Psalms · psalm 126 of 150
Updated on
Psalm 126 recalls the return of the captives to Zion, so unexpected that it seemed a dream and filled those who came back with laughter and songs. The nations admitted that the Lord had done great things for them. The people now ask God to restore them again, and promise that those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
Psalm 126 is the seventh of the Songs of Ascents. It looks to the past, the return from exile, and to the present, in which the people still need restoration. Because of that tension between what has been received and what is still awaited, the psalm has comforted those who have known a partial deliverance and keep sowing with effort and tears.
The psalm starts by recalling the day when the Lord brought back the captives of Zion. It was so unbelievable that the people felt as if they were dreaming. Their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with shouts of joy, and among the nations it was said that the Lord had done great things for them. The people confirm it: the Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.
Verse 4 changes tone and time. The joy of the past has not removed the present need, and the people pray: restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the streams in the Negeb. In that dry region of southern Judah, the dry riverbeds fill suddenly with water after rain and transform the desert.
Verses 5 and 6 end with a picture of farm work. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves. Sowing was costly, because it meant giving up grain needed for food; but God promises a harvest of joy.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, the people were like those who dream, and their mouths were filled with laughter and songs. God's salvation was so great that it seemed unreal.
The people acknowledge that the Lord has done great things for them and that is why they are glad. Their joy does not come from circumstances but from what God has done.
The people ask the Lord to restore their fortunes like the streams of the Negeb. Even after receiving much, more is still needed, and they ask with trust in the One who has already acted.
Whoever sows in tears will reap with joy, and whoever goes out weeping with seed will return with sheaves. It is a promise that work and pain placed in God's hands are not in vain.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Like those who dream. — Psalm 126:1
Answer: Laughter and shouts of joy. — Psalm 126:2
Answer: That the Lord had done great things for them. — Psalm 126:2
Answer: That the Lord restore their fortunes like the streams in the Negeb. — Psalm 126:4
Answer: They will reap with shouts of joy. — Psalm 126:5
Answer: His sheaves, with shouts of joy. — Psalm 126:6
Psalm 126 teaches us to remember and to ask at the same time. A small group can set aside time to recall with gratitude what God has done, and then bring to him what is still lacking. The memory of his works does not replace prayer but feeds it.
It also encourages those who serve without seeing fruit: the person who teaches in Sunday school, prays for a relative or works patiently on a hard task. The tears of sowing are not the last word. Jesus said that a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies bears much fruit, and Paul urges us not to grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap. Let us sow in faith, waiting for God's harvest.
Psalm 126 ends with the picture of the sower coming home with sheaves. Psalm 127 continues with the theme of work but takes it to its root: unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Probably the return of the Jews from the exile in Babylon after the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC, described in Ezra 1 and following. Some think it could speak of another deliverance, but the context of captivity and restoration fits the exile best. It is a psalm that serves to remember any rescue by God.
The Negeb is a dry region south of Judah. Its watercourses are dry most of the year but fill quickly with water after a rain. They are a picture of a sudden, abundant change, which is why the psalmist asks God for an equally sudden restoration.
In a farming society, sowing meant giving away the seed on which food depended. In times of hunger or uncertainty, it was an act of faith accompanied by sorrow. The psalm promises that this surrender ends in joy, because God gives the harvest.