Return from Exile: Introduction (1)

Pray Psalm 126.4, 5.
Bring back our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.

Sing Psalm 126.4, 5.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
Restore our fortunes, Lord our King! Let grace like flowing streams prevail.
All they with tears of joy shall sing who sow while yet they weep and wail.

Read and meditate on Psalm 126.

Preparation
1. What was the psalmist remembering? For what was he longing?

2. Under what conditions did he compose this psalm?

Meditation
Psalm 126 is a song of ascents. That is, it was composed, as all the other songs of ascent, to be sung by the Lord’s people as they made their way up to Mt. Zion and the temple of God, to worship and praise Him. Singing these psalms en route helped to create a mood of anticipation and joy, preparing the people as they made their way into the Presence of God.

But Psalm 126 was bittersweet for those former exiles who journeyed to the temple in Jerusalem. Crude in construction and much diminished from the first temple, the second temple was for many Israelites a letdown, a disappointment. Though it signaled the joy of their return from exile and of God’s return among them, it spoke of lost glories and postponed hopes (cf. Hag. 2.1-3). The people singing Psalm 126 rejoiced to recall that God had restored them to the land (vv. 1, 3), but they wept bitter tears as they faced up to what a paltry and pitiful people they had become (vv. 4. 5).

As we shall see in this series on the post-exilic books of the Old Testament, Israel had returned from exile, but not entirely to the Lord. In many ways, they remained as captive as they had been for 70 years in Babylon.

The faithful in Israel would weep tears of sadness and repentance as they called upon the Lord to bring them back from their own captivity into the fuller realization of His promises (v. 4). They longed for the day when, like the dry wadis of the south, rivers of living water would flow under the showers of God’s blessing to His people (cf. Ps. 67). And the faithful, recognizing their still-captive condition, would weep and work, “bearing seed for sowing”, that the people of God might, in the latter days, “come again with rejoicing”, bringing the fruit of their labors to honor the Lord (v. 6).

Psalm 126 describes the state of today’s churches: Free to worship but, because of our captivity to the spirit of the age, feckless and diminished, bereft of a fuller realization of the presence, promise, and power of God’s Kingdom. As we begin our study, let us weep for our present condition and renew our determination to seek God’s Kingdom.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
Before anything had changed in Cinderella’s grievous life, she encouraged her animal friends to keep dreaming and believing that good things could and would happen. She sang to them:

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep.
In dreams you will lose your heartache,
Whatever you wish for, you keep.
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
The dream that you wish will come true.
(Mack David, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston, 1950)

Those three songwriters echoed what the Psalmist was telling his listeners:

When the LORD brought back the captivity, we were like those who dream.
We laughed for joy, we sang in happiness and relief.
Even people who observed our joy knew Who did it: “the LORD has done great things for them”.
And we said in return: “The LORD has done great things for us!”
While we were waiting in expectation we clung to God’s promise:
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing the sheaves with him.”
(Ps. 126, my translation).

In the gospel of Luke we learned that God’s promises are always fulfilled. All of them. All the time. We are seeking the Kingdom of God and its promises, but we can also expect heartache, grief, and trouble (Acts 14.21); so we will call on the LORD to intervene on our behalf. We long for Him to bring back our loved ones who are held captive by the enemy; we long for Him to revive our hearts; we long for Him to revive His Church worldwide; and we pray and keep believing that He will do these very things.

He will continue to keep the promises made to us in His Word.
And our laughter and joy will come when we long for all this to be done—for His glory.

“You will show me the path of life; in Your Presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16.11).
“They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble…
Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border” (Jer. 31.9, 16, 17).

And the point of it all?
“To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,
that He may be glorified” (Is. 61.2, 3).

God will fulfill the longing and dreaming for restoration—ours and others—for His praise and glory.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9.24).

For reflection
1. Though sorrowing, the psalmist’s outlook was positive and hopeful. How did this affect his behavior?

2. Though we live in a time of captivity—to the times, to worldliness, to fear and uncertainty—yet we must continue to work our Personal Mission Fields. What does that require of you?

3. And we must pray, prayers of repentance and prayers for revival, renewal, restoration, and awakening. Will you take up such prayers as part of your daily discipline?

Suffering saints are often in tears; they share the calamities of human life, and commonly have a greater share than others. But they sow in tears; they do the duty of an afflicted state. Weeping must not hinder sowing; we must get good from times of affliction. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 126.4-6

Pray Psalm 126.1-3, 6.
Pray that God would bring revival to His churches, that He would break us free from our captivity to the times and ways of the world and move us, through tears of repentance, to take up the work of sowing Kingdom seeds. Pray that He will enable you to be revived and seek His Kingdom today and every day.

Sing Psalm 126.1-3, 6.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
When God restored our fortunes all, we were like those who sweetly dream.
Our mouths with joy and laughter filled, made Him our constant song and theme.

Then the astonished nations said, “The Lord has done great things for them!”
Indeed, great things our God has done, whose Name we praise, Amen, Amen!

They who in tears of sorrow sow and cast their seed on every hand,
with joy shall reach their heav’nly home, and bring the harvest of their land.

T. M. and Susie Moore

We are convinced that this new study, Return from Exile, will be one of the most important we have done. We encourage you to share this installment with friends. Use the icons at the top of this column to encourage your friends to join you in this study.

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.