Change ), Sunday, December 18 – Sermon on Luke 1:26-38, Sunday, December 13th, 2020 – The Advent Dreamers, a sermon on Psalm 126, Sunday, November 29th, 2020 – The Advent Blues, a sermon for the First Sunday of Advent, Sunday, November 8th, 2020 – You Have What You Need. What do you do when you are walking through a time of sorrow? Psalm 126. By Ray Fowler. Psalm 126:3(NASB) Verse Thoughts Imagine your country being conquered, your homes destroyed, your possessions taken and you, along with every member of your family being led away captive, into a foreign land for 70 years. A turn that says, “Yes the Lord has done great things for us, but we are not out of the woods yet.”  All the psalmist’s verbs begin to shift from past to present. "Psalm 126 is a community song of trust or confidence that skillfully employs metaphor to proclaim God as the one who brings joy out of sorrow, laughter out of tears, and good out of evil." Personally, I find these restorative moments when I am with my nieces. C. Glory to God and joy for us Psalm 127. 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. (Read Psalm 129:1-8 and pray.) CONCLUSION: As always we look to Jesus for the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm. Abiding is not enough, fruitfulness is added. It carries a powerful message of hope. Christians should be the most joyful of all people, because God has done great things for us! When the LORD brought back the exiles of Sion, we thought we were dreaming. In prayer we remember what God has done. A. INTRODUCTION: We are continuing in our study on the Psalms of Ascent, and our message series is called “Stepping Stones to God’s Heart.” These psalms trace the upward ascent of our heart to God’s heart, but it’s not smooth sailing all the way. A. Pray for God’s full restoration and blessing Psalm 126:6 "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him]." Psalms 126:5-6 HCSB Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. So often, I think that is the life of faith, being restored but than needing restoration once again. “Come to us, O Lord,” they pray, “and restore our land.”  Their fear is that the rain will wash away any seeds because the land is so dry and the seeds cannot take root. That’s what we see in verses 2-3: “Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” (Psalm 126:2-3), “It was said among the nations.” What God did for Israel was so amazing that even the surrounding nations had to sit up and take notice of what God had done and give God the glory. The notes explain some of the words with a *star by them. When I read this psalm I also think of Jesus and his sermon at Nazareth where he took these beautiful words from Isaiah 61 and made them his own: “The Lord has anointed me … to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1–3), Are you going through a time of sorrow? I am sure she shed many tears over the years. Which he sows in tears. Neal Mathias. God has done great things for you in the past. This song likely was composed after the exile, in wondrous gratitude for God’s restoration, and in prayer for a furtherance of that work. Lilly had found her own sense of humor and none of us stopped laughing until our stomachs were good and sore. When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.       – Isaiah 35:6; Joel 2:25. The ending is also missing. 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the *Hebrew Bible. Do your friends and neighbors know what God has done for you? Now there is hope in this plea. They were now back in Jerusalem, back in the holy city, back in Zion, the place where God dwells with his people, and it all felt like a dream. The Context of this Psalm. Whole Psalm. Given these multiple contexts, one will find many helpful commentaries at Working Preacher, each making distinctive contributions to our understanding of its message. Consider - I. 126 The Lord Has Done Great Things for Us Revised Grail Psalter Text: R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 126. www.easyenglish.bible. When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. We all start laughing and giggling while Lauren slowly figures out what is going on as she giggles and aimlessly bobs in this vat of water. And like the psalmist in the Psalms of Ascent, we make our way up toward God through a series of up and down movements. 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. You begin to lose hope. So Psalm 126 is a psalm of trouble, but it’s a psalm of trouble with a twist. And you can feel the air gush out, deflating you. 1 (A Song of degrees.) An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 126. www.easyenglish.bible. (4-6) We read these beautiful words in Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. But it was real. God will change your tears to joy. “The Lord restored our fortunes” now becomes, “Restore our fortunes, O Lord.”  Gratitude for what was done in the past has turned to a desperate plea that it may be done again. Throughout all of this, Lilly is watching intently and laughing. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming! Rulership and Responsibility for Creation, A Final Easter Cartoon from B.C. © Ray Fowler. We live in a time and a place, when something like harvesting food rarely causes any of us to shout for joy. Now, please, let us read again the text of today’s sermon, Psalm 126.5-6: 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. The first image points to a work that is all of God – sudden and undeserved blessing. It was Lauren’s turn, and my brother-in-law and I decided to play a little joke. O God, yesterday, you restored us and we shouted for joy. If you are going through a challenging time right now, I trust that his psalm will speak to your heart this morning. Those moments when the whole world is invested in the lives of 33 miners and those moments when a little 3 year old girl discovers that she can be funny too. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Psalm 126 December 6, 2015 “Repentant Joy” Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sermon October 7, 2018 Thanksgiving The Rev. Come to us, O God so that we might be filled with a laughter and joy that is sustaining. Perhaps the better way to put it is this: work and pray as though it all depended on God working through you. Hello and welcome to RayFowler.org. Dr. Jerry Vines | 07-02-17 AM | Psalm 126 Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, TN bellevue.org A Harvest of Joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain. The problem with restoration is having to go through the desperation that calls it forth. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Click here to return to the Sermons page. 3. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. But now by an amazing work of God they were suddenly back in Zion. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” Instead, often we have to look elsewhere for moments of laughter and pure joy. ), We all go through hard times, and sometimes when you are in the thick of sorrow, it feels like it will never end. Grass and flowers would spring forth suddenly almost overnight. He must have wondered if God was through with him, whether there was any joy left on the other side. Monique's phylactery contains verse 5 of Psalm 126 in Latin, for Monique long prayed for the conversion to Christianity of her son Augustine. If you restore a friendship, it is because it was once broken. In our time this has been dubbed the Great Aussie Dream. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. The problem with restoration is having to go through the desperation that calls it forth. They had suffered so much, and now they suddenly found themselves back in their homeland, back in Jerusalem, back in the beloved city of God. 2. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming! As it was, the post-exilic community never saw Jesus. It tells you that God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter. Intro: Ill. In it, we find a profound sense of gratitude. I was even in process of writing an article titled, “In Between Churches, or Out of the Ministry?” Because we didn’t know. Did you catch that in the text? This verse expands on the image of verse 5 and focuses on the sower going forth to work and eventually returning with the harvest in his hands. Sunday, December 11 – Sermon on Psalm 126. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”, God’s salvation is meant to be seen by the nations. – A post-election sermon on Matthew 25:1-13, Sunday, October 25, 2020 – The End is the Beginning, a sermon on Deuteronomy 34, Sunday, October 4th, 2020 – Exhausted, a sermon on Isaiah 5 and Matthew 21. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” (Psalm 126:5), C. Commit yourself to the Lord and continue to do good The Jews had been exiled to Babylon seventy years earlier. I wonder what that would be like for the nations, a collection of people who do not believe in the same god, and who often battled each other for power and control, to say the same thing to one another, “The Lord has done great things.”  I imagine it is something like last year when the whole world was crowded around computer screens and televisions just to see that first Chilean miner brought to the surface of the earth. Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter. We need to pray this not only for ourselves but for the church. The first way is when God works suddenly and unexpectedly. You begin to wonder, “Is this all that God has for me? When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. So hard. ( Log Out /  Trust God to do it again! ————————- Their vineyards and farmlands had been left largely untended for fifty years, so it took massive effort and a long time to restore them. He restored Job and made him prosperous again. For any web postings, please link to the sermon directly at this website. When God does a work of deliverance in your life, it brings glory to God and joy for us. A Sermon on Psalm 126. And then 3) Commit yourself to the Lord and continue to do good. Though other chapters of Scripture document remnant Israel returning from Babylonian captivity, the Psalms give us the song that they sang to God. We must remember what God has done in our lives and in our church. When you wake up each morning to tears, and you go to bed each evening with tears, it is difficult to see your way forward. Feel free to hit the comments button on any post and join the discussion. RayFowler.org is a place to discuss various issues relating to God and life. Joy is mentioned four times in this psalm. The Rejoicing Reaper . Who would have thought it? You can see why this psalm became one of the Psalms of Ascent. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Paperback Bible presents the Bible by the Book and is designed to be portable, readable, and truly personal with ample margins for notations. In this psalm, the theological theme of restoration is knitted together with the theme of rejoicing. Psalm 125 takes the hills of Psalm 121 and the holy city of Psalm 122 and combines them into a new image showing God’s people are as safe and secure as Mount Zion surrounded by the other mountains. Psalm 126 - NIV: When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. The text that I have chosen for this morning’s sermon is Psalm 126, our Introit for this morning. Verse 3 expresses joy in the present based on remembrance of the past and hope for the future. Psalm 126. The text that I have chosen for this morning’s sermon is Psalm 126, our Introit for this morning. (Psalm 126:2) Before you can understand their laughter and joy, you must first understand their sorrow. In a moment, in an instant God can take away your tears and fill your mouth with laughter and songs of joy. The notes explain some of the words with a *star by them. I experienced a similar feeling when the Lord led us back here to Plantation Community Church. --Thomos Stint, in An Exposition on Psalms 124-126, 1621. There were stations along the way where the pilgrims could stop for rest and refreshment. This second part of the psalm teaches you to do three specific things when you find yourself in times of trouble. Look at verse 4 where the psalmist prays: “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev.” (Psalm 126:4) That word “restore” is the same word that is translated “brought back” in verse one. It was all they knew. Now, please, let us read again the text of today’s sermon, Psalm 126.5-6: 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm 30:5 says: “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) There has never been a sunset yet that was not followed by a sunrise! Gordon Churchyard. 3. 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