Let me invite you to turn in your scriptures tonight to Psalm 126. Psalm 126. And while you're turning to that portion, let me thank your minister for the words of welcome tonight and for the invitation to come and be part of your Harvest Thanksgiving services this weekend and also to come and bring the Lord's Word at this missionary rally. We do appreciate very much the prayerful support of this congregation for all of our missionary endeavor around the world. Our missionary work could not proceed without the prayers of God's people, and without the ongoing interest that congregations like this one continue to show in our missionary work around the world. So a sincere word of thanks to you for your prayers for us, and also your practical support, your financial support. We appreciate the giving of God's people. It enables, as you've heard tonight, our missionaries to be on the field. It enables them to have accommodation, And we thank those who came from this congregation to help in a practical way in those building programs, Brother Kyle and his wife, and others from here who went out with them on numerous times to help out with the houses for the Macaulays, the house in Kenya for the Hamiltons as well. And we appreciate all of that labor for the Lord. The mission board. isn't just a group of men who meet once a month and discuss and decide and make arrangements for various things. It involves our whole denomination. And we do thank God for a denomination that is interested in missionary endeavor at home and abroad and for the vision that has been there for many, many years now, as we have been singing in that final hymn to let the light of the gospel spread across the world. Do remember our home missionaries. It's always interesting to see how the Lord is moving around the world and foreign fields. But remember Joyce and Christina and Robert and Chris and Noel and Colin. Noel and Colin are up on a mission in our part of the world, just outside Oma. It concludes tomorrow afternoon. So pray for them. Pray for all of our home missionaries. Reverend McKee serves as the chairman of that subcommittee on our mission board. And it's always good to remember our home missionaries as the labor for the Lord. Remember our sister Elizabeth Edwards. Elizabeth has been doing a round of deputation meetings. She was just approved last night upon the recommendation of the Mission Board, approved by our Presbytery, to be sent out to Kenya as a missionary in the new year. And so do pray for that. Pray that all the visas that need to be in place for that will come to pass. Some of the things have changed in Kenya. in regard to visas and work permits, et cetera. So do pray that Elizabeth will have no obstacles, no hindrances as she prepares to move from her Lisburn congregation out to the work there with the Hamiltons. Pray the Lord will undertake for her at this time. We do have a trip, some young people and others who are out in Asia at this time as well. We ask you to remember them in prayer. We do seek to encourage mission trips and young people to go on mission trips. And we've been very thankful for those who went out to Spain this year, earlier in the summertime. And by all accounts and all reports, it was a tremendous blessing for those young people to be there, and also for the church that went out to help our brother Alejandro as he ministers out there in Spain. It was a huge encouragement to them, and I trust a huge blessing to the young people who went as well. A lot of things happening all the time at our missionary level. Some of it seems maybe just routine, but we're very thankful for the doors that are opening and the opportunities the Lord is giving and for the missionaries who are taking those at home and abroad. And we covet your ongoing prayers in the days to come for that work. Returning to this psalm tonight, it has a missionary theme. It has a harvest theme. It's a brief psalm, it falls into that section of the songs of degrees, and we'll read the entire psalm tonight. Let us hear the word of the Lord, Psalm 126, in verse 1. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Amen. We'll finish there, and we pray the Lord will bless His word to our hearts tonight. It's the final two verses of that psalm that I want to focus our thoughts on under the title tonight, Tearful Sowing but Joyful Reaping. Tearful sowing, but joyful reaping. And with our Bibles open there, we'll just pause for the further word of prayer. Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy presence with us tonight already. For the singing of Thy praise and for the ministry and song tonight, we do thank Thee that God takes care of us. And we bless Thee that the longer we serve Him and the more we serve Him, the sweeter He grows. And we pray, Lord, tonight that as we walk with Christ, those who know and love Thee, that we will see more and more of the loveliness of our Savior and experience His presence and His blessing day by day upon our lives. We thank Thee for our missionary work and what we've heard from Thy servants in Kenya and Uganda. We pray, Lord, tonight that Thou will bless them and their families. Remember the other missionaries that are laboring there in Uganda also. We think of those men who are out there at this present time. And Lord, working, we pray that Thy hand will be upon them, and You'll bless them also. We think of those who have gone to Asia tonight. We pray, Lord, thy hand will be upon them, too, and you'll prosper their labors for thee. Our Father, we thank thee that from small beginnings thou hast been pleased to bless the missionary work in our denomination. Just a small number of congregations And yet, Lord, Thou hast been able to use that for the extension of Thy kingdom around the world. And we thank Thee, Father, for the promises that we read in this psalm tonight. We thank Thee that those that go forth weeping, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. Lord, we pray that Thou would burden our hearts day by day for the spread of the gospel at home, and abroad. So answer prayer as we come around thy word tonight. We pray for divine help, for the power of thy spirit. And Lord, thou wilt bless both preacher and hearer alike. We pray that Christ would have all the honor and the glory. We pray this in his name and for his eternal sake. Amen. I think it's hard to read the six verses of this psalm and not notice that it describes a time of great trouble followed by a time of great joy. While the psalm does not provide us with the exact details of the trouble, a number of commentators have said that these words refer to Israel's time in captivity. Certainly the word captivity in the psalm comes from a Hebrew word that carries the idea of exile or prisoner. And when the Babylonians came against Jerusalem, they took hundreds or thousands of Israelites as captives to Babylon. That was a day or a time of great trouble in their experience, a day of fearful affliction for the people of God." Other commentators come to the psalm, and they say that it's speaking of a time of trouble in Zion itself, and that it could be referring to any number of events or incidents in the history of that nation, and particularly the city of Jerusalem, when particular trials came upon the people. Whatever the exact circumstances of the psalm might be, We are shown here that God's people were in a time of great trouble, and then were brought into a time of great joy. I think it's worth noting that it was God who delivered them. That's how the psalm begins, when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion. These people obviously did not turn their own captivity. They had not secured their own freedom. Their deliverance was all from God. And they note that in verse 3, the Lord hath done great things for us. Their deliverance from trouble was all of God. You'll notice also that their deliverance from trouble was well known among the heathen. This was such a powerful and such a public event that even the enemies had to testify the Lord hath done great things for them. That's quite a remarkable statement. Those who despise the people of God are now acknowledging that the Lord had done great things for them. The heathen, the ungodly, normally take the Lord's name in vain. But here they're speaking of him in true terms. Even the heathen could not deny that the Lord had done a remarkable thing for his people. We also discover here that this time of deliverance was a time of great joy. They were filled with laughter, and singing, and gladness. And those terms can only mean one thing. The days of trouble were gone. The days of affliction were over. They were behind them. And these people who had gone through that affliction were enjoying an incredible measure of the grace of God. The grief, and oppression, and hardship of the past was ended. And they were filled with laughter, and with praise, and with thanksgiving. A time of trouble had given way to a time of joy. Isn't that how it is in our salvation? Prior to salvation, we were in spiritual captivity with all the misery that comes with that. We were slaves to our sin, but the Lord turned our captivity. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, has set us free, and the Bible reminds us, Christ reminds us, that those whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed. And that time of trouble and that deliverance from that trouble, our salvation from sin has filled our hearts with joy and with thanksgiving. He has put a new song into our mouth, even praise unto our God. And so, the psalm could relate to our salvation. It could also relate to a time of suffering, This place, this world, is full of trials and troubles for God's people. The journey home to heaven is often beset with difficulties. The child of God is not exempt from dark times. And there are times in every Christian's life when we go through dark valleys, we have temptations to overcome, disappointments to contend with, We have sorrows to endure. There's a time of weeping, but the Lord brings us through that. Doesn't the psalmist say elsewhere, weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. And the day will come, believer, when we will leave this valley of tears behind us, and we will be with Christ, which is far better. And our mouths will be filled with singing, and with thanksgiving, and with joy. And so these words can relate not only to our suffering and to our salvation, but there's another angle we could look at this, Sam. And it's identified in verses 5 and 6. It has to do with our service. Our service. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. The picture in these last two verses is obviously drawn from the world of agriculture. It speaks of one who goes out to sow. He does so with tears. And then he returns, not with tears, not with empty hands, not with a spoiled harvest, but he returns with joy. And he returns rejoicing, we're told here, bringing his sheaves with him. The whole scene is transformed. And as he comes back at the time of harvest, he recognizes and he realizes that his labor has not been in vain. And that's the crux of this text. There are times when we, as believers, can feel our labor for Christ is in vain. Parents can feel that. Christian parents seeking to bring up their children in the fear and nurture of God and then the see children going astray into the world, and they think that their labor for Christ and seeking to bring their children up in the fear and nurture of God has all been in vain. Sometimes Sunday school teachers can feel that. Little ones sitting in their class week by week, and yet they may not see any evidence of grace in their lives. And those young people grow up and move out of Sunday school and out of the church, perhaps, out into the world. And the teacher may feel discouraged that their service for Christ has not brought forth a harvest for His glory. Our missionaries can feel like that. going across the world to serve the Savior, and discovering difficulty upon difficulty upon difficulty, and discouragement heaped up upon those difficulties. They don't often talk about that. Our missionaries send home prayer letters. We're always thrilled to read of the progress of the work and what the Lord is doing. But there are times when missionaries get discouraged. It's true of ministers. Ministers leave the pulpit sometimes on a Sunday night and think to themselves, I'll never go back into the pulpit again. They get discouraged. Get discouraged with how things are sometimes across the nation. Every child of God can feel this pressure and these thoughts of tears and troubles in the Christian life. But look at verses five and six. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with it." Here's a passage of Scripture that ought to bring immense encouragement to God's people. It's a hugely harvest text. But a harvest text that focuses upon the spiritual blessings the Lord gives. When Charles Spurgeon preached on this text, he entitled his message, Tearful Sowing and joyful reaping. And so I'm going to adopt his title for my title tonight. And there are three parts here, three parts of the psalm that I want to draw your attention to. Notice, first of all, there's a word here about the passionate sower, the passionate sower. Both verses 5 and 6 speak of those who take to the fields at seed time. That's a familiar picture to us. in this land and especially in the countryside. The time of year comes round, the farmers go out and they prepare their fields, they get their seed ready, and when all is in place and the time has come and the weather is at the right stage of the year and the seasons have come round, then they go out to sow. And you see the tractors in the field and they're scattering the seed. In olden times, the same principle applied. But with this difference, In olden times, the work was done by hand. The sower would take up his seed basket or his seed bag, and he would scatter handfuls of seed across the fleshly-turned soil. It was a very important work. He knew if there was ever going to be a harvest down in the months to come, he would have to take the time to sow the seed. There had to be a sowing. And everything in these verses point to the sower being passionate about his work. These verses are full of action. He goes forth. He bears precious seed. He weeps. He sows the seed. Everything about him is marked with passion. Believer, that's what we're called to do in the spiritual realm. We are to be sowers of the gospel. Paul said to the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 that we are laborers together with God. And if you take time to read that chapter, he's talking in the context of planting and watering in the gospel. This is the work of every believer. It's not just the work of the minister. It's not just the work of our missionaries across the world. It's the work of every Christian. We are sowers. We are to be laborers together with Christ. We have been saved, not to sit idly by. not to drift our way lazily into glory, not to shun our responsibilities, not to let opportunities for service slip past us. We are called to redeem the time, to buy up the time, to buy up the opportunities for Christian service. We are servants of God, and we are to sow the gospel seed. Look at the details here. about this passionate sower. He goes forth to the work. That speaks of his effort. He goeth forth. Verse 6 puts it that way, doesn't it? When we're told in the psalm, he that goeth forth. The Hebrew phrase is much more intense than it appears in our English Bible here. It actually means he goes and comes and goes again. You can picture a man loading up his bag with seed in the morning, going out to sow the seed. And he goes up and down the length of his field two or three times, and the seed is gone. So he has to come back to the place where he stores the seed, and he's got to fill up the bag again. And he goes again. And that's the thought here. Here's the sower going again. He's a man who's very serious about his work. He knows the seed is not going to sow itself. He knows it's not going to be sown if he is overcome with idleness, or if he thinks it's someone else's responsibility. He's a man of action, and it doesn't matter how he feels or what obstacles are in his way. He's ready to go forth, making his way across the fields, leaving the comfort of home for this necessary work. And so he puts effort into it. But as believers, we must be no different. Christian service, dear child of God, it involves effort on our part, going out to reach the lost for Christ. It's not a lazy man's work. It's a work for men and women of effort who are committed to this. Remember what Christ said in John chapter 9, in verse 4, I must work the works of him that sent me. While it is yet day, for the night cometh when no man can work." The word work there is not indicative of one who wastes time. But we know that Christ used his time wisely. The Father had given him a work to do. And he says, I must work the works of him that sent me. These words are showing us Christ's passion for the work he had come to do on earth for the salvation of his people. This is what we're called to do, too, in gospel work. We're to work among careless sinners. We are to work among confused sinners and concerned sinners and convicted sinners. We must go to them, take in the gospel to them, as this man went forth in verse 6. It refers to the effort of the sword. Notice he goes forth weeping. That refers to the emotion of the sower. The man weeps. The man weeps as he sows. Why would he do that? Why would the farmer or the sower in the psalm, why would he weep as he goes to sow the seed? Adam Clarke, the commentator, had an interesting take on this. He pictured the poor farmer who had suffered a bad harvest the previous year. perhaps just having enough seed kept back from that poor year. And now the seed time has come and he takes the seed and he realizes he must sow or else he must despair and perish. So here's a man and everything about his future depends upon this. He's conscious of how solemn a business he's involved in. And so, as he goes, he goes weeping and sowing at the same time, and as he sows, he weeps, and as he weeps, he sows. That may well be one way of understanding the text. One thing is clear, this man is not a hard-hearted man. He knows the value of his work. He knows the discouragements that he might face as he goes about that work. But his whole heart is in it. And as he goes, he weeps." The founder of the Salvation Army was General William Booth. It's reported that some of those who worked with him, the Salvation Army workers, were sent into the ghettos of Los Angeles in the 1920s. After two years of working in those slum areas in Los Angeles, they saw no results. They worked a third year, and still they saw nothing by way of progress in their work. And so they sent William Booth a telegram. It read like this. It just won't work. We have tried everything. The gospel is just not being received here. A couple of days later, they received a two-word response back from William Booth that simply said, try tears. Try tears. You read the life story of the Apostle Paul, and especially in Acts chapter 20, verse 19 and verse 31, he said that he served with all humility of heart and with many tears. Verse 31, he said he had not ceased to warn the people with many tears. When he wrote to the Corinthian believers, he testified that, out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears. He wasn't a heartless servant of God. He was a man filled with emotion. He wept. He wept with those who wept. He wept over those who had no interest in the gospel of Christ. He wept over God's people when they were erring from the truth. We sometimes sing, don't we, rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave, weep over the erring one, lift up the fallen, and tell them of Jesus. the mighty to save." I wonder, believer, has it been the case we've lost our tears? Could it be we've lost the tears for the lost? The sower in our psalm went forth sowing, and he did so weeping. He went forth. That speaks of his effort. He went forth weeping. That speaks of his emotion. He went forth weeping in order to sow, and that refers to his expectation. He goes out by faith, this man. He takes his seed with him in his hand. He goes up and down the length and breadth of his field. He scatters the seed with an expectation that there's going to be a harvest in due time. Oh, he does all that he can. He uses all the ability that he has, but in the final analysis, he knows that the outcome lies with the Lord, and he does what he can, expecting God to do what needs to be done for that seed to germinate and bring forth a harvest. What is it that causes a missionary to go across the world? What is it that causes a Sunday school teacher to come in on a Sunday morning with a lesson prepared and sit surrounded by her children or his children in the class and tell them of Christ who conceived them? What is it that causes a minister to go into the open air or a congregation to stand in the open air and preach the gospel to those who are passing by? Why is it we have gospel missions? Why do we have evangelistic services? in our weekly program of meetings, it is because we believe that God, through the foolishness of preaching, saves them that believe. We believe that God has ordained those who will believe, but we also believe that God has ordained the means by which they will believe the preaching of his word. And ever since its inception, the Free Church has been a preaching church. and we preach believing that God will take the Word and bless it to the salvation of souls. May we never lose that focus of preaching Christ. In his message on this text, made a very powerful statement when he said, I would to God. And he's talking to his own congregation, 5,000 people, Sunday morning, Sunday evening, in the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. He said, I would to God that every Christian in this church felt that he had a call as from the Christ of God, exalted on his throne, to go out and tell others the way of salvation. A passionate sower. Believer, are you a passionate sower of the gospel? Are you doing what you can to tell others of Christ who alone can save from sin? Maybe you're in the service tonight and God's been dealing with your heart about full-time work, challenging you, speaking to you. And as the Lord is challenging you and speaking to you, the devil is also challenging you and seeking to discourage you and dissuade you from that. This is a glorious work that's in focus here, a passionate sower going forth to sow. May God help us to be passionate sowers of the Word. That's the first thing, passionate sower. Notice, secondly, the precious seed. the precious seed. Look back at verse 6 there. See what he says. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Some commentators take this word to refer to the basket or to the bag that the seed would have been placed in. And that may be the case, but there's much more than that here. He's talking about precious seed. The Hebrew word that's translated precious there is only found in one other place in the Old Testament. It's found in Job 28 in verse 18. And there it's translated by our English word price, as in the price of wisdom is far above rubies. The price of wisdom is far above rubies. The thought is that wisdom is priceless. You can't put a value upon wisdom. It's far above the price of rubies. It's an invaluable commodity. Wisdom is so great, it's so precious that it's above everything else. And that same word is now translated here by the word precious in our text. That's how the seed is viewed. It's precious text. It's priceless seed. That's what the psalmist is driving at. The sower goes out with precious or priceless seed out into the field to sow it. What is this seed? There are two parts to this. It is the seed of the Word of God. The seed of the Word of God. Remember the parable of the sower? In the New Testament, Luke chapter 8, verse 11, when Christ explained that parable, he said, the seed is the Word of God. It's a very simple parable, isn't it? The man goes out to sow the seed. It falls on four different types of ground. When Christ, in explaining that parable, said, the seed is the Word of God. You have a similar reference in 1 Peter 1, verse 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. And so when we think about the gospel seed, we're thinking about the written word of God. And it's precious, believer. Why is the word of God so precious? It's precious because it's inspired. breathed by the Holy Ghost, and because it's inspired, it's inerrant and infallible and unchangeable and eternal and comprehensive. All we need to know for salvation is found in this book. It's precious. There's not a book as precious as this one on the face of the earth. This one tells us how to be prepared for eternity, how to be right with God, how to know our sins forgiven, how to have salvation. And you think of men in history like William Tyndale who gave their life that we would have this book in our English language, the precious seed of the Word of God. There's something else here. This seed that's referred to in our text is a reference to the incarnate Word of God, to Christ himself. In John chapter 12 and verse 24, the Savior said, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and it die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.'" A corn of wheat or a seed of wheat falls into the ground. So you're thinking now of the sower going out to sow the seed and think of Christ as that seed. This is the focus of the text. And with that in mind, as we're thinking of Christ as the seed, it's no wonder it's described as precious seed. You think of the precious things in Scripture all linked to Christ—his precious promises, his precious blood. the precious faith that Christ gives, the precious death of those who are in Christ, the precious thoughts of God towards his people, all ours in Christ, the preciousness of Christ himself. And what are we being taught here? We are to be busy sowing and telling others of Christ. We preach Christ crucified. What is the gospel? The gospel in one word is Christ. Christ, his work, his person, his life, his death, his resurrection. And we are to spread this. This is the precious seed that we have. And we are to spread it by way of our conversation, by way of our conduct, by way of our compassion. We should do this at home, at school, at work, in our church, in our community, preaching Christ, telling others of Christ, the precious seed of the psalm. the passionate sower, the precious seed. Look at the promised success. Finally, verses 5 and 6. "'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. "'He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, "'shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, "'bringing his sheaves with him.'" There are two things there. There's assurance. Assurance. "'He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.'" Doubtless. And then there's the thought of abundance. He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Remember, he takes out seed, but he brings back sheaves. He goes out weeping, he comes back rejoicing. He goes out expecting something to happen by way of a harvest. He comes back in the realization that his expectations have been met and there is a harvest. How come there's this promised success here? There is promised success in gospel work because of Christ and because of his great work. Why don't you look at those two verses again? Verse 5 and 6. "'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. "'He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, "'shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, "'bringing his sheaves with him.'" When you read that verse carefully, and especially verse 6, and examine each clause in it, it's obvious that the sower here is none other than Christ himself. Christ went forth, didn't he? He went forth. He left heaven, and he went forth into this world. He came weeping. Isaiah describes him as the man of sorrows. We find him at the grave of Lazarus, and he's weeping. We find him looking over the city of Jerusalem, and he's weeping. He bore precious seeds. We've looked at John chapter 12 and that verse that speaks of Christ as the corn of wheat, the seed. And Christ, by his death, was that seed planted in the ground that died and then brought forth in the resurrection. And because of Christ, his death, there is life for those who trust in him. And then we're told here he will come again. Christ who went forth from glory and finished the work His Father gave Him to do, ascended back to glory, but He will come again. And then we're told, when He comes, He will bring His sheaves with Him. Christ will bring the fruit of His labor with Him. He will appear with His sheaves. He will appear with His people. And His coming again will be marked with rejoicing. His second coming will be different from His first coming. When Christ came the first time, He came to die. He came to suffer. He came to sorrow. He came to lay down His life, a sacrifice for many. He came weeping. When He comes the second time, He'll not come to be crucified on a cross. He'll not come to be crowned with thorns. He'll come crowned with glory. And He will come with rejoicing. He will come with majesty and power and dominion and authority and sovereignty. He will come with his people. And those of us who are alive will be caught up together with them in the air, and together we shall be forever with the Lord. The verse is full of Christ. Christ is the Lord of the harvest. He is the mighty victorious husbandman. He is the Boaz of the Old Testament, the mighty man of wealth. Remember, Boaz was the landowner that Ruth met in the fields. What a glorious picture of Christ, the Kinsman Redeemer. And dear believer, because Christ finished the work, then our work for Christ in sowing the seed has promised success. He will save his people. He will build his church. From every kindred, tongue, and tribe from all over the world, In places we will never visit, and in continents we might never see, Christ has his people, and he will save them. And one day, we shall be forever with him." So his success as the glorious Savior guarantees the success of our gospel work. So be encouraged, believer. Press on in the work. So on through the tears, so on through the obstacles, so on as God gives you grace. Maybe you're in the meeting and you're not saved tonight. You know nothing of salvation. You know nothing of Christ. May you come to know Him as your Savior. And then when He comes again, you'll be ready to be with Him and with Him forevermore. Your sin's forgiven. Reconcile to God through the blood of His cross, and peace with God in your heart. May it be so, for Jesus' sake. Amen.