The Joyful Harvest
The Songs of Ascents is a collection of psalms (120-134) in Book Five of the Psalter that Jewish pilgrims sang on their way to Jerusalem for one of the feasts. As such, these psalms played a role in the feast themselves.
They were traditionally recited during the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) which was held in the autumn of the year and commemorated God’s care for the Israelites during their wilderness wandering. But while these psalms were used for a specific celebration, they seem to have been gathered from a variety of times in Israel’s history and as such they are appropriate for all times.
Psalm 126 is often related to the captivity, and given its placement in the psalter, this is a fair conclusion. But the details of the psalm are left open enough that they could apply to any number of times in Israel’s history when God restored the fortunes of His people and they needed an expression of joy.
This psalm continues to speak to us in our time as a reminder of what to do as the pendulum of this life swings back and forth between grief and joy.
1. Remember what God has done.
The psalm opens by remembering a time when God saved His people and it gives us two details of what the reversal of fortune felt like. “Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.” Off hand, I’d say that laughter is not often used positively in the psalms, but here it characterizes the joy that God’s people experienced at his salvation: it was sudden and uncontrollable.
Another interesting detail is what the nations said about Israel: “The Lord has done great things for them.” In keeping with the theme, this is a reversal of what is more often the case in the Psalms, specifically in Psalms 3, 42, and 79. The nations are often heard to say that there is no hope in God. Suddenly, God’s deliverance is so thorough and obvious that even those who previously mocked God’s people testify to what happened.
2. Let the memory of God’s deliverance in the past give you courage to look for his deliverance in the future.
The psalmist is not content to simply remember God’s deliverance; he also pleads for God to deliver again and offers a beautiful statement of trust. The King James puts it this way: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
We continue to go through difficult times, whether from a virus or from fires. So often we try to deal with problems by dismissing them. Usually this involves blaming someone or something for the problem or how the problem is being handled.
Scripture is clear. Life is difficult, but God is the one who saves. Our job is to call to mind the times that He has saved, praise Him for it, and ask Him to do it again, trusting that He is faithful to hear and to act.
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 126
