Psalm 126 — 127
come in the course of time (v. 4), and some come as we patiently sow and weep (James 5:7). But His promise is secure: "in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Gal. 6:9 nkjv).
(Luke 1:49), and the unnamed demoniac whom Jesus healed (Luke 8:39). This ought to be the confession of every Christian and of every local church.
Around Us, the Promise of Life (v. 4) "Turn again our captivity" (kjv) can also be translated "restore our fortunes." The captivity had ended, and the Jews were praying for the blessing of the Lord on their life in the land. However, not all the Jews had left Babylon, for while many came during the reign of Cyrus (Ezra 1—3), others followed during the reigns of Darius (Ezra 6) and Artaxerxes (Ezra 7—8). It was important that the people return to their land and get to work, but it was also important that God bless their work (127:1–2). If the Lord did not keep His covenant and send the early and latter rains (Lev. 26:4; Deut. 11:10–12; 28:12), there would be no crops and their labors would have been in vain. Each raindrop was but a tiny thing, but when dropped on the earth, it was the promise of life. How gracious of the Lord to send "showers of blessing" (Ezek. 34:26) to His people! How important it is that God's people pray for His blessing and prepare themselves to receive it (2 Chron. 7:14; Mal. 3:8–12). In Scripture, water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God and the refreshing life that He brings to those who seek Him (John 7:37–38).
PSALM 127
No amount of human sacrifice or toil can accomplish much unless God's blessing is upon His people. That is the major message of this psalm. It is assigned to Solomon, who was both a builder and a father, but the message also seems to fit the postexilic times of Nehemiah. The population of Jerusalem was small, and the people had to build and repair the buildings. Houses were desperately needed for families, or else the struggling Jewish nation had no future (Neh. 7:4). Surrounded by numerous enemies, Jerusalem needed strong gates and walls and watchmen on the alert day and night (Neh. 4:9ff.; 7:3). Note that the psalm deals with the same elements Jeremiah wrote about in his letter to the Jewish exiles (Jer. 29:4–7). But the psalm also speaks to us today and reminds us of some privileges we have as the people of God in a dangerous and demanding world.
Building (v. 1a) A wrecking crew or a demolition team can destroy in a few hours or days what it took engineers and builders months to plan and construct. Even a weak little child can heedlessly destroy something valuable, and some adults go through life just tearing things down. God has called us to build—our lives, our homes, our churches, and the kingdom of God around the world. Before commencing His public ministry, Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and He is currently building His church in this world (Matt. 16:18). The apostle Paul saw himself as a builder (Rom. 15:20, 17), and he warned that it is a dangerous thing to destroy the local church (1 Cor. 3:11–17). Whether we are building structures with bricks and mortar and steel, or building lives, families, and churches with truth and love, we cannot succeed without the help of the Lord. Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5 nkjv).
Before Us, the Challenge of Work (vv. 5–6) "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26), so after we have praised God and prayed, we must get to work, for work is a blessing, not a curse. God gave our first parents work to do in the garden before sin ever entered the human race (Gen. 2:15). In Scripture, the people God commissioned for special service were busy when He called them: Moses was caring for sheep (Ex. 3); Gideon was threshing wheat (Judg. 6); David was tending the family flock (1 Sam. 16); Nehemiah was serving the king (Neh. 1); Peter, Andrew, James, and John were busy in their fishing business (Luke 5:1–11); and Matthew was in his tax office (Matt. 9:9).
The returned remnant experienced some bad seasons (Hag. 1:9–11), but the promise came that God would send the rains and the harvests (Hag. 2:15–19). God would keep His covenant promises if His people would keep His covenant commands. The grain that the farmer sowed might have been used to make bread for his family, so it is no wonder he was weeping as he toiled. Tears and rejoicing often went together at that time (Ezra 3:8–13; 6:16, 22), but the farmer was trusting God to multiply the grain so that he would have both bread for his family to eat and seed to sow the next season (2 Cor. 9:10–11). In His covenant, God gave the promise of adequate food for the people (Deut. 28:1–14), and the sower was claiming that promise. It pleases the Lord when we water with our tears the seed of the Word that we sow. We cannot reap if we do not first sow the seed, and the seed must be watered with our tears and our prayers.
Guarding (v. 1b) Strong walls around the city and alert watchmen on those walls are essential if we are to protect what we have built—and how foolish it is to build and not protect! Many a child and many a ministry has been lost to the enemy because the watchmen did not stay awake and warn that the enemy was approaching. Building and battling go together; this is why Nehemiah's men had their tools in one hand and their swords at their side (Neh. 4:17–18). Jesus joined the two in Luke 14:25–33. The famous British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon called his publication The Sword and The Trowel because its purpose was to build believ-
Some blessings God sends suddenly (vv. 1–3), some