AGAIN (Psalm 126)

It should be obvious to you by now that the book of Psalms is not arranged in chronological order. We have tried to give each of them as much context as we can based on what we know.

As we come today to Psalm 126, I have a recommendation for you. Before reading it, turn a few pages and read Psalm 137 first. In chronological order, it will give you a sense of some of the emotions behind this psalm.

Psalm 137 was set in Babylon during the captivity. The people cannot sing; they are grieving because they are away from their homeland, under the judgment of God.

There is a dramatic shift in tone from there to Psalm 126 because God turned everything. When God changes things, He does a beautiful job, and it is a thing to behold.

Psalm 126 is set at the time Cyrus, king of Persia, sent the people back to their homeland, as depicted in the first chapter of Ezra. Imagine how it must have felt for them to go home after so many years in captivity.

With that in mind, read the six verses of Psalm 126:

“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 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. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

These are some very well-known verses, but you do not fully understand the text without the context. You cannot appreciate the tears until you see what God has accomplished in bringing an entire nation back to Himself and restoring its people.

Only God can reverse captivity. When He does so, it is not only for our good but also for His own glory. He does it so that we and others will know that God is the One who wipes away tears from people’s eyes. He is the God who turns weeping into laughter and sorrow into singing.

It is very powerful to see the word “again” used three times throughout these verses.

Verse 1: “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.”

Verse 4: “Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.”

Verse 6: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Our God is the God who does it “again.” He is not just the God of the past. He is the God of the present and the future. He is the God of all time and all circumstances.

Do not be discouraged by national situations and world problems. Remain hopeful because our hope is in God. I still believe that my God can do it again. I hope the Lord will etch this single word on your heart so that your prayer might be, “Lord, do it again.”

Turning

Notice the turning that is mentioned in verses 1 and 4. When God prepares to do something again, the first thing He does is turn us back to Himself.

I am reminded of the words of the great prophet in Jeremiah 31:18. “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.” That is a prayer you can pray from your own heart.

If you are cold or struggling spiritually, just ask the Lord to turn your heart back to Him. If you are burdened for a loved one who is heading in the wrong direction, running from God, pray for that person to be turned. Pray also for our country that we will be turned to God.

Testimony

There is a testimony here in verse 2, which emphasizes that even the lost people participated in it. You know the Lord is at work when the heathen recognizes it and affirms that it must be of Him. In verse 3 the psalmist spoke for himself and testified as well.

When we pray for God to work, we want it to be something so powerful and miraculous that the lost will see it, and we will testify that it could only be God who did it. When God does His work again, there is a testimony that points to Him alone. Only He gets the glory.

We are in a barren time. Verse 4 should be the prayer of every one of us today.

Tears

In verse 5, there is an important reference to the need for tears. The brokenness and the burden are essential to the blessing. I am afraid that this is what is missing in all of our lives.

General Booth, the legendary founder of the Salvation Army, once wrote to some frustrated workers who were having a hard time getting things done. His cable contained only two words: “Try tears.”

I am not advocating emotionalism or some kind of shallow sentimentality. I am talking about tears that are connected to humility, sensitivity to God, and brokenness over sin — weeping over the lost and our spiritual needs.

If you want to see God break through again and do something so big, pray that He will give your tears back to you.

David was the warrior king, but he wept. Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. Paul shed many tears for his people, and Jesus Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem.

It is only as we weep over sin and for souls, humbling ourselves before God with our whole hearts, that we allow Him to do what only He can do for His glory.

God always blesses broken things. He has a way of turning the tears into triumph.

God can do it again, and He will. It is time for us to seek the Lord with all our hearts. Weep for yourself today. Weep for souls. Try tears, and see if the Lord doesn’t do it again.