The Lord Has Done Great Things for Us: A Song of Joy

458- 2nd return with Ezra (around 5,000 Jews returned) Over 70 years after the first return. Ezra brought major spiritual reforms and restored proper Temple worship.

445- 3rd return with Nehemiah (smallest of the returns) He organized and helped finish the completion of the walls of Jerusalem.

This Psalm is set sometime after the first return in 536 B.C.

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary Composition and Context

To capture the intensity of this passage one must imagine what it would have been like to have lived in the Babylonian captivity and not have been free or able to worship in the way the nation had been accustomed to before, and then imagine what it would have been like to be free to go once again to Jerusalem for the festivals.

Psalm 137:1–6 ESV

1 By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our lyres. 3 For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! 6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!

Psalm 137 encapsulates the sorrow and sadness of the Jews in exile in Babylon who could not sing songs of Zion. They couldn’t sing the songs of Ascent as they made their pilgrim journeys to Jerusalem to keep the feasts. They could observe proper temple worship because they had no temple. V. 4 captures the solemn mood well, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”

Psalm 126 encapsulates the joy and wonder of the Jews as those who had returned from exile. They were back in the land and they were able to celebrate once again.

Yet the were faced with major obstacles. The nation, the city, the land had lain dormant and neglected for 50 years. Imagine trying to sow seeds in the farm land that had not been maintained for fifty years or more. Not only that but the Jews faced opposition from different people groups that were not happy about their return. The temple need to be rebuilt, the walls of Jerusalem were torn down. And only a small portion of the Jewish people came back from captivity in Babylon (50,000 only).

This Psalm is both a celebration and an expression of joy at God redeeming his people from captivity and an urgent prayer for God to help in the hard work ahead of them.

Yet this song is primarily a song of joy! And it has much application for us today.

“Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.” — Eugene H. Peterson

Joy is not something that we manufacture. Although the world certainly does try to manufacture a flimsy facsimile of Christian joy. What are some of the ways the world attempts to manufacture a kind of joy?

“The enormous entertainment industry in America is a sign of the depletion of joy in our culture. Society is a bored, gluttonous king employing a court jester to divert it after an overindulgent meal. But that kind of joy never penetrates our lives, never changes our basic constitution. The effects are extremely temporary—only a few minutes, a few hours, a few days at most. When we run out of money, the joy trickles away. We cannot make ourselves joyful. Joy cannot be commanded, purchased or arranged.” —Eugene Peterson

Where does joy come from? How do we get joy?

Psalm 126 shows us three ways that we can find joy.

I. The way of Joy: In the Past (1-2)

Vv. 1-2 show us the way of joy in terms of the past. What about the past filled the saints with joy?

Psalm 126:1 ESV

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion- general translation and could be pre-exilic in origin.

Psalm 126:1 NET

1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, we thought we were dreaming.

Psalm 126:1 NASB95

1 When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.

Psalm 126:1 NKJV

1 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.

Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.”

The more specific translation has the idea of the Lord bringing back the captive ones, or lit. “those who returned.”

Many scholars understand v. 1 to be the idea of the Lord bring back the Israelites who were in captivity in Babylon.

When God worked this incredible act of deliverance for his people, i.e. the Decree of Cyrus and the return under Zerubbabel, when we think back and remember that moment of God’s redemption- what did that fill them with? What did remembering what God had done for them in the past produce?

“We were like those who dream”- What does that mean?

Illustration: Building our new building. 14 years in the making. We prayed about it for so long. We waited for God to work for so long. And then one day the flood gates opened: 100% yes vote, 58,000 more from Lasko foundation, 100,000 from a family out of the blue, 300 check in our mail box from someone in the community we don’t know, 500 is nails for our siding donated, 10,000 for a new piano, and on and on. At certain points in the process it felt like you were walking around in a dream. “Is this real?” It was so wonderful we could scarcely believe our eyes! God filled us with incredible joy!

“When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, We were like those who dream.” I am sure the people, as they were making the long and difficult journey from Babylon back to Jerusalem would have felt like people in a dream. “Is this really real?”

God’s deliverance of his people from their exile in Babylon filled them with wonder and joy.

What acts of God’s deliverance in the past ought to fill our hearts with joy?

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary A. The Lord Restores the Life of His People When He Sets Them Free from Bondage (1)

If the setting of the psalm is the deliverance of the people of Israel from their exile in Babylon, then that deliverance according to the prophets was a redemption, not in the New Testament spiritual sense of salvation, but redemption as in the deliverance of the people of God from bondage

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary A. The Lord Restores the Life of His People When He Sets Them Free from Bondage (1)

Israel’s deliverance from bondage (forgiveness and restoration) filled them with joy and a new life, and our redemption from the bondage of sin (forgiveness and salvation) should fill us with joy and life as well.

We are in our application of this principle bridging the two testaments because the principle is the same.

Psalm 126:2 ESV

2 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.”

What is the poetry doing from v. 1 to v. 2? What is going on in this parallel?

V. 1- “We were like those who dream”

V. 2- “Our mouth was filled with laughter”

“Our tongue with shouts of joy!”

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary B. The Great Deliverance Brings Joy to the Redeemed and Recognition from the World (2)

The word that is parallel to “laughter” here is “joy”; this word (רִנָּה; s.v. Ps. 33:1) refers to great joy, a ringing cry or shouting for joy. This was no subdued celebration; it was a great celebration of freedom from captivity (contrasting with the sadness and grief described in Psalm 137).

The dream like state of the Jews as they traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem turned into laughter, celebration, and exuberant joy. I picture the group finally reaching the city of Jerusalem. Finally returning home. And the dream finally hits home and reality.

Illustration: It was like the first service we got to meet in person in our new building! Plus it was a return from COVID. There were many smiles, much laughter, and many a joyful praise.

Notice the last part of the verse: They they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Who is the “they” in this phrase? The nations.

Psalm 126:2 NET

2 At that time we laughed loudly and shouted for joy. At that time the nations said, “The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

Even the unsaved, heathen nations recognized something supernatural was going on because something impossible has happened.

Illustration: The many times I have been able to tell the story of how God provided for us in our new building, i.e. rained out bike ride, calling the banker to tell him we didn’t need the loan anymore.

Application? Does this apply to our redemption? To our salvation/deliverance from sin? How?

Where does joy come from?

Principle: Joy comes because of God’s great deliverance on our behalf

“Joy is a product of abundance.” —Eugene Peterson

What happens to our worship when we confess the truth of this Psalm?

Is our worship joyful?

Where does joy come from? How do we get joy?

II. The way of Joy: In the Present (3)

Now the Psalmist moves from joy that was experienced in the past to a present day joy.

Psalm 126:3 ESV

3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.

Notice the change in verb tense:

The Lord HAS done great things for us:

We ARE glad.

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary C. The Redeemed Acknowledge the Lord’s Deliverance (3)

The translation “glad” is far too weak for the form (שְׁמֵחִים; s.v. Ps. 48:11) given the circumstances; it would convey more of the sense of joy, rejoicing, or taking delight in what the LORD had done.

Also, the first part of the verse, “The Lord has done great things for us” is an exact restatement of what the nations were saying in v. 2. It is as if the saints couldn’t say it better any other way. “Why yes, the Lord has done great things for us.”

What great things has the Lord done for you?

What happens when we remember and acknowledge all the great things the Lord has done for us? What does remembering things like that produce? JOY!

1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Where does joy come from?

Principle: Joy comes when we remember the great things God has done for us

What happens to our worship when we confess the truth of this Psalm?

Is our worship joyful?

Where does joy come from? How do we get joy?

III. The Way of Joy: In the Future (4-6)

Verse four is a transitional verse- there is a major pivot in the emotions of the song beginning in v. 4.

Psalm 126:4 ESV

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb!

Fortunes is the same word used in v. 1. Again, the ESV translates this word in the most general sense possible.

I think the better and more specific translation is preferred.

Psalm 126:4 NASB95

4 Restore our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South.

What is the psalmist praying for? Restore our captivity? He is praying that God would restore to Jerusalem other Jews who were still in captivity in Babylon.

Bring back more of your people to the land, just like the streams in the South or in the desert.

What is the simile picturing here?

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary II. The Saints Pray for God to Restore Many Others from Bondage (4)

This word “streams” (אֲפִיקים) refers to the dry river beds in the wilderness. They are dry in the dry season; but in the rainy season they become rushing torrents of water. Most of them are then filled with water running down from the mountains and high plateaus of the land; they can be strong enough to wash buses off the roads when they overflow their banks. The psalmist compares the road from Babylon to such a river bed. It is now dry, meaning, there are no people coming down the road. He prays for God to bring the rest of the people back so that those roads would be “overflowing their banks” like streams in the desert.

Dry

Wet

Psalm 126:4 NASB95

4 Restore our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South.

What were the primary emotions on display in vv. 1-3? JOY! Gladness! What new emotions does v. 4 introduce? Uncertainty, HELP!, Work on our behalf!, We are in need!

What did the Jews in Jerusalem need? More people. Why? Un-Plowed fields (50 years), Destroyed temple, broken down walls, enemies on every side.

Vv. 1-3- the psalmist remembers the great things the Lord had done. How he delivered his people from exile and brought them back to Jerusalem. At first they are in a dream, then they are in great joy and gladness of heart, and then they look around and see how much still needs to be accomplished. They see how few have returned from exile. Their nation was still mostly in captivity. And so they pray urgently to the Lord- restore our captivity. Bring more of your people back. They are concerned. Is there a similar concern for believers today? An evangelistic concern.

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary II. The Saints Pray for God to Restore Many Others from Bondage (4)

The concern is like the evangelistic concern of the church, except that the psalmist is praying for people who are in the covenant to be prompted to return to the land to do the work of God. The desire is that they too will catch the vision that the future of God’s program is in Israel, not in captivity in a foreign land.

Psalm 126:5 ESV

5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

Now the psalmist records an important principle in vv. 5-6.

He records a principle by using an illustration in agriculture. What illustration does he use? Sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

The illustration is that of sowing and reaping. He no doubt is looking upon the ruined farm fields that have not been plowed or sown properly in 50 years. How much effort, how much sorrow, sweat, and tears would be necessary to return the farm fields to their former glory? It is going to take hard work, perseverance, but eventually they would bring in a harvest. And in due time when that harvest comes what follows? Shouts of JOY!

Now how does the psalmist intend to use this illustration? What principle is he drawing here?

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary III. The Saints Who Labor for the Kingdom Find Encouragement in the Principle of Sowing and Reaping (5–6)

No doubt the people who first returned found agriculture difficult in a land that had not been worked for decades; but they knew that perseverance would eventually bring a harvest. But because these verses are joined with the prayer of verse 4, we know that the psalmist’s concern was not with a harvest of wheat, but people. Therefore, the entire two verse section is figurative (an implied comparison), referring to the labor for God’s restored program.

Bring to fruition God’s restored program, rebuilding Jerusalem, returning more and more people to Israel from Babylon would be much like the sowing and reaping process of those hard, weed filled fields. It would take hard work, it would be difficult, frustrating, at times tear inducing. The results at first would be meager at best. But through hard work and perseverance eventually God would bring the harvest and that would most certainly produce joy!

Psalm 126:6 ESV

6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Here we find an intensification from v. 5.

The sense of the verbs used in v. 6 is something like, “He who goes forth continually.” “Whoever continually goes forth.”

This verb emphasizes the need for what? The perseverance of the sower!

The one who continually goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing … The use of the words like tears and weeping are meant to express what truth? The work of laboring for God’s kingdom program will be difficult and filled with frustration. And even sometimes literal tears and literal weeping.

Does that truth have any application to laboring for Gods’ kingdom program today?

But, what is the result of the one who continually goes out and sows seed? Eventually he has come how with shouts of joy, bringing in his sheaves with him.

Shouts of joy- lit. “ringing cry.”

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary III. The Saints Who Labor for the Kingdom Find Encouragement in the Principle of Sowing and Reaping (5–6)

If the sower perseveres in the sowing, no matter how difficult or frustrating, there will be a harvest—there will be a coming in with rejoicing.

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary III. The Saints Who Labor for the Kingdom Find Encouragement in the Principle of Sowing and Reaping (5–6)

But the point is clear: perseverance will pay off, the seed will produce a harvest, and the struggle will be replaced by celebration. This principle is true of agriculture; but it is also true of labor in God’s kingdom.

Where does joy come from?

Principle: Joy comes when we trust God and persevere in laboring for the kingdom

The psalmist wisely used the illustration of agricultural work to bring encouragement to the people.

These people had been delivered from captivity by the strong hand of the Lord. In that deliverance they rejoiced in the past. When they remembered the great things the Lord had done for them they rejoiced in the present. Now, they looked around and they realized that so many more people needed to respond to the word of the Lord and return to build God’s program in the land once again.

The principle that the hard working farmer who endured difficulty and frustration, in time would bring in an abundant harvest was used to bring encouragement to the people.

If they would depend upon the Lord in prayer, and persevere in doing the hard work God had called them to, then one day they too would bring in their harvest and it would produce ringing cries of joy!

Application: How can we apply this Psalm to our lives?

A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90–150): Commentary Message and Application

Those who have experienced the great salvation of the LORD will not only be filled with joy but will desire that others come to share in his kingdom. As a corollary we might add, To that end they will pray; to that end they will do whatever they can to ensure that there will be a “harvest” of people coming to serve the LORD. The applications would include both praying for others to turn to the LORD, and using whatever gifts one has to work for the kingdom. To put it in the words of the psalmist, the task of the redeemed is to sow the seed. That includes sharing the word of God with people and imploring people to respond to it. The motivation for this kind of spiritual service is the joy of redemption. The more that redemption is appreciated, the greater the service will be.