Psalm 126 - Great Things

Read: Psalm 126 vs 1-6

Psalm 126 continues on the theme of ‘Ascents’, songs that were sung by God’s worshipping people as they made their way up to the Temple in Jerusalem. Like many of the psalms, this song encourages God’s people to give praise now based on what God has done in the past. The song specifically looks back to a time when ‘the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion’ (‘Zion’ here, vs 1, refers to Jerusalem, the capital of the Promised Land). 

These words could have been written sometime after God’s exiled people returned to Jerusalem from Babylon (see Ezra 1: 1-5), or they could apply to another time, or times, when God ‘restored the fortunes’ of his people. Either way the psalm reminds us that the history of Israel in the Old Testament, and the history of God’s people through the centuries is an ‘up and down’ story. We should be wary about feeling the need to demand from God that we should live in times of great blessings. Equally if we find ourselves living in times that are tough for God’s people we should remember that tough times never have the last word.

The memory of times of restoration in the past brings to life songs of praise now, the memory of mouths filled with laughter and joy (vs 2), and this present awareness that God has done great things for His people in the past. These past stories become our stories when, in faith, we stand alongside these past generations. Their prayer that God would once again ‘restore’ the fortunes of His people, like streams running in a desert, becomes a prayer of faith, even if our ‘now’ is an experience of tears. 

Beyond the sowing, there is a reeping (vs 5), beyond the burdens of today there is joy to come (vs 6), for those who will keep singing these songs on the road of faith.

Prayer: Father, the history of Your people across the millennia is a very up and down story. Thank You that over the long term, Your purposes are to restore Your people and to allow us to find our joy in You. Give us this hope today, we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.