For example, if you are ill, you should pray for healing, but you should also go to the doctor and take the appropriate medications. God had shut every door, and we had been out of the ministry for three years. "Turning captivity" by no means requires an actual removal into banishment to fill out the idea; rescue from any dire affliction or crushing tyranny would be fitly described as "captivity turned." But when God gave her the gift of Isaac in her old age, she said: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Gordon Churchyard. And then God did it. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. We long for the sudden deliverance, and we rejoice when it comes, but God’s normal way of working is much slower. --John Hume. (4-6)1-3 It is good to observe how God's deliverances of the church are for us, that we may rejoice in them. In Jehovah's turning (to) the turning of Zion. For what great matter was it for these people of the Jews, being, as it were, a little handful, to be delivered out of temporal captivity, in comparison of the exceeding and incomparable deliverance whereby mankind was set at liberty from the power of their enemies, not temporal, but eternal, even from death, Satan and hell itself? Let our hearts gratefully remember the former loving kindnesses of the Lord: we were sadly low, sorely distressed, and completely past hope, but when Jehovah appeared he did not merely lift us out of despondency, he raised us into wondering happiness. I believe this psalm is yet once more to be sung in still more joyous strain; once more will the glad tidings of Israel's restoration break upon her scattered tribes, like the unreal shadow of a dream; once more will the inhabitants of the various lands from among whom they come forth exclaim in adoring wonder, "The Lord hath done great things for them", when they see Israelite after Israelite and Jew after Jew, as on that wondrous night of Egypt, with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand, hasting to obey the summons that recalls them to their own loved land! Arab. This is the seventh Step, and we may therefore expect to meet with some special perfection of joy in it; nor shall we look in vain. Likewise the conversion of the Jews, and the restoration of them to their own and in the latter day, will be observed by the Gentiles with wonder, and as the work of God, Ezekiel 36:35. Those returned out of captivity are to be thankful. -- Barton Bouchier (1794-1865), in "Manna in the Heart.". In fact the word “Negev” actually means “dry or parched.” But in the winter and spring, rains could suddenly send waters rushing through the desert. When a man is in a good dream, his mouth is not filled with laughter, nor his tongue with praise: if a man be in a bad dream, his mouth is not filled with laughter, nor his tongue with praise; but when a man is restored to health after a great sickness, it is so. We will call it, "Leading captivity captive.". You can see why this psalm became one of the Psalms of Ascent. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Although in all these he did employ Moses and Deborah, Gideon and Jephthah, as instruments for their deliverance; and so it was not Cyrus's valour, but the Lord's power; not his policy, but God's wisdom, that, overthrowing the enemies, gave to Cyrus the victory, and put it into his heart to set his people at liberty; for he upheld his hands to subdue nations. So pray for God’s full restoration and blessing. Jerusalem, Judah, Israel, were led away captives, no less than Zion. – Genesis 21:6-7; Psalm 137:1-4. and our tongue with singing; the praises of God, and the songs of Zion; then said they among the Heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them; it was taken notice of by the Chaldeans, among whom they had been captives, and by all the nations round about: and it was wonderful to them, that Cyrus, an Heathen prince, of his own motion and will, should at once, and without any price or reward, let them go, and send them into their own country to rebuild their temple; and with them the vessels of the Lord's house, that had been taken away by the king of Babylon; and order men to help them, with gold and silver, and goods and cattle, Ezra 1:1. Happy people to whom ever ascent was a song, every halt a hymn. This verse explains that when we pray … Will I ever be happy again?”. This is God’s promise to you. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. (Read Psalm 126:1-6 and pray. The psalm inspired the hymn Bringing in the Sheaves, the lyrics were written in 1874 by Knowles Shaw, now usually set to a tune by George Minor, written in 1880. ), We all go through hard times, and sometimes when you are in the thick of sorrow, it feels like it will never end. When God rescued Peter from jail in the New Testament, it felt like a dream to him. Verses 4-6 are in the future. In fact, he actually thought it was a dream. So sudden and so overwhelming was their joy that they felt like men out of themselves, ecstatic, or in a trance. Singular impressions, -- we could not believe it to be true. For this kind of speech which the Prophet useth here is of greater importance than that it may be applied only to Jewish particular captivities. God had worked a great deliverance for them in the past. Psalm 126. Last week we looked at Psalm 125 which was the first song of Zion in the Psalms of Ascent, and we saw that Zion is a common theme throughout the remainder of these psalms. The writing is seen to span approximately a thousand years. --John Le Clerc Clericus, 1657-1736. Your time of reaping will come. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that in revival: “God does more in five minutes than man did in the previous ten years.” We need to pray for God to open the floodgates of heaven and to pour out his blessing on the church. Salem Media Group. (Ezra 1:1-4). Compiled & Edited by BST & Crosswalk Staff, Compiled & Edited by BibleStudyTools Staff, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. And then secondly, trust God to do it again. God has done great things for you in the past. (1-3) Those yet in captivity are encouraged. We now turn to the second image we have in this section of the psalm. I. Marvel at how God has helped you in the past (1-3). why not the captivity of Jerusalem, Judah, Israel? Who would have thought it? (r) "tractionem seminis", Montanus, Piscator, Gejerus. Sons of Korah included a setting of Psalm 126 on their 2000 album, " Redemption Songs. No awakening to find it "but a dream": see. When you are going through a time of deep sorrow, Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. The theme of restoration that began with Psalm 80 in Advent 1, and Psalm 85 in Advent 2, is continued this week in Psalm 126.