The Lord Has Done Great Things

Read: Psalm 126

Psalm 126 KJV 1900

A Song of degrees. 1 When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, We were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing: Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. 3 The Lord hath done great things for us; Whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Introduction:

While not an official title or theological term, Psalm 126 is a pressuppostitional Psalm. It presupposes some things.

One of the things the Psalm presupposes is that the Lord had done some things.

And in presupposing that The Lord had done some things they are presupposing that The Lord is powerful.

Edward Bleiberg, who oversees the Brooklyn Museum’s Egyptian art shares the most common question from visitors to the museum, Why are the statues’ noses broken?

He was surprised the first few times he heard this question. He had taken for granted that the sculptures were damaged. Certainly, after thousands of years, an ancient artifact should show wear and tear. But the broken noses led Bleiberg to uncover a widespread pattern of deliberate destruction. He noted, “The consistency of the patterns … of damage found in sculpture suggests that it's purposeful.” A protruding nose on a three-dimensional statue is easily broken, he conceded, but the plot thickens when flat reliefs also have smashed noses.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the essence of a deity could inhabit an image of that deity. These campaigns of vandalism were therefore intended to "deactivate an image's strength." "The damaged part of the body is no longer able to do its job." Without a nose, the statue-spirit ceases to breathe, so that the vandal is effectively "killing" it. To hammer the ears off a statue of a god would make it unable to hear a prayer. Pharaohs regularly issued decrees with terrible punishments for anyone who would dare threaten their likeness.

Bleiberg noted the skill evidenced by the iconoclasts. "They were not vandals recklessly and randomly striking out works of art." In fact, the targeted precision of their chisels suggests that they were skilled laborers, trained and hired for this exact purpose.

But our Psalmist is saying our God, can’t be put into stone, nor can his nose be chiseled away, or his life taken.

Our Lord can do some things.

The Lord Restored

The Psalmist starts out by reminding us of what the Lord did...

Psalm 126:1 “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion...”

That word “turned” means “to restore” to bring back into original existence, function, or position

While we aren’t positive which time this is, but there are so many times when Zion was in captivity. Seige, Famine, War, Exile, Pestilence, you name it they had faced it - And due to their actions, God had allowed these things to take place.

In mercy, or after their repentance, he would turn things around -

The Psalmist continues and tells us what they did -

We were like them that dream - It was just so amazing it seemed unreal

Our mouth was filled with laughter

Our tongue with singing - they were moved to great expressions of joy - laughing and singing for joy.

When was the last time you were so joyful you burst into song

Or laughed for joy?

It was such an expression of joy that the heathen or those who did not follow The LORD - did something...

they said, “The LORD hath done great things for them”

The Psalmist wants to make sure you get the point so he says it again - Psalm 126:3 “The LORD hath done great things for us; [and] we are glad.”

There are appropriate times in life to stop and take inventory of all of those times when “The LORD hath done great things for us.”

I trust you have some of those

Has God ever done anything great for you?

Has God ever restored you?

Did you know God could do that?

He can take a life that is broken, twisted, confused, lost, full of hurt, bitterness, anger, and restore, heal, straighten, clear the mind, fill with love.

If you are like that today - Look to Jesus he can restore.

We have a tendency to look around at the bad, gloomy, sad, and down stuff - all the while God is doing some great things.

1. God has done great things in creation -

I believe in the supernatural power of God. I believe Genesis 1 that in the beginning God took nothing, and made the universe.

Be Exultant Within Us, the Joy of Freedom (vv. 1–3)

If you can explain what is going on, God did not do it” (Dr. Bob Cook).

I don’t know how much supernatural power Social Media has, but lately it sure has allowed the dumb to speak.

God’s creative ability truly is more wondrous than anything man can conceive. For example,

the spider and its web elicit considerably more astonishment than the man-made intricate world wide web. The 48,000 known species of the spider were given an awe-filled treatment by the magazine New Scientist.

Weighing between 50 and 80 milligrams most spiders know how to plan ahead. They alter the size and structure of their webs according to the remaining silk reserves in their glands, ensuring that they don’t run out midway. They are also sensitive to the weather. In low temperatures, they make simpler structures with bigger gaps between the spirals to avoid spending too much time exposed to the cold.

Spiders are so adept in the manufacture of their webs, that in most cases the prey has no chance. They tweak the tension of silk strands to boost the transmission of vibrations from a struggling insect, allowing the spider to respond more quickly. They can even learn from near misses. If their prey hits the web but then escapes, spiders will lay down more sticky silk to ensure this doesn’t happen in future.

Like humans, spiders have a fondness for travel. Spider silk--the envy of human engineers--is put to a huge range of uses. This includes using it for a sort of flight known as “ballooning,” in which a few threads, lifted by electrostatic forces in the atmosphere, carry them far and wide on nothing more than a light breeze. Spiderlings are known to survive without food while travelling in air currents of jet streams for 25 days or longer.

God is doing great things in creation.

But wait there’s more...

2. God is doing great things in the nations

Whether or not we realize it God governs in the affairs of men and governments. He puts up and he takes down, and If we could see what he is doing now we would stand in awe and say “GOD IS DOING GREAT THINGS”

I heard recently of some brave Christians in China and while they are really facing persecution - they are staying true to God! It shows God’s grace on display

Israel and the the Arab Emirates are making a peace treaty - while I know true peace will never happen until the Prince of Peace comes - even a little reprieve from the tension and fighting shows God’s power at work.

All around the world we could go - God is doing some great things!!!

3. God is doing great things in regard to Salvation -

Covid -19 hasn’t stopped the power of the blood of Jesus

The Mess in Washington DC hasn’t weakened God’s power to save

The coolness of the church, the sinful culture, all the atheists in the world put their minds and energy together, but it wouldn’t keep God from saving someone who calls on the name of the Lord.

Whether we realize it or not - we are living in one of the greatest times in history - and I believe it’s about harvest time for the church especially Wichita Bible Holiness Church!!!

GOD IS DOING GREAT THINGS AND I AM GLAD.

I remember what God did for me, and say the same thing, GOD DID A GREAT THING AND I AM GLAD!!!

John W. Peterson no doubt was feeling this one day so he grabbed his pen and began to scribble down -

“I was a sinner all covered with shame,

lost and defiled with no merit to claim

Somehow God loved me in spite of my sin

Save me, redeemed me, and cleansed me within

God did a wonderful thing for me one glorious happy day

God did a wonderful thing for me when He took all my sin away

Numberless blessings He since has bestowed;

Mercies from heaven like rivers have flowed

So many wonderful things He has done

And, praise HIs name He has only begun!

THE LORD HATH DONE GREAT THINGS AND WE ARE GLAD!!!

But the Psalm doesn’t stop there - he goes on and in Psalm 126:4-6 he prays a promise

I encourage you to pray the promises of God! You want to see great things - you pray God’s Promise!!!

but Psalm 126:1-3 was the olden days, the glory days.

now we are in trouble again and the Psalmist prays

“Turn again our captivity, O LORD”

We are in a mess God we need help.

Have you ever been there? Are you in captivity now?

Are you feeling trapped, bound, stuck???

We are given some precepts for seeing God’s great things when we are living in bad times

The Psalmist uses the law of sowing and reaping

He says if we want or need a harvest - if we need great things from God here is the way-

Psalm 126:5 KJV 1900

5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Which he immediately follows up with

Psalm 126:6 KJV 1900

6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Do you know what I hear in this - now this is important I want you to get this - I want you to hear this and take it home with you and really think about it --

The Psalmist is really saying -

GOD STILL WANT TO DO GREAT THINGS!!!!