You can be turning to Psalm 126. Psalm 126. Right now, just verse 4. Psalm 126 verse 4, Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. Interesting little phrase, like streams in the Negev. Talked to you for just a few minutes about that this morning. As we have the years of languishing, the return from exile, and like streams in the Negev. The years of languishing. For the Jewish captives, those years amounted to 70 and more. For some of them, it was about 70 years, and the captivity came to an end, and they were free to go back to the Holy Land if they so desired. For some, it was quite a bit more than 70 years. Remember, there was a captivity. that took place before the 7th year of the Northern Kingdom went into captivity well before the Southern Kingdom of Israel did. So there had been some Jews in captivity longer than 70 years, but 70 years at least. For a lot of those folks during those years, they kind of felt like they had been surviving in a desert. Not that the land around them may not have been well-wired and flushed, or many of them, most all of them actually just about all of them lived in some nice places, and places that were prospering and doing well. But if you don't have your freedom, if you don't have your country, you aren't really that joyful. I mean, there are things more important than just material blessings. So many of them have felt like they were just languishing. Nobody likes to feel like they are languishing. Kind of like a desert without rain. It just sort of languishes in dryness and not much is going. And sometimes life can be that way. Like a desert without rain. And it just goes on and on. Deserts can go a long time without significant rainfall. Ever felt that way in your life? Ever languished? I'll bet every one of you can think of times in your life in which you've languished. Maybe some of you might be feeling like you're languishing now. We can languish in a lot of ways. We can languish in poverty, where for so long it seems like there's just too much month left at the end of the money. We can languish in sickness. And I feel for Carl Winkle, five weeks of what he's gone through, I really feel for him. And five weeks when you're sick, and I tell you what, that's a long time, I tell you. But you and I both know that sometimes people languish with sickness a lot longer than five weeks. Some people have spent several months just in the hospital alone, not even counting recuperation if they live to go on. But when you're languishing in sickness, you can see why. Time just drags by. Or languish when you're far from home. We still have some people in this church that can identify with that. Like a World War II veteran that was in one of the churches I've pastored. His name was Glenn. Like almost all World War II vets, a really nice guy. Especially a generation of people, World War II. I remember when he fell in the Army and went into the Army like so many guys did, whether they went in voluntarily or whether they joined. And it was around five years that he never saw a relative. Never went home on leave. Got through basic and infantry training, and overseas he went for the duration of the war. And at least in Vietnam, we got to come home after a year. That's five years. He spent ten if it was so long. And back in those days, you didn't have any kind of means of talking to your family long distance. There were no cell phones. There were no little satellite connections. There was no internet in which you could go online like soldiers can today. At least they can, in some of those cell phones, you may even see pictures. They can see like a little video. They can watch their family talk back and forth. But at Glensdale for five years, I didn't see anybody in my family. I said, I forgot what my family looked like. And when I came back from that war, having languished so far away for so long, I kind of had to learn my family over again. And I kind of had to learn me. Because the person, the Glen that went away was not the same Glen that came home. Sometimes we languish in trouble. Probably more than any languishing we experience personally is probably feeling being trapped. Oh, there's a thousand and one situations that can develop in life in which we find ourselves feeling trapped. And whatever the situation is, you know, we want to come Lord, and we'll pray and pray and pray. And sometimes the Lord will deliver us soon, sometimes it's much later. In time this goes on and on, and we begin to see why far-right Jews are going to get out in such and such a situation. The years of languishing helps us understand the return from the exile. Psalm 126, beginning with verse 1. These Jewish exiles come back to Jerusalem, come back to the Holy Land. When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Now some translations have missed it on this verse. Some translations will say something along the lines of, when the Lord restored the fortunes of the captives, when he restored their health, when he restored the place And that misses it. This is one of those verses in which the language is not quite so clear and there can be some disagreement on how it should be translated. But there is a G here that gives us a tip off. Is this talking about what God had already done in restoring Jerusalem and the Holy Land and the people? Or is this talking about how they felt when they first came back, though there was still a lot to be done? Well, if you look at verse 4, the first few words, it tells us, what is their prayer? Restore our fortunes, or bring back our people. They're asking for something that hasn't happened yet. So what verse 1 is really talking about is what has happened. It is not the prosperity of Jerusalem which is still to come from the days in which Esau's first return. Their joy is just to finally be free and be back in Israel, be back in Jerusalem. But what they want to happen beyond that is still to come. So the better translation would read, when the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, another word for Jerusalem, When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who drank. Ever felt that way? Something happened to you and it just seems to be so good, especially coming after a period of long languishing. Then it just seems like, I must be drinking. Peachy? No, I don't think I want you to be peachy. I want to wake up and realize this is a dream. Is this really happening? It seems surreal. When we came back to the place of our fathers and mothers, our ancestors, we were like men who dreamed. Oh, we were so joyful. Our mouths were filled with laughter. are tons of songs of joy. Ever had times like that in your life? You were just so happy, you just felt like dancing or like jumping for joy, just shouting, praise the Lord, hallelujah, thank you God. Wish we had more times in life than that, don't you? This is one of the times for them. Then it was said among the nations, that's what other people said about us. People in other nations have heard about us coming back to the Holy Land, being set free. The Lord has done great things for them, peoples in other nations were saying. The Lord has done great things for them. And what do these exiles say? They're right. Verse 3, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Probably most all of us have known at some point in our life, and maybe several points in which we just felt like we were just languishing. Things just not going well. We kept hoping we'd wake up tomorrow morning and things would be better. But they weren't. It went on and on until perhaps we just felt like giving up, like this is going to be what it's going to be the rest of my life. But then, finally, what you've longed for and prayed for for so long happens. And you feel like saying, pinch me, to see if I'm dreaming. I actually have said that several times to my wife, the last weekend. I won't go into the details because probably most of all of you have known situations. Some are, and I've never seen it. Maybe not the very rare combination of having a bad case of Alzheimer's, a long mourning combination with schizophrenia, that is a horrible combination to have to divorce from any caregiver. But, a lame machine. And it wasn't that her legs couldn't work quite a long time ago, she simply forgot how to walk. And she spent a lot of time in rehab, different times, than trying to teach her to walk. What they would tell me, it isn't that there's something wrong with her legs. Her mind, she said, can be forgotten after you use her legs. It tries, but it can never make much progress with it. She lost her bodily functions. And you know how that goes. The mess that you have trying to get to the bathroom, the mess that you have because you didn't get out of bed, you couldn't get out of bed finally, the mess you have on yourself. Very degrading. Takes away your dignity. My mother never wanted to live like that. Would you? I wouldn't. And so she languished. It went on and on and on. Helen and I kept her at home as long as we could. From our house she went to the emergency room. From there she went to a psychiatric hospital. From there, she went to a dementia wing in the assisted living because at that point, she could still clothe and feed herself. You don't need a nursing home, you can do that much for yourself. From there, she went to skilled nursing. Spent a lot of time there in rehab. From there, she went to a longer care nursing home. Eventually, back to the psychiatric hospital. And from there, back to the nursing home and languished like we never ate. So you can see why, as I've mentioned to some of you, in her passing, there is a sadness. Nobody likes death. It's every enemy. You don't like to see someone you care for claimed by death. But, sometimes you see, death can be an escape from the land King Jesus built that way on the cross. Isaiah mentions that when death found the King Jesus, well, he couldn't help it. It was a way out of the misery he was in. So there's a note of sadness when you lose somebody. On the other hand, when you lose somebody in those conditions, you have a sense of relief and joy. And the relief and joy can very well overpower the sadness. There have been several times in the last few days in which I've looked at my wife and said, pinch me in my dream. The Lord finally has taken her. She's doing great. This really did happen, didn't it? You've been there and you've done that, haven't you? You can identify with these Jewish exiles. After what they have been through, they are finally back and they are free. And they feel like saying, teach me. Am I dreaming? Are we really back here? It really did happen, didn't it? But though they had come back and things were better, they had their freedom and everything, still that was not the best. The best was yet to be. Which leads to their prayer about streams in the Negev, verses 4 through 6. Notice their prayer in verse 4. They pray, Restore our fortunes, O Lord. Restore our fortunes. Restore this place. Restore us. Restore us to what we Jews once had and once knew. That's the prayer. What do you mean by that? Restore our fortunes. What they had in mind was restoring their city and bringing people back to Philadelphia. Their goal, their prayer, their goal in their prayer was simply, Lord, restore our fortunes, make this place to be like streams in the Negev. Now, what did that mean? What did that phrase mean to the lady? If you're familiar with the geography of the Holy Land, Then you know that south of Jerusalem, not quite so distant south of Jerusalem, you get into one wind. If you live in the Dakotas, they probably call it the Badlands. Or in eastern Washington State, they might possibly call it the Badlands. Or maybe in parts of Arizona, they might call it the Badlands. The Netherlands was some high country, and it didn't get much rain at all. I wouldn't call it a desert. It was very similar to a desert. You could go for long periods of time with no seeded and rain at all. It was very hard to survive there. It was a tough place to live. From time to time, a few people tried to live in there. It was a long, hard life. The plants in there ranged. One animal in there ranged a lot. From time to time, though, They wouldn't get to see any rain, and when they did, sometimes they'd get so much rain they'd have to play. Which would lead to water, you should dry out, and once the water went away, they wouldn't need to dry out creek beds. When they got a lot of big rain, someday, finally came, then those dried out creek beds, the water would fill up with water, and there would be streams. And if you've ever been around a desert that's been dry for a long time, and you get to see it in the rainfall, You know, even the day that waits to come, that day that comes alive, it blossoms, it's beautiful. And that's what we're here to pray. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the dead air. Give to us showers of spiritual blessings, so that our life and our nation comes alive again, and it blossoms like the night it would blossom if it got a big lazy rain. That's what they're praying for. They almost feel like we must be dreaming. We're back and we're free, and that's really good. But the best is yet to be, and that's what we're praying, Lord. Make us to be like the strings in the negative, when it's had a big rain and water's flowing again. That's what the phrase meant to the land, and that's what the phrase meant to Jerusalem. And their prayer would be granted. It would be quiet. Some time would go by. When would it blossom? It would blossom in the days of Nehemiah. In verse 5 and 6, they said, 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 seeds with him. It would be in the days of Nehemiah that a burden would lead to some sowing, which would lead to a harvest. Now they didn't know who and they didn't know when, but from the very beginning of the return, their prayer was, make our nation to be like the streams of the Negev. We have to be concerned, concerned enough to be burdened. So is tears. We have to be burdened enough to do something about it. But if we do, and we follow what you have in mind, Lord, someday our nation will be like the streams of the Negev. Now what does that phrase mean to you and me? Well, Possibly, some of you here today feel like you are languishing in your life. Maybe you felt that way some time ago. Maybe you're doing fine now, but down the road sometime, you may find that you feel like you're languishing a little later on. If that happens, what will you pray? I don't know what the words of your prayer will be. But I know what the meaning of it will be. The meaning of it will be the same thing that these Jews had in mind when they prayed, make us to be like the streams of the Negev. In the time of drought, the time of dryness, the time of hard times, the time of languishing. And make our life to be, as the Jews would say, like the streams of the Negev. If you have language in your life now, or if you have it tomorrow, that's what I pray for you. I pray that the Lord will bring better times to you. As far as the present, now for all of us, let's apply this phrase to the future. Lord, make our world, indeed make the whole creation, to be like the streams in the Negev. In so many words, we've prayed that prayer ever since we've been a Christian. Christians have prayed that prayer for ages. Do you want to know where that prayer is going to be answered for our world and for the creation? You'll find it in Revelation 21. Heaven sent a Genesis 3 when sin entered the creation and spoiled it. We have languished in sin generation after generation. right down to our generation. We still languish each struggle, languish struggling with sin. And why do we ask the Lord in prayer? In so many words, the words will differ, but the theme is the same. Would you please restore our world to where there were no more negatives, it was all positive. Would you still, would you please restore the creation to where there's no more sin or ill effects, a sin where everything is like it was in Genesis 2, before sin ruined it, and we all went into bondage and captivity to sin. Would you please bring around the time, Lord, when not just our life, not just our world, but the whole creation is like the streams in the air. God's answer to prayer, in fact, in Revelation 21, beginning with verse 1, John, the apostle, gets a vision of it. And in his vision he said, I saw it. I saw a vision of the creation of our world. And the creation, once again, like the streams of the Negev, Wow, it was wonderful. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no longer any sea. No more times of trouble. To the Jews, the sea meant trouble. A lot of their troubles came from the sea, especially in the Philistines came from the sea many times. I saw the holy city of the New Jerusalem. coming down out of heaven through God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. for the old order of things hath passed away. May it be Lord, may it be, and the sooner the better. We'll close with a song that sadly too many people identify with sadness beyond the sunset. It's been sung at funerals many times and people identify in a negative way. I'm going to sing that song. Notice the words of this song. This is not about a sad ending. This is about a happy beginning. It's about the strength of the negative. It's about things being made wonderful again. Beyond the sunset, a blissful morning, when with our Savior heaven is begun. Earth's toiling ended, O glorious dawning, beyond the sunset, when day is done. Heavenly Father, thank you for the screams in the Negev. It was a prayer that gave Jewish exiles hope, We have prayed a similar prayer, different words, I'm sure. And how many times in our life have you eventually brought us through a time of languishing? And we perhaps felt like something wonderful had happened, and were we dreaming? Can't you know me? I don't want to be confused. Because if I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up. Something so wonderful has happened. And that will happen someday to our world, to the whole creation, to all of us as Christians. Eventually we will all see what you do when you make the whole creation, like the streams of the Negev, to blossom again. Never to languish anymore. Thank you for that hope. In Christ's name, Amen.