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<<A Song of degrees.>> When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.  2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.   3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.  4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.  5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.   6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126: 1-6)

God’s deliverance of His people was so sudden and complete that even the heathen were taken aback: “Then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them” (v. 2b).  The Chaldeans, among whom they had been captives, sat up and took notice of this special deliverance. Even these, who were not God’s people, had to acknowledge the Lord’s sovereign power in Israel’s wondrous deliverance from exile.   Their liberation, in the circumstances, was evidently the work of God.:  “Jehovah, the God of Israel, has done great things for His people, such as even our gods can never do for us.” 

Before the captives’ freedom, the heathen had observed the calamity of God’s people and talked about their sad plight : “And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?  Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them” (Jer. 22: 8-9).  How could so strong a city be overpowered?  How could so great a city be reduced to ruins?  How could a people so dear to Jehovah be abandoned by Him? 

The special deliverance brought honour to the name of God and “…extorted from those that set up other gods in competition with Him an acknowledgment of His wisdom, power, and providence” – Matthew Henry.  It restored the status of the Jews who had been scorned and despised.  By God’s grace, His fallen people were made to look great even in the eyes of the heathen. 

It was clear that the heathen were mere spectators for they had neither part nor lot in this  divine deliverance meant only for the Lord’s people.  Yet they had to concede by acknowledging the God of the Jews as the Almighty Sovereign God – “The LORD hath done great things for them.”  “It is a blessed thing when saints set sinners talking about the loving-kindness of the Lord: …  Ah, dear reader, Jehovah has indeed done marvellous things for His chosen, and these ‘great things’ shall be themes for eternal praise among all intelligent creatures” – The Treasury of David.

“Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south” (v. 4).  We have here, a prayer for the perfecting of their deliverance. The work of restoring the captive Jews to their beloved homeland had just begun (v. 1); the psalmist prayed that it might be completed.  God’s kind favour had encouraged them to ask for more. The remnant were still in distress, even in their own land: “… The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire” (Neh. 1: 3).   Many yet remained in Babylon.  “Let those that have returned to their own land be eased of the burdens which they are yet groaning under. Let those that remain in Babylon have their hearts stirred up, as ours were, to take the benefit of the liberty granted.  The bringing of those that were yet in captivity to join with their brethren that had returned would be as welcome to both sides as streams of water in those countries, which, lying far south, were parched and dry.  As cold water to a thirsty soul, so would this good news be from that far country (Prov. 25: 25)” – Matthew Henry.  It was an encouragement to the captives that, with their ever-merciful God, all would end well. 

Brethren, let us be encouraged to seek the Lord at the throne of grace.  The beginnings of mercy are encouragements to us to pray for the completing of it.  As long as we live, there is need to pray.  When all is well for us, let us be mindful of our weak or needy brethren who are in need of our prayer and help.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.   He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (vv. 5-6).   The troubles of the saints will not last forever.  The captives were long sowing in tears, but in God’s good time, they were brought forth with joy; they reaped the blessing of their patient suffering, and brought their sheaves with them to their own land, in their experiences of Jehovah’s loving-kindness to them. 

“The soil is rocky, impracticable, overgrown with sharp thorns; and it costs much painful toil to break up and gather out the rock, cut and burn the briars, and to subdue the stubborn soil, especially with their feeble oxen and insignificant ploughs. … He who labours hard, in cold and rain, in fear and danger, in poverty and in want, casting his precious seed into the ground, will surely come again, at harvest-time, with rejoicing, and bearing his sheaves with him” – W M Thomson.

Abraham, Joseph, Job, David and many others, had harvests of joy after a period of tears.  They that sow in the tears of godly sorrow shall reap in the joy of a sealed pardon and a settled peace.  They that sow to the spirit, in this vale of tears, shall of the spirit reap eternal life.  Truly, that will be a joyful harvest.

The afflictions of God’s people are as sowing in tears.  In sowing, there is great effort and pain.  But God Who is the Lord of the harvest, in His own good time, will ripen our joy and bring forth much fruit to His glory.

- Pastor