joy or shouts of gladness. It is sometimes translated cry, sometimes exultation or even singing.
2. It refers to a sound which is elicited by something extraordinary happening – like a shriek.
3. Think of the sound some women make when their boyfriend kneels down to pop the question.
4. Or the shriek of joy we’ve seen at the Olympics by someone who just won a gold medal.
5. They are spontaneous and intense. Shouts of joy.
I. So, Rom.8:23 tells us that now we groan as we sow seeds with tears; Psalm 126 tells us that on that great day when our mourning will be turned to dancing, our groaning will turn to joyful shrieking.
J. The pain of life tempts us to give up; it tempts us to panic; it tempts us to get angry/bitter. But we must remember the coming shrieks of joy.
K. Imagine a scene of a sower with his bag of seed walking through his field. Maybe the sower has just had a very painful altercation with a spouse. Maybe the sower has just received some heart-breaking news about a loved one. Maybe the sower has just been yelled at by a neighbor. Maybe the sower was up all night taking care of a little one. He’s in pain. What’s the sower look like?
1. Is the sower screaming and kicking the ground and ripping the bag open in anger?
2. Is the sower sitting down sobbing while the field goes unsown?
3. Is the sower in a fit of worry, fear and panic?
4. Or is the sower continuing to sow while tears streak down his cheeks.
L. I don’t mean there’s never a time to be overcome by emotion. I don’t mean there’s not a time to go have a good cry. I’ve done it a number of times myself.
M. Pain is real & it hurts. But God is still on His throne. And His call on our lives hasn’t been cancelled. This is planting season; there are jobs to do, responsibilities to tend to. There are prayers to be prayed, duties to fulfill, people to love. There are hurting people who need to be encouraged.
N. Galatians 6:7-10 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
O. Does this mean we are stoic, and just shove our pain aside and go on like everything’s OK? Not at all. That’s not what it says. The sower in Ps.126:5-6 is weeping! Tears are flowing.
1. But the sower knows that there are some things bigger than his pain!
a. God is bigger than the pain.
b. And the calling to sow is bigger than the pain.
c. And the divine purpose of the pain is bigger than the pain itself.
d. And there’s one other thing which the sower knows is bigger than the pain. The sower’s future exhilaration is bigger than the pain. (“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” 2Cor.4:17)
2. Because the sower knows these four things are bigger than the pain, he keeps sowing & sowing & sowing, even while in pain: “Afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” – 2Cor.4:8-9
P. The weeping sower is a great picture for us.
1. It’s a great picture of parenting: serving even when exhausted, caring for others even when it seems like no one is caring for you, loving even when they don’t get loved in return.
2. It’s a great picture of being married: fighting for the relationship even when you feel attacked, listening to someone who is arrogant, remembering your spouse’s pain even when you’re pained.
3. It’s a great picture of worshiping: singing & praying before God even when your heart’s breaking.
Q. Now let’s talk about the coming exhilaration of the harvest time.
1. Envision another day. It’s now harvest time. The same sower who sowed in tears is now reaping a rich, abundant harvest, a harvest resulting from all that sowing done in tears.
2. Visualize your future joy. Imagine Jesus looking deep into your eyes with total love telling you how precious you are to Him: His total acceptance, enthusiastic approval, unconditional love.
3. This is a glimpse of what awaits those who willingly sow in tears today – beyond anything you’ve ever imagined/dreamed of, something which elicits shrieks of joy from the depths of your being.
4. 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
R. Your tears are not wasted. God takes note of your tears, records them upon His scroll, and collects them in a bottle (Ps.56:8). And one day, there will be a great reversal of fortune: the last will be first, the low will be raised up, those who mourn will be comforted, our mourning will be turned to dancing. And the joy of that day will make the weeping of today look light & momentary 2Co.4:17.
1. You who have birthed babies know what this is all about. As Jesus said, “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” – John 16:21–22
S. It’s one thing to endure the difficulties and burdens because we see no way out, it’s quite another to do it because we know that our Father has brought it for good and that it will yield a bountiful harvest. And here’s the proof: Jesus brought victory and glory and joy through the cross.
T. Of course, we can have a taste of that joy right now, even in the midst of our tears, can’t we?
1. Knowing He is with us, knowing He loves us, knowing He helps us.
2. 2Corinthians 1:5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
3. Not only will those who suffer in faith find great joy, but during the process of their suffering they will have the presence and comfort of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.