Psalm 126 - Freedom from Captivity

Psalm 126 is the seventh of the “Assent Songs” and the writer is anonymous. Several verses in this psalm appear 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 B.C., an event prophesied by Isaiah (44:24-45:7). Jeremiah had prophesied that the captivity would be for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10). 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. In the first three verses, you see the people express great joy for this new freedom! (vv. 1-3) Even though they had the prophesies and promises of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the remnant that returned to Israel could not believe they were free and felt like they were dreaming! 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 (Ps. 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. Someone said, "If you can explain what is going on, God did not do it". This ought to be the confession and testimony of every believer and of every local church. And even the world will notice the difference in our lives and must acknowledge that the LORD did it! The prayer in verse four, "Bring back our captivity", 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. It was important that the people return to their land and get to work, but it was also important that God bless their work (Psalm 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). After our freedom from the captivity of sin and Satan, we have the challenge of work (vv. 5-6)."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. 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). Today, may the LORD give us a broken heart with tears, to take His precious seed, His Word, to share with a lost world around us! If we do this, we are promised a harvest of souls and great rejoicing, not only now but for eternity! And, "In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9). God bless!