Psalm 126 is a community petition for deliverance based on the remembrance of past deliverance. As one writer puts it, it is about ‘joy remembered, and joy anticipated’ (J.L. Mays). In this context it fits well with the reading from Isaiah 43:16-21 with reference to past events in relation to the present and in speaking about water in the desert.

The psalm breaks into two parts: vv. 1-3 and vv. 4-6. Verses 1-3 speaks of a past time of the restoration for Zion. The opening words ‘When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion’ echo the words of prophets in similar circumstances (e.g. Amos 9:14; Joel 3:1; Jer 29:14; Zeph 2:7). It is the vocabulary of repentance or return with the clear acknowledgment that restoration is always at the initiation of Yahweh. It is Yahweh’s ‘return’ that makes the restoration of the people possible. However, in Psalm 126 there is no mention of the people’s iniquity or sin, nor is there any mention of Yahweh’s anger. The recollection of restoration leads straight to overwhelming laughter and joy, which is infectious and the nations now recognise the great things Yahweh has done (v. 2).

Vv. 4-6, the second half of the psalm, speak of the future. They contain the plea to Yahweh for further ‘restoration, repentance or return’ to take place. It sees that future restoration also filled with joy. The repetition of the phrases ‘restoring of fortunes’, and ‘shouts of joy’ from vv. 1-3 ties the Psalm together. It also underlines that joy in the community is seen as the work of Yahweh.

The imagery of the latter part of the Psalm is sharp, placing opposites together and linking elements which give a sense of sudden reversal. The poetry develops in such a way that we are lead into the fullness of this restoration. Verse 5 says simply: ‘May those who sow in tears, reap with shouts of joy.’ The agricultural image is maintained and it may be that this psalm comes from a harvest context. But in v. 6 the thoughts of v. 5 are extended. ‘May those who sow in tears’ is now expanded into ‘Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing’. Sowing is an act of hope and expectation. The sower carries their future in their own hands. And the seed must be cast abroad for anything to come of it. At that point the sower’s hope is taken out of their hands and their future is dependent on the one who grants rain and warmth which the seed needs to grow.

But in this psalm the sower sows in weeping. We do not know what the weeping is for. It could be that the act of sowing offers little prospect for the sower. The ground seems dry and unreceptive. The use of the same language of restoration suggests that the language of weeping may be just as appropriate in the context of past sins and iniquities as in the context of dry, unreceptive ground. In ancient Israel the difference might have been slight. In any case, the psalm suggests that the act of hope is not always one of high or joyous expectation. Nevertheless, it also suggests that present distress or seeming hopelessness is not an argument for the denial of Yahweh’s power to effect change.

Whatever the point of the weeping we soon see that deep despair is nevertheless turned into great celebration. ‘Reap with shouts of joy’ in v. 5 becomes ‘shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves’ in v. 6. ‘Going out’ has become ‘coming home’, ‘weeping’ has turned into ‘shouts of joy’ and the seed that was just recently carried out is now replaced by sheaves of wheat or barley being brought home. The reversals of the psalm itself image what it points to in life.

In these last verses thoughts of ‘coming home’, of sheer joy, and of abundance fill the mind. They create in us a sense that what is a seemingly hopeless task is indeed a possibility. Moreover, its accomplishment can be sudden. This is the point of the reference to the ‘watercourses of the Negeb’ in v. 4. These dry wadis in a semi-arid region give little hint most of the time to the fact that they can overflow with water immediately after the rain comes. Finally, the seemingly hopeless task becomes one of overwhelming fruitfulness.

The theme of restoration in Psalm 126 is prominent with the use of the word shub, ‘return, restore or repent’ standing out. It invites us to play with all those ideas as we hear it. The psalm again seems to have an agricultural context, locating it in the midst of the day to day life of God’s people, at least in Old Testament terms. It, thereby, fixes their hope in the coming of Yahweh in the context of their struggles for security and subsistence. The great things of Yahweh, for which the people hope, are not the miraculous events that transport us out of our daily existence into another world. The miraculous we look for is in the transformation of the world we daily inhabit into that which God would have it be, a joyous and abundant place.

Psalm 126 juxtaposes past deliverance and joy with present distress in the hope that there will be future joy. It has again a sense of waiting and hoping for something that has in some way already been experienced (cf. Psalm 27 from Lent 2).

Finally we should come back to v. 1 with its unusual and arresting expression: ‘When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.’ Commentators on the psalm understand the reference to ‘dreamers’ in different ways. We could think of it in terms of those who are amazed at what has happened or who have not expected what happened. But such understandings depend on a use of the word ‘dream’ at home in our world. When the Old Testament writers speak of ‘dreaming’ in a positive sense as here, they are referring to real sleep-time dreams, not the sort of dreams we dream when awake, our ‘day dreams’. They are speaking of a level of reality, beyond our ordinary conscious experience, which was in their view, revealed by God in dreams. In other words, the psalmist’s past experience and hope for the future are both being shaped by a reality that lies beyond present experience of the world. In our Lenten journey, as we look toward the events of Easter, we acknowledge that another reality, that of God’s world and ways, enters our own existence and changes things in a way that will produce joy out of weeping.

In this Lenten season, Psalm 126 leaves us with a call to be like dreamers, those whose lives are shaped not by the limits of our experiences but by the hidden reality of what God has already declared will be. It also leaves us with a tremendous sense of joy in ‘coming home’ as we journey with the tears of this earthly experience toward Easter.

Suggestions for the use of the psalm in worship:

Verse 3 of the psalm could function as a call to worship:

The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoice.

Finally, verses 5-6 could be adapted as a congregational response or as a conclusion to the prayers of intercession:

(Let) those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

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