Psalm 125 — 126
the outcome be? "Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off" (37:37–38 nkjv).
Paul, we say, "None of these things move me" (Acts 20:24). We have a marvelous standing, for we stand in God's grace (Rom. 5:2; Gal. 5:1), and we stand by faith (Rom. 11:20). We take our stand on the truths of the Word of God (2 Thess. 2:15) and stand in the will of God (Col. 4:12). It is God who enables us to stand (2 Cor. 1:21, 24), and because He does, we are able to accomplish the work He wants us to do (1 Cor. 15:58). When we begin to trust ourselves or other people, and we bypass the Lord, then we begin to waver, stumble, and fall.
The life of faith is not easy, but the life of unbelief is much harder—in this life and in the life to come.
PSALM 126
Some students connect this psalm with the sudden deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege during the reign of Hezekiah (Isa. 36—37). But the Hebrew verb translated "turned again" in verse 1 (kjv; "brought back," nasb, niv) and "turn again" or "restore" in verse 4, is also used to describe the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon (Ezra 2:1; Neh. 7:6; Isa. 10:22; Jer. 22:10). Cyrus gave his decree in 537 BC, an event prophesied by Isaiah (44:24—45:7). Isaiah also prophesied the joy of the people at their liberation (Isa. 48:20; 49:8–13; 51:11; 54:1; 55:10–12) and the witness of this remarkable event to the other nations (Isa. 43:10–21; 44:8, 23; 52:7–10). But once the exiles were back in their land, their joy began to subside, for life is not always easy when you are making a new beginning after a time of discipline. But life is so arranged that we must often make new beginnings, and the Lord helps us by giving us special encouragements.
Faith Keeps Us Obeying (v. 3) The land of Israel belongs to the Lord, and He allowed His people to dwell there as long as they obeyed His covenant (Lev. 25:2, 23, 38). The land was assigned by lot to the various tribes (Josh. 14—19) and was never to be sold to anyone outside the tribe. But over the years, their sins defiled the land, and the Lord finally had to send the people to Babylon to give the land the rest and cleansing it needed. While the people were away, some of the land was taken over by strangers, including Gentiles from neighboring nations, and this had to be straightened out when the exiles returned. Israel was under Persian rule during the postexilic years, and the Persian officers could do as they pleased. Some of the Jews became weary of this arrangement and capitulated to the Persians. "If you cannot whip them, join them." But the "scepter of wickedness" was wielded not only by Persians but also by greedy Israelites who disobeyed God's law and exploited their own people (Neh. 5). The prevalence of evil makes it easier for everybody to sin (Matt. 24:12), but the Lord will not permit this to go on forever. The people who trust God will obey His Word no matter what others may do, and they will not succumb to temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).
Within Us, the Joy of Freedom (vv. 1–3) The generation of Jews that conquered the Promised Land was true to the Lord, and so were their children, but the third generation broke the covenant and turned to idols (Judg. 2:7–23). God punished His people in the land by allowing seven nations to invade, rob, and destroy. When Israel's rebellion became so great that the land itself was being defiled, God took them out of the land and sent them to Babylon for seventy years. Now they had been set free, and they could not believe what was happening. Yes, they knew that both Isaiah and Jeremiah had promised this "second exodus," but it was too good to be true. During long years of waiting, they had dreamed of returning home, and now the dream had become reality. God in His grace had forgiven them (Isa. 40:1–2; 44:21–22) and they could make a new beginning. The Jews had lost their song in Babylon (137:1–5), but now they were shouting, laughing, and singing! What a witness of God's faithfulness to keep His promises!
Faith Keeps Us Praying (v. 4) Jesus taught us to keep on praying and not become discouraged if the answer is long in coming (Luke 18:1–8). The times may be bad, but there are always good people in bad times, people who trust God and obey His will. No matter how depressing the times may be, people of faith pray and receive good things from the hand of their Father (Luke 11:9–13). To live by faith is to keep our eyes on the Lord (123:1; Heb. 12:1–2), rest on the promises of His Word, and do what is right no matter what others may say or do. Faith means living without scheming.
The surrounding nations, some of whom hated Israel, were utterly astonished at this event and openly confessed that the God of Israel had done great things for them. The Jews replied that indeed He had done great things for them, and they gave God the glory. "If you can explain what is going on, God did not do it" (Dr. Bob Cook). This confession of the greatness of God was made by others in Scripture: Moses (Deut. 10:21), Job (Job 5:8–9), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:24), David (2 Sam. 7:21–23), the prophet Joel (Joel 2:21), Mary
Faith Keeps Us Hoping (v. 5) People of faith know that God will one day judge the disobedient, no matter how much they seem to get away with resisting God and abusing others. The future is your friend when Jesus is your Lord. It is not easy to walk on the narrow way, but it leads to life, while the broad way leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13–27). They may be enjoying the pleasures of sin now, but what will