Psalm 126 - Prayer for revival

In verses 1 to 3, the psalmist describes what was said when the Jews were allowed to return to their land after the collapse of the Babylonian Empire. Their return had been predicted long before the exile commenced by prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. But it had all seemed so unlikely to happen from a human point of view.

So it is not surprising that those who returned to the Promised Land were overjoyed, and even other nations observed the incredible nature of it, even accepting that the restoration indicated that the God of Israel is immensely powerful. No doubt, both the Jews and the Gentiles mentioned in these verses would have anticipated further progress.

But that did not happen, as we can see from verse 4. Instead of growth, there had been decline. We can read about aspects of their situation in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah. The situation was so weak that only the Lord could restore them. It was not enough for them to be in the Promised Land. They needed the Lord to work on their behalf.

In what way did they want the Lord to work? We can see their expectation in the reference to streams in the Negev, the southern area of Israel which is a desert for most of the year. But in times of rain, the water descends suddenly and in copious amounts, and in a matter of hours streams and rivers form, and the consequence is flowers and plants appear. The area briefly becomes fertile. Since God can do this in the natural world, he can also bring refreshment and prosperity in the spiritual experience of his people.

The psalmist refers to farmers sowing seed in anticipation of the rain coming. Sowing in a hot climate was arduous work, and no doubt caused tears for the sowers. But they knew that joy would be experienced when the rains came and brought a harvest. If they did not sow, there would not be a harvest. The lesson for us is obvious – if we want a harvest in the future, we need to sow in the present.

One frequent problem we have is that we want the harvest without the sowing. Yet that outlook is not wise, and often is only an expression of unbelief in God’s way of providing growth. We are to sow the seed of the gospel and anticipate God’s blessing that he will send in his own time.