The reason must be that in the development by the desert, in the case of these few men who did not retrograde, the spiritual kept pace with the physical. It means these men never forgot, never reverted to mere unthinking instinct, never let the hard, fierce, brutal action of survival on the desert kill their souls. Spirit was stronger than body.”
–Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)
“Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”
–Isaiah 35:6 (HCSB)
———————————-
“Glad tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy,
Glad tidings of comfort and joy.”
–unknown
When I began to study and read Psalm 126, the above carol came to my mind. This morning be sure and take time as you read to think of all that the Lord has done for you.
1 — When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 — Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 — The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.
4 — Bring back our captivity, O LORD, as the stream in the South.
5 — Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 — He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (NKJV)
I like the way the NLT translates verse 1, “When the LORD restored his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!” Notice the exclamation mark. Ah, “to dream the impossible dream” (Mitch Leigh), that is one thing but to live it is another. Cyrus had done an unheard of thing; he was allowing captive people to go back to their homeland. Remember this psalm was written on the upward climb to Jerusalem. Tired and weary, was the composer thinking of the time when the people of Israel were slaves in Babylon, languishing and only dreaming of Jerusalem? George Wood puts it succinctly, “Their freedom seemed like a dream (vs 1) that quickly turned to the reality of joy (vs 2) and grateful recognition of what the Lord had done (vs 3).”
There was a song written a few years back by Dawn Thomas. It starts out, “He’ll do it again!” Friend, when you feel down and out, when hope is beginning to fade, that is the time to reflect on the goodness of God. He is there! I cannot emphasize that enough.
“Just take a look at where you are now and where you’ve been,
Hasn’t He always come through for you?
He’s the same now as then (Don’t you know God has not changed).
You may not know how,
You may not know when,
But He’ll do it again.”
We have a definite advantage for we have the Bible to look into; add that to our own personal experiences and we know, we see, and we are certain that God is with us and no matter the situation He is there beside us, walking us through the turmoil of life.
The Lord is amazing and He has done great things. He not only did them in the past, but He is doing great things for us and in us, and not only that, He will continue to do great things for us. See, the past is important, reflect on the greatness and goodness of God that we see in His Word, but also in your own life. “That sort of reflection doesn’t seep into our emotions unless we take time to let God’s Word speak to us about what God does for His people. He delivers. By faith, you place yourself within the company of those who belong to God, and you say, ‘He did not release only them. My day is coming.'” (Wood)
We see that the psalmist is concerned because of the desert, that rugged desert called the Negev. When we think of the desert most likely the mind goes to water, or the lack thereof. Walking this rugged trail, thirst can be a problem. Looking at the desert it is dry and often we see our lives in the same situation. But hold on! There will be streams in the desert; keep trusting God. Let’s look at those last verses one more time from the NLT. “Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.”
Yes, weariness comes to us all. “You are in the moment between ‘great thing He has done’ (vs 1-3) and ‘song of joy’ (vs 4-6). Get back on the trail. Continue the upward climb. Now is no time to quit.” (Wood)
“Low we bow before thy face;
Sons of God, O wondrous place;
Great the riches of thy grace.
Father, we adore thee.”
–Samuel Trevor Francis
———————————-
“Glad tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy,
Glad tidings of comfort and joy.”
–unknown
When I began to study and read Psalm 126, the above carol came to my mind. This morning be sure and take time as you read to think of all that the Lord has done for you.
1 — When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 — Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 — The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.
4 — Bring back our captivity, O LORD, as the stream in the South.
5 — Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 — He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (NKJV)
I like the way the NLT translates verse 1, “When the LORD restored his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!” Notice the exclamation mark. Ah, “to dream the impossible dream” (Mitch Leigh), that is one thing but to live it is another. Cyrus had done an unheard of thing; he was allowing captive people to go back to their homeland. Remember this psalm was written on the upward climb to Jerusalem. Tired and weary, was the composer thinking of the time when the people of Israel were slaves in Babylon, languishing and only dreaming of Jerusalem? George Wood puts it succinctly, “Their freedom seemed like a dream (vs 1) that quickly turned to the reality of joy (vs 2) and grateful recognition of what the Lord had done (vs 3).”
There was a song written a few years back by Dawn Thomas. It starts out, “He’ll do it again!” Friend, when you feel down and out, when hope is beginning to fade, that is the time to reflect on the goodness of God. He is there! I cannot emphasize that enough.
“Just take a look at where you are now and where you’ve been,
Hasn’t He always come through for you?
He’s the same now as then (Don’t you know God has not changed).
You may not know how,
You may not know when,
But He’ll do it again.”
We have a definite advantage for we have the Bible to look into; add that to our own personal experiences and we know, we see, and we are certain that God is with us and no matter the situation He is there beside us, walking us through the turmoil of life.
The Lord is amazing and He has done great things. He not only did them in the past, but He is doing great things for us and in us, and not only that, He will continue to do great things for us. See, the past is important, reflect on the greatness and goodness of God that we see in His Word, but also in your own life. “That sort of reflection doesn’t seep into our emotions unless we take time to let God’s Word speak to us about what God does for His people. He delivers. By faith, you place yourself within the company of those who belong to God, and you say, ‘He did not release only them. My day is coming.'” (Wood)
We see that the psalmist is concerned because of the desert, that rugged desert called the Negev. When we think of the desert most likely the mind goes to water, or the lack thereof. Walking this rugged trail, thirst can be a problem. Looking at the desert it is dry and often we see our lives in the same situation. But hold on! There will be streams in the desert; keep trusting God. Let’s look at those last verses one more time from the NLT. “Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.”
Yes, weariness comes to us all. “You are in the moment between ‘great thing He has done’ (vs 1-3) and ‘song of joy’ (vs 4-6). Get back on the trail. Continue the upward climb. Now is no time to quit.” (Wood)
“Low we bow before thy face;
Sons of God, O wondrous place;
Great the riches of thy grace.
Father, we adore thee.”
–Samuel Trevor Francis