Psalm 126 "Restore our Fortunes"

Psalm for Today = 126:4-5

⁴ Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like streams in the Negeb!

⁵ Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!

Comments:

I have commented in the past on the first verses of this palm as well as on the last verse (v. 6 is the basis for the only hymn you ever hear sung in movies and TV other than Amazing Grace). Between these two more popular sections, I feel like this little prayer in the middle gets overlooked.

The psalmist pens a corporate lament, “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb!” The Negev is a desert, but when it rains there the wadis (canyons) quickly fill with water and bring the land back to life. Even a couple of days after the rain you can see flowers blooming and it serves as a visual reminder of verse 5. It has so much more to it than a mere improvement of our finances!

This phrase would have been a vivid example to them as you can tell from these pictures from Israel. We need to remember that in ancient times, Israel was totally dependent on rain for the success of the harvest (the focus of the last few verses). So it is easy to see how they would have associated the rain with restoration and the joy of harvest that comes as a result.

Are we asking God to restore us. our churches, our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nations? He will hear our cry and what was once a source of weeping will be turned into a source of joy. As C. S. Lewis once wrote that heaven was retroactive, that Jesus would one day turn even our greatest hurts, failures and suffering into a source of joy!

 

God wants to restore every aspect of our lives as individuals, to restore justice to every system of civilization, and to restore perfection to every area of his creation.