St Louis UBF UBF Bible Study : Psalm 126

Bible Study Materials

Psalm 126

by Paul Choi 11/23/2008

Question

SOW IN TEARS, REAP WITH JOY

Psalm 126

Key Verse: 126:5

Read verse 1. What does verse 1 mean to the Israelites? (Ez 1:1-4, Jer 29:14, 31:17) Why did the Israelites have to suffer? (Jer 2:13, 25:8-11, Ez 10:2, 2 Chr 36:17-19)

Read verses 2-3. How did they respond to their returning to Zion? (1b,2; Jer 33:11, Ac 12:9) What were the great things for them which God had done? (3)

How does the exile of the Israelites relate to Christians? (Ro 3:24, Col 1:13-14, Gal 3:13)

Read verse 4. What was their prayer topic for the remaining people? (Jer 33:6, 26) What can we learn from them?

Read verses 5-6. What should the attitude of sowers be in sowing seeds? How will they reap for harvest? How does this picture give hope to those who wait for Jesus’ second coming? (Jn 14:18, 16:20, Ro 8:18, Rev 21:4)

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psalm126-question.doc

Message

SOW IN TEARS, REAP WITH JOY

Psalm 126

Key Verse: 126:5 “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”

Happy Thanksgiving! It is the season of harvest. The farmer who sowed seeds in spring will reap the crops with songs of joy in autumn. So there is a famous song “The Happy Farmer” written by Robert Schumann. The Bible says “…A man reaps what he sows.” (Gal 6:7) Those who have worked hard this year will reap a good crop. But those who didn’t work hard wait for the better year, the year of 2009. Anyway, we will meet on Thanksgiving Day and share our thankful topics and remember what God has done for each of us and each of our families. I pray that you will bring more thankful topics than complaining topics.

Psalm 126 is a joyous song of the Israelites who return from Babylon to Jerusalem after finishing the Babylonia Captivity. This psalm, however, is also the songs of those who are redeemed from the slavery of sin through faith in Jesus Christ and are heading toward the kingdom of God, our eternal home. This hymn also gives us a hope of the glorious second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God fill our hearts with joy and thanks while listening to this passage. Amen.

Returning to Zion (1-3)

Look at verse 1. “When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.” This verse notes the historical and spiritual background of the Israelites. It was the time when the Israelites were returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, finishing 70 years of captivity. We have to know why God put his chosen people under the occupation of the Babylonian Empire. The Israelites sinned against God. Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have committed two sins; they have forsaken me, the spring of water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” The Israelites were the descendants of Abraham. God sent the descendants of Abraham into Egypt and made them a great nation. In his appointed time, God took them out from the hand of Pharaoh and led them into the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. God’s hope and plan for his people was great that God wanted them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a shepherd nation for the whole world.( Ex 19:5,6).

Despite God’s favor and love, his people abandoned God since they enjoyed milk and honey in the promised land. Their children married foreign women and made idols and began to worship them. Jeremiah 25:8 says, “But you did not listen to me, “declares the Lord,” and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.” They sinned against God with idolatry, immorality and infidelity. God’s heart was broken and his holy anger was fierce. God sent many prophets, messengers to them to repent of their sins and to turn their hearts to the Lord. But, the Israelites did not listen to them. They killed God’s servants one by one, deliberately rebelling against God. Finally, God raised a king from Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar, and put the Israelites under his reign as his divine discipline.

The sufferings of the Israelites for 70 years under the Babylonia Empire was more than one could say. Psalm 137:1 describes well about this. “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” The Prophet Isaiah cried out in this, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” (Is 40:1) Korea had been under Japanese occupation for 36 years. The sufferings of Korean fathers under the occupation of Japan were beyond our imagination. They lost their country, their family and even their own name. Most of properties of Korea including land, houses, food were confiscated by Japanese government. Many Korean young people were drafted as Japanese soldiers and sent to the World War Two and did not come back. People who lost their sons and daughters cried with many tears. Who dared to understand the agony and suffering of those who lost their country, their home and their children? The Israelites suffered much for 70 years under the reign of kings of foreign countries. They were captured and sent to the foreign land which was far away from their home. They were separated from their lovely family members. They cried day and night by the River of Babylon, missing their lost country and their families.

But, now their duty is fulfilled. God’s divine discipline is over. It is time for them to go back home. It is time for them to rebuild their temple. It is time for them to restore their worship in Zion. It was too good to be true. It was like they were dreaming. (1b, Ac 12:9) When the Lord brought them back to Jerusalem, their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with songs of joy. Look at verses 2,3. “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” The Prophet Jeremiah sang a song, expecting the day of liberation and restoration in Jeremiah 33:11. “…give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” Imagine the joy and happiness of those who were returning home after long prison life. Let us read verses 2,3 again.

The joy and happiness of the Israelites are compared to those of who are redeemed from the slavery of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Last week some of our members joined the Genesis Bible School at Macomb, IL. Among the programs, I think, the most impressive and heart-moving events were Ryan Song’s testimony and Degi’s baptism ceremony. One shared his testimony with tears and the other received a baptism with joy. But both of them were filled with unutterable spiritual joy and unlimited freedom from the power of sin.

We appreciate freedom. But, real freedom is freedom from sin. In the past we were slavery of sin, whether we like or not. Jesus said in John 8:34, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” People in the world seemed to live freely and lively without any restriction. However, many become slaves to someone or something else and suffer much under the power of sin. There remains not much hope in slave life. Slaves have no right, no freedom, but are required only obedience and submission to their master. The Bible also says that the wages of sin is death. (Ro 6:23a). Due to their sins, they were all destined to die and condemned. (Heb 9:27)

Man had no hope in this world and no power to get out of the damned situation. But God had hope in us. God had compassion on us and sent us his one and only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. God paid the price of our sin through his son’s precious blood and redeemed us from the slavery of sin. Whoever believes in his name and accept him as Lord and Savior will be saved. (Jn 3:16, Ro 10:13) Whoever calls on his name and remains in him will be freed. So Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” (Jn 8:36) Colossians 1:13,14 says, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin….” This is the reason those who are in Christ Jesus are filled with joy. This is the reason Ryan and Degi’s mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with songs of joy. This is the reason we are filled with joy when we hear the work of God in young people’s hearts. Indeed God has done a great thing for us (2,3)

Let us remember what God has done for each of us and each of our families. Above all, let us remember how God redeemed each of us from the darkness of sin and brought us into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we remember what God has done for us, our sorrow will turn to joy. When we remember the grace of God and his redemptive love, our complaining heart will be changed and filled with joyful spirit. Remember what God has done for you and count your blessings, name them one by one.

Restore our fortunes (4)

Look at verse 4. “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev.”

This is the Israelites’ prayer for God’s blessing. While the Israelites were in the exile, their homes were ruined, their lands became destitute. Above all, the temple of God was demolished and the glory of God fell to the ground. Now, it is time for them to restore their houses, their lands and their properties. Now it is time for them to restore God’s glory and rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. The request for restoration did not confine material or physical properties and possessions, but spiritual. They prayed that God might bless them again. They prayed that God might heal them and restore God’s glory in their lives. They prayed that God’s blessing might flow like streams in the South.

We must pray that God may restore our fortunes again. We must pray that God may bless this country again. We must pray that God may restore the glory and splendor of America again. These days, this country is in the financial crisis and people of the world became panic. But, the real and more urgent problem is to restore their spiritual fortune, which is faith in Christ Jesus. We must restore Christian faith which our forefathers had. We must pray that our spiritual heritage of forefathers may flow from north Alaska all the way through south Louisiana. We must continually pray that God may make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.

Sow in tears, reap with joy (5,6)

Let us read verses 5,6. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” These verses are very popular among the people that even unbelievers frequently use to encourage others to work hard. When I prepared for my entrance exam for the college, I also wrote them down on my desk and recited them to pummel myself to study hard. “He who sows in tears will reap in joy.” “He who studies hard will enter the good college.” In deed, people worked hard according to these verses and many achieved their goals.

However, the Psalmist compared the Babylonian captivity to sowing in tears and their returning to Jerusalem to reaping with songs of joy. In fact, the Israelites wept in tears when they were brought to the foreign land. They shed much more tears by the River of Babylon. But, there was God’s divine love in their tears. In their tears they remembered God. In their tears, they repented of their sins. They were sorrowful, but they had joy of repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

We sometimes weep in tears for our sins and for other’s sin. Jesus wept when he saw Mary and Martha crying under the power of sin. Peter wept loudly when he remembered Jesus’ word about his betrayal, “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times” (Lk 22:61) Our struggling with sins is like sowing seed in tears. Confessing our sins before God and before people are painful. It is hard. But, those who repent of their sins in tears experience the joy of salvation. Those who were oppressed by the power of sin enjoy the joy of freedom. Those who work hard for Christ’s name sake and those who are persecuted for the glory of God will reap joyful harvest in God’s proper time.

The Israelites who were returning home were like reaping with songs of joy. For the last 70 years of life in the Babylonian Captivity, their souls and bodies were drained. Their hearts were wounded and broken. But, the day when God proclaimed their freedom, they will restore their joy. Their hope and dream will be restored. They will shout for joy, the joy of salvation.

The life in Christ on this earth is not easy. The Apostle Paul said to Timothy, his spiritual son, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.” (2 Ti 3:12). Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (Jn 15:18,19) People hate Christian because we don’t belong to the world and we live a godly life. So we receive persecution and hatred from family members, close friends and co-workers at working place. But, our endurance and patience is like sowing seed in tears. Our tears will turn into joy someday. Our Lord Jesus Christ will wipe every tear from our eyes when we meet him face to face in his kingdom. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Conclusively speaking, we must remember what God has done for each of us this year. We must find thankful topics and restore joyful spirit. Above all, we must sow seed in tears until a harvest time comes. These days, Missionary Grace Kim and Elizabeth Yang visit Wash U. regularly to find out the lost sheep in campus. Mainly they come back empty handed with much rejection and opposition. But their visiting campus is like sowing in tears. Someday, they will reap with songs of joy. Our students work hard to finish this semester strong. They study full time and work part time and keep up their pace for study. I believe those who sow seed in tears will reap with songs of joy. We will sing “Hallelujah” for the Christmas worship service. May God fill our hearts with joyful spirit and thankful mind this season. Amen.

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