Psalms 126

Some students connect this psalm with the sudden deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege during the reign of Hezekiah (Isa. 36—37). But the Hebrew verb translated “turned again” in verse 1 (kjv; “brought back,” nasb, niv) and “turn again” or “restore” in verse 4, is also used to describe the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (Ezra 2:1; Neh. 7:6; Isa. 10:22; Jer. 22:10). Cyrus gave his decree in 537 BC, an event prophesied by Isaiah (44:24—45:7). Isaiah also prophesied the joy of the people at their liberation (Isa. 48:20; 49:8–13; 51:11; 54:1; 55:10–12) and the witness of this remarkable event to the other nations (Isa. 43:10–21; 44:8, 23; 52:7–10). But once the exiles were back in their land, their joy began to subside, for life is not always easy when you are making a new beginning after a time of discipline. But life is so arranged that we must often make new beginnings, and the Lord helps us by giving us special encouragements.

The generation of Jews that conquered the Promised Land was true to the Lord, and so were their children, but the third generation broke the covenant and turned to idols (Judg. 2:7–23). God punished His people in the land by allowing seven nations to invade, rob, and destroy. When Israel’s rebellion became so great that the land itself was being defiled, God took them out of the land and sent them to Babylon for seventy years. Now they had been set free, and they could not believe what was happening. Yes, they knew that both Isaiah and Jeremiah had promised this “second exodus,” but it was too good to be true. During long years of waiting, they had dreamed of returning home, and now the dream had become reality. God in His grace had forgiven them (Isa. 40:1–2; 44:21–22) and they could make a new beginning. The Jews had lost their song in Babylon (137:1–5), but now they were shouting, laughing, and singing! What a witness of God’s faithfulness to keep His promises!

The surrounding nations, some of whom hated Israel, were utterly astonished at this event and openly confessed that the God of Israel had done great things for them. The Jews replied that indeed He had done great things for them, and they gave God the glory. “If you can explain what is going on, God did not do it” (Dr. Bob Cook). This confession of the greatness of God was made by others in Scripture: Moses (Deut. 10:21), Job (Job 5:8–9), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:24), David (2 Sam. 7:21–23), the prophet Joel (Joel 2:21), Mary (Luke 1:49), and the unnamed demoniac whom Jesus healed (Luke 8:39). This ought to be the confession of every Christian and of every local church.

“Turn again our captivity” (kjv) can also be translated “restore our fortunes.” The captivity had ended, and the Jews were praying for the blessing of the Lord on their life in the land. However, not all the Jews had left Babylon, for while many came during the reign of Cyrus (Ezra 1—3), others followed during the reigns of Darius (Ezra 6) and Artaxerxes (Ezra 7—8). It was important that the people return to their land and get to work, but it was also important that God bless their work (127:1–2). If the Lord did not keep His covenant and send the early and latter rains (Lev. 26:4; Deut. 11:10–12; 28:12), there would be no crops and their labors would have been in vain. Each raindrop was but a tiny thing, but when dropped on the earth, it was the promise of life. How gracious of the Lord to send “showers of blessing” (Ezek. 34:26) to His people! How important it is that God’s people pray for His blessing and prepare themselves to receive it (2 Chron. 7:14; Mal. 3:8–12). In Scripture, water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God and the refreshing life that He brings to those who seek Him (John 7:37–38).

“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), so after we have praised God and prayed, we must get to work, for work is a blessing, not a curse. God gave our first parents work to do in the garden before sin ever entered the human race (Gen. 2:15). In Scripture, the people God commissioned for special service were busy when He called them: Moses was caring for sheep (Ex. 3); Gideon was threshing wheat (Judg. 6); David was tending the family flock (1 Sam. 16); Nehemiah was serving the king (Neh. 1); Peter, Andrew, James, and John were busy in their fishing business (Luke 5:1–11); and Matthew was in his tax office (Matt. 9:9).

The returned remnant experienced some bad seasons (Hag. 1:9–11), but the promise came that God would send the rains and the harvests (Hag. 2:15–19). God would keep His covenant promises if His people would keep His covenant commands. The grain that the farmer sowed might have been used to make bread for his family, so it is no wonder he was weeping as he toiled. Tears and rejoicing often went together at that time (Ezra 3:8–13; 6:16, 22), but the farmer was trusting God to multiply the grain so that he would have both bread for his family to eat and seed to sow the next season (2 Cor. 9:10–11). In His covenant, God gave the promise of adequate food for the people (Deut. 28:1–14), and the sower was claiming that promise. It pleases the Lord when we water with our tears the seed of the Word that we sow. We cannot reap if we do not first sow the seed, and the seed must be watered with our tears and our prayers.

Some blessings God sends suddenly (vv. 1–3), some come in the course of time (v. 4), and some come as we patiently sow and weep (James 5:7). But His promise is secure: “in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6: nkjv).