Coming Down
Psalm 126
1. Joyful (verses 1-3)
2. Prayerful (verse 4-6)
Many of you, no doubt, are familiar with the story of Martin and Gracia Burnham. About 10 years ago, their story was in the national news.
Martin and Gracia Burnham were New Tribes missionaries to the Philippines. Martin was a line pilot, who flew supplies to the missionaries on the field. They served together for 15 years.
In May 2001, Martin and Gracia Burnham took a much needed romantic getaway, just the two of them, without their three children, at Dos Palmas Resort in the southern region of the Philippines. They spent a nice, relaxing day at the resort and went to sleep without a care in the world.
As the sun rose in the morning of May 27, 2001, they were awakened and kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist and terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines. They spent the year on the run in the jungles of Mindanao with the Abu Sayyaf, who demanded a high ransom for these missionaries. Their food was meager and their living conditions were very harsh. They often slept on the jungle ground chained to a tree.
On June 7, 2002 (more than a year after they had been kidnapped), an attempt to rescue them was made by the Philippine Army. Martin was killed by three gunshots in the chest. But, Gracia was rescued, only being wounded in her right leg. She was able to tell their story in her book, "In the Presence of My Enemies." It's a great read. I encourage you to read it if you have the opportunity. It was fascinating for me to read of their struggles in the jungle. Here's my favorite excerpt:
"As time went on and we began to starve, we decided the fish heads probably had good protein. Everyone else was eating them, and we started to as well, along with the bones of the skeleton--we just chomped down everything.
Sometimes bigger fish would come, and we would be given only the head. We learned to chew it up and be grateful for the nutrition. Fish-head bones are not as hard as one might think; The only part that can't really be crunched, believe it or not, is the eyeball. It's hard as a rock. Martin just swallowed his whole and let his stomach do the work. I couldn't make mine go down, so I'd throw it away.
One day about the time I did laundry for Akmad, I was at the babbling brook again. I looked down at a tiny pool formed by the rocks at the edge and saw a little fish about an inch and a half long.
I didn't think I could catch it, but I reached down anyway--and grabbed it by the tail. I held it up to Martin. "Look! I caught this fish!" I exclaimed very proud of myself. "Do you want it?"
"No, that's okay."
So I popped it in my mouth and ate it raw. After all, if I carried it around with me until a cooking fire became available, it might rot. Better to get the nutrition now. In fact, it tasted very good. Who says God had to supply our needs the same way every time.
By now my hair was getting long and needed to be in a ponytail to stay out of my eyes. My terong wasn't enough to do the job. Obviously, I didn't have a scrunchie or a rubber band to use. What to do?
Lord, can you figure out something for me to use to tie back my hair? I began to pray. That may sound silly to others, but when we had absolutely nothing, we learned to pray about things as mundane as this.
I was learning the truth of the Scripture that says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father" (James 1:17). If somebody walked by an handed us a tiny boiled banana only two inches long, our immediate response was Oh, thank you, God! We need this. Every bite was a gift.
Soon after, I glanced down at the ground--and there lay a strip of black rubber, like from a bicycle inner tube. I picked it up, tied the ends together in a knot, and gleefully pulled my hair back. This became my scrunchie for a long, long time.
When I lay down in the hammock on my back, however, I'd have to take it out to be comfortable. I was always afraid of losing it. So I would carefully stuff it into my pocket. I needed to guard this prized possession."
This morning, I want to draw your attention to the moment when Gracia Burnam returned home, after the long captivity. She wrote, ...
"The flight from Manila to Tokyo takes four hours. .... After another twelve hours in the air, we finally began our descent into Kansas City. ...
A mixture of joy and apprehension swept over me. It was going to be so fantastic to see Jeff, Mindy, and Zach again! Even in my excitement, however, I was a little nervous. There would no doubt be some awkwardness once we were all together again. I had never worn the title of Single Mom before. I hadn't even thought about what that would be like. I was bound to "do it wrong" sometimes. I knew that I could only ask God for guidance and not be too hard on myself.
I wasn't even out of the Jetway when I got my first glimpse of Zach, pacing back and forth. The instant I got out into the open, a burst of glee went up, even though there were strangers everywhere. I stretched my arms up from the wheelchair to squeeze Zach.
"I love you, Mom!" he cried, squeezing me back.
As I reached for Jeff, then Mindy, I exclaimed, "Oh, thank you, God! We're back together!"
I clung to Mindy and then I looked at her. She suddenly seemed very grown up. "I didn't know if I would ever hug you again," I told her.
"Me neither, Mom."
...
We left the airport that day and were taken in a shuttle bus to a separate office building to meet the rest of our family. ...
I turned ... to the family; we had so much catching up to do! We were talking fast and furious, of course.
There was laughter but also tears, especially when I told a few stories about Martin's bravery and the struggles I had with God during my ordeal. ...
To be honest, I don't really remember much about that first night home--I was too jet-lagged. I can't even tell you who was there. I just remember being surrounded by people who really cared about me." [1]
As most all of you know, for the past several months, we have been looking at the Songs of Ascents (Psalm 120-134). These were the songs that Israel sang as they made their pilgrimage up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD, according to His command (Deut. 16:16). In some way or another, they prepare the pilgrim for worship, once in Jerusalem. My heart for our time in these Psalms is that we would have an ever-increasing heart for worship as well.
This morning, we come to Psalm 126. So, if you haven't done so already, you can turn there in your Bibles. This is a Psalm of joy. It describes the feelings of those who returned home after long years of captivity. Although their captivity was not quite as harsh as what Martin and Gracia Burnham experienced, they experienced some similar feelings as they came back to their homeland.
My message this morning is entitled, "Coming Back." Here's how the Psalm reads:
Psalm 126
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
This Psalm breaks nicely in half, right down the middle. The first three verses form the first half. The last three verses form the second half. The first half of this Psalm finds the people of Israel joyful for what the LORD had done for them. The second half of this Psalm finds the people of Israel prayerful, in seeking the LORD to do more.
These are the two points of my message this morning: Joyful and Prayerful. Let's look at my first point:
1. Joyful (verses 1-3)
Notice the words of joy here in verses 1-3.
Psalm 126:2,3
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
... We are glad.
A good question to ask would be this: "Why were they so glad?" Verse 1 holds the key:
Psalm 126:1
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
At this point, you may well notice a difference in translation. The English Standard Version, along with the New International Version, translate verse 1 like this, "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream (or dreamed - NIV)." The New American Standard translates it, "When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion."
In the Hebrew text, these words are very close. The difference between the word for "Fortunes" and for "captive ones" is small. One small letter makes all the difference. Theologians go back and forth as to which one is correct. Hence the difference in translation. To be honest with you, I'm not quite sure which is correct.
But, I do believe that they refer to the same event in the life of Israel. Both translations refer to the time when the exiled Jews came back from Babylon. For, at that time, the fortunes of Israel were restored. When the captives came back, they had their own land again. They rebuilt the temple, and they rebuilt the wall. All of the articles in the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken away were restored to their rightful place. Their fortunes were restored.
Do you know the story of Israel? Let's review. Way back in Genesis, God promised to Abraham, that He would make a great nation out of Abraham and give them a land, the land of Palestine. Some 400 years later, they were some 2 million strong in the land of Egypt as slaves. God raised up Moses and brought them into the promised land. At first, the LORD was their king, but Israel demanded a king like the other nations surrounding them. So, God gave them King Saul, who was succeeded by David and Solomon.
Sadly, the nation divided after the reign of Solomon into two nations: Israel was in the north, and Judah was in the south. In 722 B. C. Israel was destroyed at the hands of Assyria. In 586 B. C. Judah was taken captive into Babylon, where they remained for 70 years.
But, God brought them back into the land. He brought
back "the captives" of Babylon back into the land. At that time, the
LORD"restored their fortunes." The
story of their return is told in Ezra and in Nehemiah. God stirred the heart of Cyrus
king of Persia to send the Jews back into the land and have them rebuild their temple
again in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4). All who were willing returned to the land and build
the temple at Cyrus' expense (Ezra 1:5-11).
And a man named Zerubbabel led the work. It was a time of great joy for the
people!
In fact, when the foundation of the temple was laid, "the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David of Israel. They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, "For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever" (Ezra 3:10-11). And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
That gives you a little bit of an insight into Psalm 126. Verse 2, ...
Psalm 126:2
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
They were giddy with excitement, as they were back in the land. The temple had been rebuilt! The articles of the temple had been restored. Sacrifices began again. Israel was again in the land! Can you believe it?
Surely, it was a bit like the feelings the Gracia Burnham experienced when returning home after a year of captivity. Gone for a year, she was now home. There was excitement. There was joy. There was rejoicing. There was celebrating.
Similar feelings took place in 1967, during the Six-Day War. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched some surprise bombing raids against Egyptian air-fields. Soon after this, they were engaged in conflict with the Syrian Army on Syrian territory. Israel also attacked on Jordanian soil as well. In six days, Israeli forces had taken control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.
There was a famous picture that was taken during these days. It is a picture of some Israeli soldiers, just after they had taken control of Jerusalem. These soldiers were standing in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, just below the Temple Mount. This was the first time that the Temple Mount was under Jewish control since A.D. 70 -- nearly 1900 years!
For 19 years prior to this event, Jews were not permitted to visit the site and pray to the LORD. Of this moment, one author wrote, ...
"There was one moment in the Six-Day War which symbolized the great victory: that was the moment in which the first paratroopers — under Gur's command — reached the stones of the Western Wall, feeling the emotion of the place; there never was, and never will be, another moment like it.
Nobody staged that moment.
Nobody planned it in advance.
Nobody prepared it and nobody was prepared for it; it was as if
Providence had directed the whole thing: the paratroopers weeping — loudly and in pain — over their comrades who had fallen along the way, the words of the Kaddish prayer heard by Western Wall's stones after 19 years of silence, tears of mourning, shouts of joy, and the singing of "Hatikvah". [2]
They look like they are in a fog. They look like they are dreaming.
Indeed, such were exactly the feelings of those in Israel when they returned to the land after 70 years in Babylon. Verse 1, ...
Psalm 126:1
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
"Coming back" into the land was so great that they felt like they were dreaming! "Could it really be true?" God had been so good to them that they could hardly believe it was happening! It should have been no surprise to them. Over and over and over again the prophets had prophesied that they would be restored to the land.
Jeremiah 29:14 says, "I will restore your fortunes". This word translated here as "fortunes" is the same word used in Psalm 126, with the same textual problems. "'I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'" (Jeremiah 29:14). And in Jeremiah 30:3 God says, "'For behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.'" [3]
Further, Ezekiel 39:25 says, "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel.'" Again, we have the same textual issue. "Fortunes" or "captives"? And in Hosea 6:11, we read, "O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people."
God had promised to restore them. God did restore them. And yet, the actual event itself was very emotional for them.
It's a bit like the birth of a baby. As most all of you know, this past Friday morning, Adam and Amy welcomed their new daughter, Madelynn Grace, into the world. Yvonne and I had the opportunity to meet Madelynn yesterday in the hospital. As we spoke with Adam and Amy, you could see the joy all over their faces.
As we spoke with them, we found out that their story was like the story of so many parents who have children. There were suspicions of labor on Thursday evening, and so, they went to the hospital. While at the hospital, Amy's water broke and the nurse announced, "You are going to have a baby soon."
Amy said that with that announcement, the nurse quickly left the room to prepare some things for them, as they were going to be staying in the hospital that evening. Adam and Amy just looked at each other thinking, "We're going to have a baby soon!" They were like those who dream. Now, it's not that they didn't know that the baby was coming. They had anticipated it for a long time, but you never quite know what your emotions are going to be like when the time arrives. Adam and Amy said that they just couldn't quite take it all in.
And you fathers and mothers know what it's like to see your baby for the very first time. When you see her face. When you hear his cry. When you see her fingers and toes. When you hold her for the very first time. The emotions are overwhelming.
That emotion is what this Psalm recalls -- the overwhelming emotions as they came back into the land and their fortunes were restored. They were like those who dream. They were overwhelmed. God's goodness to them was obvious to all. Even the nations saw what God had done. Verse 2, ...
Psalm 126:2
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
Don't think that Israel's return to the land was not observed by the other nations around them. Not only did they know that Israel had returned to the land, but they gave glory to the God of Israel for returning them to the land. "The LORD has done great things for them."
And this is intentional. When God does great things for His people, He often lets the world get a peek into what He is doing. We see this in Psalm 98, ...
Psalm 98:1-3
O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Do you remember when Israel was conquering the land for the first time? Word got around to the pagan nations who were in the land of what the LORD was doing. Rahab, the harlot from Jericho, said this, ...
Joshua 2:9-11
I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
A similar echo went out when the LORD restored the captives of Babylon back home in Jerusalem. God's mighty work wasn't lost on the people of Israel. In verse 3 we read, ...
Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Israel knew full well that it was the
LORD's doing that brought them back
into the land. It was the LORD who
"stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia" to "send a proclamation throughout all
his kingdom" issuing the invitation for any Jew who was willing to return to the land
(Ezra 1:1). It was the LORD who put it
in the heart of Cyrus to fund such an effort (Ezra 1:2). Listen to the words of Cyrus,
himself in Ezra: "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The Lord, the God of heaven, has
given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in
Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God
be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the
Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem" (Ezra
1:2-3).
This is a pagan king! This is the most powerful man on the planet at the time! And still God moved his heart to support and fund the effort of the return of the Jews back into the land (Ezra 1:6-11).
Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
It was the LORD who stirred the hearts of the people to come back to the land! Ezra 1:5 tells us that, "Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem." People returned to the land, because God stirred their hearts to return.
And don't think that it was an easy thing to do. When you think about coming back into the land, think about the trips that the early settlers of our land made as they travelled west to California. It took months of journeying in big caravans over difficult land, facing dangers all along the way. Dangers from the hostilities of the Native Americans to the harshness of the weather.
And when the Jews came back into the land, it was the LORD who protected His people in their return. Shortly before the captives were to set out to return, Ezra said this, ...
Ezra 8:21-23
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, "The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him." So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.
God provided the safe journey back into the land.
And when they came into the land once again, the people of God acknowledged the goodness of the LORD, ...
Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Has the LORD done great things for you? Are you glad?
Perhaps the greatest parallel this morning for us to evaluate here is that of our salvation. By faith in Jesus Christ, God has, "...rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:13-14). Oh, we may not have transferred physical kingdoms from captivity in Babylon to freedom in Jerusalem. But, we have transferred spiritual kingdoms. We have gone from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God. We have gone from being slaves to sin to being free in Christ (Romans 6:17-18). We have gone from spiritual death to being made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-6). We ought never to forget this!
Paul wrote to those in Ephesus, ...
Eph 2:11-13
Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands -- remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Let's step back a bit from the Psalm and ask this question: "Why would the Psalmist want to bring this up for the people of Israel?" "Why talk about the past?" "Why bring us back into the emotions of those who returned from the land from their captivity?" Here's my answer: "Remembering the wonder of God's working in the past, helps us to worship the LORD with a fresh heart today."
In other words, the things of God can become commonplace such that -- God forbid -- we take it all for granted. They can become commonplace such that -- God forbid -- we lose the wonder of it all. And as those pilgrims travelled up that road to Jerusalem to worship, they were reminded of all that the LORD had done for them. They were reminded how great the work of God was. They were reminded of the joy of those who first returned to the land. All with the goal that the worshipers would come again with a fresh heart to worship the LORD.
The words of the hymn writer are a good picture:
And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Such ought to be our heart toward the LORD. Such ought to be our heart when gathering together to worship the LORD. But, the sad reality is this: we can easily lose this wonder. That helps to explain partially what's going on in the second half of this Psalm.
Psalm 126:4-6
Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
This is my second point, ...
2. Prayerful (verse 4-6)
In verses 1-3, the people were Joyful (verses 1-3). And now, in verses 4-6, the people were Prayerful (verse 4-6). Verse 4 itself is a prayer.
Psalm 126:4
Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Again, we have the same translational problem that we had in verse 1. The English Standard Version and the New International Version translate verse 4 like this, "Restore our fortunes, O LORD." The New American Standard translates it thus, "Restore our captivity, O LORD."
Again, I think that the same thing applies. Whichever
way you take it, it means the same thing. They both say, "Continue your work, O
LORD!" "Restore all of our fortunes, O
LORD! Bring back all of the exiles in
Babylon, O LORD!
Completely restore the captives to our land, O LORD!"
See, when the captives came back into the land and the fortunes of Israel were restored, they weren't restored completely. Sure, there was much excitement and there was much joy in returning, but there were also some major problems. Not everyone returned to the land during the first trip. There were several waves of refugees coming back to the land. Zerubbabel led the first wave back to rebuild the temple. A list of all of those who returned is included in Ezra, chapter 2. Ezra led the second wave back to re-institute the law. A list of all of these who returned is included in Ezra, chapter 8. Nehemiah came even later to lead the efforts of rebuilding the wall. Certainly, as the years wore on, there were more and more people who returned to the land. But, not everyone returned to the land. There were still plenty of Jews who remained in Babylon.
And if you know anything about their return to the land, you know that all was not perfect in Jerusalem. They faced much opposition in building the temple. The enemies of Israel rose up and hindered the work. "The people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia" (Ezra 4:4-5).
Men like Rehum and Shimshai wrote slanderous letters back to Persia, telling the homeland what was taking place in Jerusalem. "To King Artaxerxes: ... let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. Now let it be known to the king, that if the city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings. Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king" (Ezra 4:11-14). Their appeals to the king stopped the work for 16 years.
The Jews in the land faced much opposition in building the wall. Men like Sanballat and Tobiah went to great extremes to hinder the work. They ridiculed the quality of the work: "Even what they are building--if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!" (Nehemiah 4:3). They "conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause disturbance in it" (Nehemiah 4:8). They threatened to kill the inhabitants of Jerusalem in order to stop the work (Nehemiah 4:11). On several occasions, they attempted to set up a meeting with Nehemiah, the leader of the Jews, to harm him (Nehemiah 6:2).
All of the struggles didn't merely come from those opposed to the work. Some of it comes from within. During the years of captivity, there was a remnant living in Israel. But, they had intermarried with the pagan nations surrounding Israel (Ezra 9:1-2). This kind of marriage was something expressly forbidden in the law (Deut. 7:3).
Both books of Ezra and Nehemiah contain long prayers of national repentance. We don't have time to read them this morning, but you can read them yourselves in Ezra 9 and in Nehemiah 9. They are moving accounts of sorrow for sin and pleas for God's grace. All this to say that things were not perfect in Jerusalem after the return. In fact, there were some great problems.
And so, the prayer goes up in Psalm 126, ...
Psalm 126:4
Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
In the southern portion of Israel is the Negev (Negev is the Hebrew word for "south."). It's a hot and dry and dusty and nasty place. It is barren place, with little growing. The heat and lack of water are simply too much for anything to grow.
Now, in the Negev, there are these river valleys that stand dry throughout much of the year. You might look at them and wonder how they were formed. Evolutionary thinking would say that a river used to be in these places, but now, all is dried up.
But, when the rain comes, you know how these were formed. Because, when the rain comes, all is changed. The dry land of the Negev doesn't absorb the water. Instead, it runs off into these valleys. And these valleys fill with rushing water. They become a raging torrent, sweeping everything away, and forging afresh the river valleys.
That's the picture verse 4 uses in the prayer. This is a prayer for revival. It's a prayer for massive revival. "Oh, that God would restore Jerusalem and return all of its captives like the gushing water of the southern streams after a rain!" It's an acknowledgement that all is not well now. But, there is hope that God will restore all things.
Hope for this revival comes in verses 5 and 6.
Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
These verses promise that joy will come after the tears. The farmer may well go out in sorrow as he sows his seed. But, in due time, the harvest will come in! This is the reality of the Christian life. It's often difficult in the years of sowing. But, it's also joyful in the years of reaping.
Verses 4-6 are a prayer for God to bring the joy. Verses 4-6 are a prayer for God to renew the joy we once had in verses 1-3.
It's easy to lose the joy. As I finish my message and as we transition to the Lord's Supper, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Revelation, chapter 2. We have here a great illustration of the danger of losing the joy you once knew in Christ.
Revelation 2:1-7
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
Here is a church that started well. Here is a church that continued well. They labor and toil for the Lord. They have strong teaching. They root out heresy at the church. They have continued on in the faith. And yet, they are missing something. They have left their first love.
Many have debated exactly what this love is. Love for God? Love for neighbors? Love for each other? Love for the lost? We aren't going to solve the problem today.
But, whatever it means, it means that they lost heart. Where once they burned hot, now they are cold. Sure, they have the externals down. They have the programs. They know the truth. They are busy in the work. But, they have lost heart they used to have. They are simply going through the motions.
Can you relate? Have you lost your first love?
If Psalm 126 teaches us anything, it teaches us this: Let's remember the joy we once had when we came to Christ (1-3). Let's pray to the LORD to restore the joy (4-6). If it is going to happen, it will only happen because the LORD does it. "Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored;" (Lamentations 5:21). So, let's be Joyful (verses 1-3). And let's be Prayerful (verse 4-6).
This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
July 21, 2013 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.
[1] Gracia Burnham, "In The Presence of My Enemies" (page numbers unknown).