Psalm 126 - Renewal

INTRO

Recently Hannah and I joined with our next door neighbors, the Baileys to plant a large garden.

There is a bit of an unknown to planting, really your hoping for right amount of sun, rain, so many specific factors for a harvest.

Reading this Psalm brought me to read about prayer meetings in the 1930s in what become known as the dust bowl.

For 11 years there was a severe drought from Texas up to Nebraska.

There’s footage showing the devastation.

Cracked earth, dried out crops, and dying cattle.

It was horrible.

Churches would gather and plead for rain.

Drought is familiar for us even now as the western part of America is going through an increasingly difficult drought.

This Psalm was written in a day when there was a similar moment of drought.

This was a moment of spiritual drought and famine.

We’ve been going through the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms that ancient Jews would sing on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Today we get to a Psalm that is a cry in the midst of hard moments.

But what makes this Psalm so very helpful is that while there is a petition this Psalm does so with confidence.

Confidence.

This is a song that looks back, makes a request, and then looks ahead.

While in the midst of dry and hard days, this Psalm calls us to be like those who look out over their desolate life and pray for rain, but to do so with confidence

Because God's covenant faithfulness has proved true in the past we must have confident expectation he will bring renewal again.

The ambition of this Psalm is to plead for God to pour out his faithfulness like water in a desert place.

This is a prayer for renewal, revival.

Let’s go to this Psalm and see first, Past Renewal

TRANSITION

I. Past Renewal

Psalm 126:1–2 (ESV)

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.”

This Psalm like many of the Psalms of Ascent can fit a myriad of situations.

This is a Psalm that speaks to God’s past covenant faithfulness.

We see God’s faithfulness over and over throughout Israel’s history.

Whether it be redeeming his people from Egypt, or returning them once again from Exile.

God has been in the business of renewal and restoration.

What was the result?

Joy.

Not just any kind of joy, a joy that results in a deep belly laugh.

My absolute favorite part of having a toddler right now is his joy.

He will be bowled over in laughter at the slightest thing.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

There is something to that kind of joy.

That is what God brought Israel.

His restoration was so great that they thought they must be dreaming, but no they were living the dream!

Their mouths were filled with shouts of joy.

This is akin to songs shouted at the top of your lungs at a game.

Something I love about soccer by the way is the rich chant singing of each club.

It is a euphoric joy, a communal joy.

Here’s the thing, this was such a powerful working of God that others took notice.

Verse 2:

English Standard Version (Psalm 126)

then they said among the nations,“The LORD has done great things for them .”

Has that ever happened for you?

Has God worked so powerfully in your life that others begin to take notice and interest?

Something is different about you?

“You have this joy and hope in life…I want that!”

That’s what happened here.

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 Peterson

Joy is a theme that we see coursing through the scriptures.

I’ve said it before that we should be the happiest, most celebratory people on the planet.

Joy is about being restored, that is, brought back to who you were designed to be.

We who were once far off from God, we have been brought near!

When it comes to looking back each of us could look back to see God’s kindness at work in our lives.

1 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV)

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

There is much to say about looking to our past with full hearts and fondness for that resurrection joy.

I think of a video I saw of tribal peoples watching the Jesus film. They wept as Jesus was crucified but then erupted in smiles and laughter when Jesus rises.

Resurrection joy is the best joy!

Do you feel that joy in your life?

Maybe that joy feels like a distant memory.

Maybe instead you feel more in common with the saints praying for rain.

Your life has felt dry.

The last couple years have worn on your soul.

You are weary.

It feels like there is always something to doom scroll, something that pulls your attention away from the hope and joy of the gospel.

With that this Psalm can relate.

That is where we see second, the request

TRANSITION

II. The Request (v4)

Psalm 126:4 (ESV)

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb!

This is a heartfelt petition for God to work in power.

To bring renewal.

The Negeb was the arid desertlike land to the south of Israel.

When rain did come it would gush down the stream beds.

That’s what this prayer is asking for…

The Psalmist feels like the Negeb....dry, parched and cracked.

He wants God to send rain that will overflow and soak the land.

God’s renewal will be like a revival rushing through a barren land.

Maybe today you find yourself in a Spiritual drought.

You’re not experiencing the presence and joy of God.

What are the causes of this?

Well we see a few in scripture.

Causes of Spiritual Drought:

Sin

Is 59:2

Unbelief

Acts 13:46, Acts 28:25–28

Self Satisfaction

Isaiah 55:2 (ESV) — 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Rev 3:17

Testing God

Ps 78:18–19; Ps 78:29–31

God testing His servants

Job 23:3; Job 23:8–10

We have to search our hearts.

Are we diligently seeking the Lord?

What is it that is causing this parched spirit within us?

So maybe you are wondering how do I know what this spiritual drought looks like?

Consequences of spiritual famine

Spiritual weakness

Ps 119:81

Ps 84:2

Loss of hope and joy

Joe 1:16

Ps 51:12

Is that you this morning?

Are you feeling Spiritually weak?

Do you lack hope and joy?

What do we do?

This Psalm gives us a great step.

We pray.

This morning you may want to pray something like this: "We're dry, Lord, like a desert; please send the rain and cause us to flourish again!"

If the Lord sends the rain, the desert can be transformed into a place of grass, flowers, and fruit overnight.

Just last week as we were gathering together Brad Wilcox shared with me that he loves seeing cactus flower, because it’s a parable of how God works in broken and difficult places.

Is your soul dry today?

Seek the Lord!

Psalm 107:9 (ESV)

For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

John 6:35 (ESV)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

God delights to renew and restore.

Lately our Son Samuel has really been into trucks.

When we walk around and he sees a truck he points and yells.

I went to show him a truck video the other day and was loving the truck truck commercial.

You know the ones where they show the towing ability of a truck.

What’s interesting is they always show the truck pulling something, like a boat, up a hill.

Do you know the thing that is being pulled is doing nothing but going for a ride?

You never see a boat hitched onto a truck struggling to climb a hill.

The power for the tow is located under the hood of the truck.

The power is built into the vehicle.

All the boat has to do is be hooked onto the truck.

The power for your Christian life is not in you.

The power for your Christian life is Christ under the hood; it’s Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Today is a day to go to the source of renewal and power.

Come to the Lord, fall on your face before our great God and ask him to bring renewal to your soul, to bring renewal to His church.

Ask God to shift your perspective, get into the habit of speaking the gospel to your discouraged and unbelieving heart.

The story of the gospel is that God has come to rescue us in Christ, Part of experiencing true joy is keeping that perspective your perspective. It's working hard at whatever is noble and true and thinking about such things (That’s what we read in Phil 4).

The point of Paul's words there in Philippians is not just looking at a flower rather than at a depressing piece of news, though that can be wise at times.

It is looking at the flower and asking, “What does that tell me about who God is as the creator?"

It is asking, when you hear that bit of bad news, "What does that tell me about the fallen world, and how glad does that make me that God is going to make a new heaven and a new earth, and he is redeeming his people through the gospel?"

What we need friends is often perspective.

Perspective.

The Doctor turned Preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones says it so helpfully,

"The trouble with Christians is they listen to themselves when they should talk to themselves." _D. Martyn Lolyd Jones

Talk to yourself, preach the gospel to yourself!

Remind yourself of where joy and renewal is found.

It isn’t in some false sense of inner strength, or in doing more or trying harder.

It is in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Adopt a gospel perspective of what is happening.

Ask God to renew and revive you.

Watch how he works in the midst of a dry dessert place.

[Finally we see the Psalmist shifts his gaze towards a future renewal. We see third....]

III. Future Renewal (v.5-6)

Psalm 126:5–6 (ESV)

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.

We come to this agricultural analogy again.

When we set out to start our garden we didnt sow seed.

We went to the nursery and bought already started and growing plants.

In fact for many of us this imagery is totally lost on us.

Today, with our abundance of seed and supplies, we forget that an ancient Israelite had to "lose" his seed before he could gain crops.

He had to sink his fortune into the soil and hope for an increase, but the outcome was uncertain.

If his sowing did not pay off, he might not have enough seed to sow in the next season, he might suffer great financial loss, and he and his family might go hungry.

When a farmer sows his seed in such a harsh climate, he doesn't have much hope.

It seems futile.

The soil and weather conditions are seemingly against him.

But suddenly the rain falls, the seed germinates, the grain grows, and he reaps a tremendous harvest.

The psalmist hasn't forgotten God's past restoration.

His heart warms whenever he thinks about it.

It was awe-inspiring, joy-inducing, and God-glorifying.

But things have been tough ever since.

He feels parched in this dry season....like a farmer sowing seed in the dust.

And so, he asks God to restore his fortunes in full confidence that God will answer his prayer.

The harvest will come, and his weeping will turn into "shouts of joy.

We can see this sowing metaphor working in two ways

First we apply it to mission.

While we can't manufacture revival, we can labor.

We must sow the gospel seeds as we do good works with heartfelt passion and persistence, and then we must pray for God to send the rain.

Unlike the unpredictable nature of literal farming, here the psalmist promises a spiritual harvest to faithful sowers.

In seasons of revival the gospel seed is sown faithfully, widely, constantly, and effectively.

We should never imagine a revival apart from desperate prayer.

And we should never imagine a revival apart from faithful sowing of the gospel seed.

Throughout history both of these dynamics were present in seasons of renewal:

a recovery and proclamation of the gospel seed and dependent prayer

This is what we see all through out the book of Acts for this combination of prayer and gospel proclamation.

Different tribes of believers seem to favor one of these means of renewal over the other.

One group prays but never labors. That's laziness and presumption.

Another group labors but never prays. That's pride and self-righteousness.

Coram Deo...Let's do both.

Pray and sow: God has sent renewal in the past; he can do it again!

The second way we can understand this metaphor is through the sanctifying work in the life of the believer.

Certainly God does work in sweeping moments of revival!

There are moments when God blows open the doors of your souls and works in a massive sweeping way flooding you with his presence.

This moments are beautiful and we ask God to do that.

But there is also a slower path to renewal.

Those who "sow with tears" (verses 5 and 6) are those who have painstakingly prayed and wept over their own sins and also over people without faith.

As in actual farming, sowing does not show immediate fruit.

But faithful prayer and service will eventually bear fruit.

This is the way God typically works in the hearts of his people.

He shapes us and conforms us to the image of Christ over time.

Jesus certainly could have used industrial metaphors, he was in the shadow of Rome.

But he used agricultural metaphors.

Because the seed is a parable for the work of God in our hearts.

It takes time to flourish.

God is at work in you friend.

He will bring his work to completion.

The desert will become a garden.

Do you believe that this morning?

TRANSITION

CONCLUSION

Are you able to look back and see God’s covenant faithfulness at work?

This morning do you need to pray?

Do you need to ask God to flood the dessert places of your soul with renewal?

Perhaps this morning you feel like you’re setting the seed in the ground.

But it’s dry and parched.

When I read this psalm I think of Naomi in the book of Ruth who sowed many tears.

She lost her husband and both of her sons.

When she returned to Bethlehem and the people greeted her by name, she responded: “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them, “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” (Ruth 1:20-21)

Her name “Naomi” meant “pleasant,” but life was not pleasant for her.

So she asked them to call her Mara, which means “bitter.”

But when we come to the last chapter of the book, her daughter-in-law Ruth gives birth to a son and brings him to Naomi.

And we read in Ruth 4: “Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:16-17)

God restored her joy, and they no longer called her Mara, but Naomi again.

Are you going through a time of sorrow?

Are you sowing many tears? Know that God will turn your sorrow into joy.

Psalm 30:5 (ESV)

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

There has never been a sunset yet that was not followed by a sunrise

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy”

We look to Jesus for the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus knows the trouble and sorrow we face in this life.

He shed many tears of his own during his life on earth.

Jesus went to the cross weeping, carrying seed to sow, and he returned from the dead with resurrection songs of joy, carrying sheaves of believers with him.

If you trust him this morning, you are part of his glorious harvest.

So Psalm 126 is a psalm of trouble, but it's a psalm of trouble with a twist. It's a psalm that offers you hope when you are in the midst of trouble and tears.

It tells us that times of trouble and sorrow do not last.

God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter.

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

And one day we will leave all the sorrows of this world behind for the eternal joys that await us in glory.

There is a time for sowing and a time for reaping.

Perhaps you are in a time of sowing right now.

Take comfort. Your time of reaping will come.

The harvest awaits.

This is God's promise to you.

God will turn your tears to joy.