Question
SONGS OF JOYPRIVATE
Psalm 126:1-6
Key Verse 126:5
1. Read v. 1. Many surmise that "the captives" refers to those returning from the Babylonian exile which lasted 70 years. Why did they feel like men who "dreamed"? Yet, what was the reality? What can we learn here about the Lord and all of his promises (Lk 1:20; 2Ki 7:19; Rm 3:3; Lk 19:13)?
2. Read v. 2a and compare this passage with Lamentations 1:1-22. How do the two contrast? In what respects is man's life here on earth (in a mortal body) similar to life for the Israelites in exile (Gen 3:24; Psa 90:1-13)? Yet, what hope does this passage hold for those who live by faith in the Lord (Psa 130:7; Psa 16:11; Dnl 12:2-3; 1Pe 1:8-12)?
3. Read v. 2b-3 and compare what is said among the [Gentile] nations with what is said among the Israelites. What do they have in common? Yet how are they different? And what is the reason for their difference? Finally, what does this show us about: 1) the importance of being "in the Lord" and 2) the Lord's will for the nations?
4. Read v. 4. What does the Bible say about the Negev (Jos 12:8; 15:19; Jud 1:16; Isa 30:6)? According to this observation, what do you think the author meant when he prayed, "Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like 'streams' in the Negev"? What do you think inspired the psalmist to offer up such a bold prayer? What practical applications from the psalmist's example can you think of?
5. Memorize v. 5 and compare it with the prayer described in v. 4. Prayer seems sufficient, so why does the psalmist further exhort us to "sow in tears" (Gen 2:15; 2Co 9:10; 2Th 3:10; Isa 30:23; 55:10)? What practical applications are here for us to learn (Jn 6:27; 2Ti 2:6)?
6. Read v. 6a. Have you ever gone out [to a field] "weeping", carrying seed to sow? What seed is a Christian called to sow (1Co 3:6; 9:11; Gal 6:7-10)?
7. Read v. 6b and compare with v. 6a. How is "sheaves" contrasted to "seed"? Have you ever experienced this kind of joy? When will a hardworking [spiritual] farmer ultimately be able to sing these songs (Isa 60:22)?
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Message
SONGS OF JOYPRIVATE
Psalm 126:1-6
Key Verse 126:5
"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy."
In this passage we would like to think about the kind of hope we have in the Lord and, in view of this hope, how we should make the most use of the precious moments in our lives here on earth. In short, the psalmist is teaching us that life in this world represents the period of sowing while life in the world to come represents the actual harvest. Sowing is not easy. It comes with considerable pain and trouble. But reaping does not. It is full of joy. Nevertheless, let it be clearly understood that without taking any pain to sow in the here and now, there will be no reaping of joy when the harvest time comes. With this in mind, let us take a look at today's passage in two parts:
I. The Lord brought back the captives to Zion (1-3)
Before we can think about living a life that bears good fruit which lasts forever, we must first think about a life that has been set free from bondage to the power of sin and death and brought into one which lives in God's presence and serves him.
Look at vs. 1-3. "{A song of ascents.} When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men 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."
Metaphorically, this passage talks about the pain of losing one's freedom to fellowship with the Lord, and the joy of regaining this freedom to worship the Lord and serve him again.
While the Israelites were in Egypt, they lived as a slave nation. As a slave nation, they did not have the freedom to worship and serve the Lord. Naturally, they did not have any hope in life. Like yoked oxen, they worked, worked, and worked. Then when their strength was gone, they collapsed. And their lives ended in emptiness.
But the Lord God had mercy on them. The Lord God sent Moses as a deliverer. Through Moses' leadership they applied the blood of a lamb to their doorposts. And by faith in the blood of the lamb, they were liberated from the iron grip of Pharaoh, who is a symbol of the power of sin and Satan. Then by faith again, they crossed the Red Sea. And yet again by faith, they entered the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua.
Why did the Lord bring them into the land of Canaan? Why did they come to the so-called "Promised Land"? Why did the Lord put them in the land flowing with milk and honey? Exodus 19:1-6 answers the question. The Lord God wanted to use Israel as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In other words, the Lord wanted to use them as a shepherd nation, standing between God and all the other nations, so that through their services many would come to know God the Father and be invited into fellowship with the Lord.
But over time they forgot this purpose. At first, they served the Lord meaning business. But soon they looked around at their surrounding nations. They look at the world. Then they tried to conform to the pattern of the worldly nations around them and become like their neighbors. Thus they abandoned their worship of the Lord. Instead of loving the Lord with all of their heart and soul and strength and mind, they ended up worshiping idols. They began to lust after material possessions. They lusted after visible things and visible people, all because of their fleshly desires.
Figuratively speaking, they were like a wife who had become unfaithful to her husband and went out and slept with other men. The Book of Lamentations has a lot of colorful expressions to describe their unfaithfulness.
When such a thing happens, it would be perfectly acceptable and even right for a husband to request a divorce. But the Lord God did not do that. In his love, the Lord God sent his beloved bride Israel into exile. And we have seen in both the Bible and in history the painful process of the Lord leaving the Temple in Jerusalem and then allowing the Israelites to be taken to Babylon as a captive nation.
Once they lost their fellowship with the Lord, the Israelites literally lost everything. And they thought that they were all washed up. Their sense of fatalism deepened as the captivity in Babylon continued. How long did the Babylonian exile last? We know from history that it lasted 70 long years. Seventy years is a long period of time. It has been said that in ten years even mountains and rivers change. You know what? Nowadays things change so swiftly in this post-modern era: not only do computers double their CPU speeds every 18 months or so, but even a man who has not kept his life up to speed with the latest news and events will seem to be like a dinosaur from several million years ago.
Certainly 70 years is a long period of time. During this period of time the Israelites lived in the land of the Babylonians. In this land, they obtained college degrees. They developed careers. Some became CPAs, some passed their bar exams and became lawyers. Some became medical doctors, opened their clinics, and made a lot of money. Some became judges. Some even became prime ministers. Plus, while living in a foreign land, they immersed themselves in the foreign culture. And some of them even changed their Hebrew names to Babylonian names. In this way they lost their identity. They lost their mission. And they forgot the purpose of their calling - the calling to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
But what about the Lord God? Did he forget the purpose of their calling? No. As we have studied from the Book of Ezekiel in our daily bread messages, the Lord God had in fact promised to bring them back into fellowship with him in Jerusalem even before they had been exiled. After giving them ample time to immerse themselves in the things of this world, and to get sick and tired of this world, they finally learned that the Lord is good and that only in the Lord do they have life and have it to the full. Through indulgence in the world, as they had originally so longed for, they would finally come back to senses. Like the prodigal son in Jesus' parable, they would come to realize that it was only in the Father's house where they could enjoy freedom from the power of sin and Satan, and live as sons and daughters and princes and princesses. Looking forward to this coming time, even as the Lord was sending them out into exile, through his prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Lord God whispered in their ears and deposited in their hearts the promise to bring them back to Zion in exactly 70 years. However, they still somehow managed to forget his promise. But the Lord God did not forget. The Lord God remembered and diligently kept track of each passing year, longing for the time when this period would be fulfilled. Such was his love for his people. And by the time the 70 years were up, indeed, the Lord caused the condition of the international scene and politics to work in such a way that the leaders of the day would become generous toward the Israelites and send them back home to Zion, the mountain where the Temple once stood in the city of Jerusalem in their homeland of Israel!
Look at vs. 1-3 again. "{A song of ascents.} When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men 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."
Upon reading the passage some might wonder, "Why are they so joyful? As they return to their homeland, what would happen to the businesses they had built up? What about the mansions they had acquired in Babylon?" But questions like these belong to a carnal mind, not to a mind enlightened by the Spirit of God. Those who have never been saved do not understand what it is for one to lose intimate fellowship with the Lord. Only those who have been saved, those who have tasted the joy of having fellowship with the Lord, understand the sheer emptiness of the life that is lived without the Lord. Even if you live in a mansion, even if you own and drive a Mercedes Benz or Ferrari, or are chauffeured around town in a 12-door limo, even if you have a million - no, make that a billion - dollars in your bank account, all these luxuries amount to nothing compared to the joy of one moment of true fellowship with the Lord. The psalmist sincerely understood this and wrote about this in today's psalm (indeed every passage of the Bible is God-breathed). The psalmist had now regained the joy of coming back into fellowship with the Lord. Filled with this joy, he says, "Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy." Singing songs of joy, he was now celebrating the freedom which God, through his abundant mercy, had helped the Israelites to regain. Indeed this joy can belong to everyone who repents of his sins, and turns to the Lord in genuine humility. Then one will forget all the pains and sorrows of his past. The joy in him will be so immense that it cannot help but burst out in grateful tears for the Lord who has done this for him, and his heart will be filled with such deep peace that all the troubles, bitter feelings, and hard memories will be completely forgotten. This is the true inheritance of those who have a relationship with the Lord through repenting from their sins and trusting solely in Jesus as the sacrifice for these sins.
When we think about the fact that this confession, which was made to celebrate the joy of returning to fellowship and worship of the Lord, is part of the Songs of Ascents, we can better put the Israelites' experiences here into perspective. There are 150 psalms in the Bible. Of the 150, 15 of them (Psalm 121-134) (10%) are known as the Songs of Ascents. The word "ascents" envisages the multiple layers of an Israelite's pilgrimage to the Temple on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, or, symbolically speaking, the spiritual pilgrimage that journeys from this mundane world to the city of God where one can have eternal fellowship with the Lord. In a sense, the Christian version of this pilgrimage, as described by John Bunyan in his book "The Pilgrim's Progress," is based on the original Hebrew version of the spiritual pilgrimage in these psalms known as the Songs of Ascents, which the Holy Spirit himself penned and authored.
This then helps us to better understand where the psalmist is coming from. As a member of the believing community, he had once strayed far away from the Lord. But now the Lord had placed him back onto the right path; the Lord had brought him back under his wings as the good shepherd.
This psalm further reminds us of the freedom we have in the Lord. Inasmuch as the Lord has set us free from the power of sin and death, we must daily cherish this freedom we have in him. We must celebrate it with songs and music. And we must speak of the greatness of the Lord who has done great works for each of us. Then as we make joyful sounds praising the Lord, many unbelievers will also become curious, and ask for the secret of our joy. Then we can invite them to Bible study, and share the secret of our joy with them.
II. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy (4-6)
Like every good gift from the Lord, the gift itself is never the end but simply a means to something greater. That is, the ultimate purpose is still yet to be accomplished. And the Lord designed this to be so, so that all the blessings the Lord God has in mind for us would not be limited to what we now have, but rather continue to grow in infinite degrees.
What do I mean by this? Look at vs. 4-6. "Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." In vs. 1-3 we talked about the joy of regaining the freedom to worship the Lord. But this freedom is not without purpose. God does not set us free so that we can enjoy our freedom and then do nothing with it. Rather God has set us free so that we might freely worship him, have fellowship with him, and become inspired by him, and then go out and serve him, doing his will. What is his will? Again we are brought back to square one in God's calling for us.
Why did the Lord God call Israel? Why did the Lord give them the freedom to worship the Lord in a land flowing with milk and honey? The answer is simple and clear, and one which we have already mentioned: to establish Israel as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The Lord wanted to use them as a shepherd nation, so that through their services, all nations would come to know the Lord and receive the joy of worshiping him and serving him!
The psalmist understood this purpose. So upon his return to Zion, he remembered both his original purpose and then of course the reality he currently lived in. What was the reality he currently lived in? The reality was that Jerusalem remained in ruins. They had lost their homes. They had lost their Bible study notes. Worst of all, they had lost their Temple. And now they had to start rebuilding everything from scratch. In other words, they had lots of work to do, both physically and spiritually.
But they did not despair. Why not? Because even though they did not physically have anything, they had the most important thing: they had fellowship with the Lord. They were therefore not alone. They were to make a new beginning not by themselves but "together" with the Lord their God. And the most wonderful feature we have in our life with the Lord is the privilege of praying to him and asking him for help.
Having said this, what then should we pray for? Look at v. 4. "Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev." This tells us that in making a new beginning, the first and most important thing to remember is to have a glorious vision in the Lord. The Lord is in the business of miracles. He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. In this belief, we must present to the Lord a bold prayer topic saying, "Restore our fortune, O LORD, like streams in the Negev." Here, "Negev" refers to the southwestern part of the land of Israel which is a barren, desert wasteland. According to Isaiah 30:6 this land is "a land of hardship and distress." Can you imagine streams of water flowing in a desert land? But this is what the psalmist asks for. By faith in the Lord he even saw streams of water flowing in the Negev. And as we know from history, streams of water are the chief foundation for a prosperous civilization. Thus, as the Lord causes streams of river to flow even in a desert land like the Negev, the Lord will bless the land both spiritually and physically.
"Restore our fortunes O Lord, like streams in the Negev." With the same vision and even phrasing, we too must offer prayer to the Lord, as boldly as the psalmist did. In many ways, our fellowships, ministry, the physical and spiritual condition of our sheep, and even our brothers and sisters in the Lord are like the Negev. We have not yet seen the showers of blessing pouring down on us. And we are yet to see the season of Christ coming. But the important thing for us to remember is the absolute need to secure a perfect relationship with the Lord. Once this relationship is established, we must not be discouraged by the desert-like conditions of the situations we are in. Rather, we must boldly offer prayer to our Lord, saying, "Restore our fortunes O Lord, like streams in the Negev." Here "fortunes" includes both physical and spiritual fortunes. .
The next thing for us to do then is very practical. Look at vs. 5-6. "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." At first glance, praying to the Lord to restore our fortunes to us sounds satisfactory. But immediately after offering this prayer, the psalmist talks about the need for each person to go out to sow seed, even in tears. Why? According to the way he created this world and the way in which he brings blessings into our lives, the Lord God established first what he is supposed to do and secondly what we are supposed to do. The Lord God is the most gentle gentleman of all gentlemen. He always respects what we were created to do. He never invades our territory. And the opportunity to work hard for our own benefit belongs to us. It rests within the confines of the privileges uniquely assigned to each one of us. And the Lord does not steal from us the privilege to work. For example, in Genesis 2:15 the Lord God planted a garden and put Adam there. Then he gave Adam the opportunity to work and care for the garden. This work belongs to Adam and is within Adam's domain, within his territory. This privilege belongs to Adam, and God never takes this privilege away from him. We call this "work" a "privilege" because, to the unfallen man, work itself is sheer joy. And we never call work in the Lord a burden. For this reason, when Jesus came, he said in John 6:27, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then people asked Jesus, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Then Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Finally, at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave us the work to do: "make disciples of all nations!"
Practically speaking, however, making a disciple is never an easy task. Alluding to the hardness of a life that sows the spiritual seed of the good news of Jesus Christ into a single individual's life, the author uses such expressions as "sow in tears" and "goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow." This does not mean that we are to weep when we go fishing. Rather we are to go out smiling. But by "weeping" the author recognized the practical difficulties in going out to sow seed.
Again, every work in the Lord has joy that accompanies it. Working for the Lord is never a curse at all. In fact, the greater the pain in doing the work (of sowing the gospel seed), the greater the joy we will experience. For this reason the author says, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." What if one never takes the pain to sow the seed of the gospel? Then one forfeits all the joy that will be his at the time of the harvest.
In conclusion, let us read v. 5. "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy." With this in mind, let us ask the Lord for help, so we would even go out and sow good seed, like mercy, kindness, and gentleness, but particularly Jesus Christ, and let us sow this blessed seed in the hearts of young generations.
One word: Songs of Joy.
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