Psalm 126

Psalm 126 is the seventh of the Songs of Ascents, the collection that runs from Psalm 120 through Psalm 134. These songs are thought to have been sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem. The preceding psalm, Psalm 125, compares those who trust in the LORD to Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. Psalm 126 remembers the joy of Zion's restoration and prays for restoration once again.

Structure

• Verses 1–3 look back to the time when the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion. The people were then like those who dream. Their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with singing, and even the nations said that the LORD had done great things for them. The psalmist confesses that the people are glad because of these great things.
• Verse 4 prays that the LORD would turn again their captivity like the streams in the south.
• Verses 5–6 close with the promise that those who sow in tears will come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.

Key Verses

• Psalm 126:1, "we were like them that dream." The phrase shows that the restoration was so astonishing as to seem unbelievable.
• Psalm 126:5, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." This is the most widely quoted verse of the psalm, celebrating the fruit that follows suffering.

People and Places

• The LORD: confessed as the one who brings about restoration.
• Zion: a name for Jerusalem, especially the mount on which the temple stood.
• The streams in the south: the dry ravines of the arid region in the south of Judah (the Negev). Normally dry, they suddenly fill with rushing water in the rainy season. The image expresses the hope that restoration will come like water flooding a parched land.

Interpretive Notes

• The Hebrew expression translated "turn the captivity" in verses 1 and 4 can mean bringing captives back or, more broadly, "restoring fortunes." For this reason, translations render it differently.
• Many commentators see the return from the Babylonian exile (return from exile) as the background of this psalm, although the text itself does not name a specific event.
• Verses 1–3 are commonly read as describing a restoration that has already taken place, and verse 4 as a prayer for restoration still to come. Some interpreters, however, read verse 1 as anticipating a future restoration.
• The image of sowing and reaping in verses 5–6 comes from agriculture. Christians have applied it to evangelism, missions, and perseverance in suffering.
• These verses are often read together with several New Testament passages:
• Luke 6:21: "Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."
• Galatians 6:8–10, which says that those who do not grow weary in well doing will reap in due season
• John 4:36–38, which speaks of the sower and the reaper rejoicing together

In the Korean Church

• Verses 5–6 are frequently used as texts for sermons on Wheat Harvest Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving, as well as for sermons on evangelism and missions.
• The hymn known in Korean as "Saebyeokbuteo Uri" (originally "Bringing in the Sheaves") is known for its refrain, which echoes the picture in verse 6 of returning with rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.