If you have your Bibles, I'm gonna invite you to turn with me to Psalm 126, Psalm 126. We're almost halfway through a series of studies on a collection of 15 Psalms grouped together in our Bibles. It seems for the purpose of singing them along a pilgrimage, we call them in scripture, the Psalms of Ascent or the Psalms of Degrees. They began in Psalm 120. and they make their way all the way to Psalm 134. Today we find ourselves in Psalm 126, and we're looking at these psalms, psalm by psalm, in your Bibles, and so if you've missed the whole series so far, you're in comfortable position, because they really do, in one sense, stand alone. And so we're in Psalm 126 together, and there is, in each psalm, its own theme, its own tonality, its own topic. But there are grouped together in your Bibles and so even as you're turning there you may see the headings that highlight them for us that started in Psalm 120 and again make their way all the way to Psalm 134. And just kind of to review with me for a moment what we've seen and how we're continuing to see these. Most of these Psalms are upbeat. They would have been sung by pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem three times a year. They would have been some of the most well-known psalms in the Psalter. They would have been psalms people had memorized. They would sing them three times a year. Some of them, however, are somber. Now, the somber ones are the exceptions. For example, Psalm 123, one that we have already studied, sounds as if it would have been sung in the minor key, like a dirge. It's a psalm for deliverance from the contempt of the proud. The other exception to the rule is Psalm 131, which is almost gentle and whispery, almost like a lullaby. We'll get to that one. We're not there yet. But aside from those two exceptions, Psalm 126 and Psalm 131, there's almost this celebratory, and profoundly thankful and practical element to the Psalms of Ascent. They are, for the most part, psalms of gladness, praise choruses. They do address difficult matters, but always with real-time solutions. They are reminders and assurances of God's goodness for His people. And the text that we're studying in this hour, Psalm 126, fits the profile of these psalms perfectly. It is a glad song about deliverance. It is a three-fold celebration of God's redemption of grace. It's a psalm that reminds us in times of crisis that God brings us from tears to joy. Certainly, this would have been a glad psalm as they sang it. But we'll read it because I don't know what it sounded like when they sang it. Here's what it says, beginning 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, beareth precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. There is perhaps nothing that elicits cries of happiness than the concept of freedom. This is a foundational principle upon which our nation has been established. Rejecting the oppression of the past, America founding fathers established the Americans with this idea of freedom and liberty. We are the first and perhaps only nation that holds the self-evident truth that all men are created equal and endowed with their creator certain unalienable rights. And, of course, this pursuit of happiness. And so we're supposed to be the happy nation. I mean, it's written into our Constitution. It is who we are. If you are a nation of happy people, certainly we are happy people, right? Well, statistics don't bear that out, do they? In fact, they have a world's happiness report. I don't know who kind of determines how you kind of factor in happiness. The latest report was that we were the 18th happiest nation in the world. But we're the one that has it in our constitution. Surely we are happy. America, we are told that we are born free and born to be happy. But are we? Frankly, no greater lie has ever been told on the face of the planet that we are born free. The Bible teaches us that men and women are not born free. In fact, the Bible teaches us that men and women are born captives. In fact, we are born captives in three distinct ways. We are born captives to depravity, Romans 3.23 says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are born captives to the devil. John 8.44 says, ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. And we are born captives to death. Romans 5.12 says, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men. So we are not born free according to the Bible. We are born dead, deceived, and in the grip even of the devil. And so we are thrice made captive. And the chains are deep around us. And in our natural birth, we are chained to this sinful nature. We live under the dominion of the prince of the power of the air. We are not free. But God, in his great mercy, has given us the ability to be released from the chains of captivity through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, John 8.26 says, so if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed. And every believer ought to immediately then be able to connect with what Psalm 126 is singing about. This is everyone's song. If you are a genuine believer, you know the joy of true freedom. But we still struggle with lasting joy, don't we? We don't have to be a Christian to be understanding of this reality. You don't have to be unsaved even. The author of Hebrews noted that even sin is pleasurable for a season. And Christian or not, it is easy to smile and easy to feel happy when everything is just fine. But as you study the truths of life and you're honest with yourself, you can say, I've been freed from sin and still struggle with joy. A friend, this song lets me know that God wants us to be free from the burdens of this world to give you lasting joy. And Psalm 126 was a special psalm to the children of Israel because it reminded them of the past work the Lord had done in the life of this nation. And it was also a special psalm to those who are in this church as a reminder of what God has done for you. If you are saved, you are free to eternal joy. Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. If you are despondent or discouraged, you can take and drink from this psalm, and you can know true, lasting joy. but it's a threefold cord, which is not easily broken, as Ecclesiastes says, that ties together where our stability, where our joy comes from. And really what the psalmist does is he kind of turns the freedom of joy like a prism on his desk, and he allows the sunlight of God's grace to pierce through that prism so we can see the different various shades of its color. And as you look at this psalm, you can kind of turn the prism and you can see the praise of this joy and the prayer of this joy and even the promise that comes as a result of this joy. Let's start by looking at the praise of the soul that's been set free. Certainly, the Israelites who first sang this psalm had much to praise God about. The Old Testament shares the history of the Jewish people in the nation of Israel is often shared as a portrait of our own pilgrimage. born in captivity, yet freed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so as we look at the Old Testament, we see a reflection of a believer's pilgrimage. The Old Testament Israels were frequently given to times of enslavement, and then graciously, and really miraculously, God would redeem them. And as he would redeem them, they had to talk about it. Because after all, those who have been set free have an overwhelming desire to praise God. That's a play on words in the Hebrew text we find in verse one. In verse one it says, when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion. And that's exactly what the expression mean. It means when the Lord restores the fortunes of Zion. But the Hebrew text also uses two simultaneous words that speak of turning around. Literally, you could translate this phrase to read this way, when the Lord returned, the returning of Zion. Even the Hebrew words itself sound somewhat Poetic. The Hebrew words here are Shub Shabuth. Say that ten times fast. No wonder he put it in a song. Shub Shabuth. It means return the returning. The Lord instantly and unexpectedly reversed the fortunes of Zion. And that, the psalmist said, left our heads spinning. It was like we were in a dream, he says. When the Lord, Shub Shabut, He returned the returning, we were like them that dreamed. We were like knocked off our senses. We didn't know if we were sleepwalking. It's like a dream, but it's true. It's unbelievable, we would say. That's what we see in verse one. The Jews had been exiled to Babylon for 70 years. That's a long time to be in exile. And they had settled there. Some of them had been born in exile. It was all they knew. Their whole life, even now into adulthood for some of them, had only been one of exile and slavery. And then suddenly, Cyrus, the new king, makes a proclamation allowing all the Jews to go home. And just like that, their captivity was over. They couldn't believe it. It was impossible. It couldn't have happened. It was like a dream. But it was real. You can see why this psalm became one of the favorites of the Israelites, can't you? No wonder this is one of the Psalms of Ascent. Every year they would make their pilgrimage back to Jerusalem, and each year for these feasts, they would become acutely aware as they walked this same route that their captives had once, their forefathers had once walked, and as they were singing, they were walking the same path of those who had been released in that decree, and they were singing about this joy that was almost like a dream. You know, that's what God does when he turns our fortunes around. I was enslaved and then I was set free and it just left my head spinning. And I had to sing about it. C.S. Lewis would say this about praise. He would say, I think we delight to praise, I think I have it on the screen, nope, I don't. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment, Lewis says, that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are. They delight and their delight is incomplete until it is expressed, end quote. What a lesson for the children of God. We have been delivered from death and hell by the grace of God. We can't stop singing about it. It's like a dream, but it's real, and it's overwhelming. Psalm 47 verse one says, oh, clap your hands, all ye people. Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Psalm 113.1 says, praise you the Lord, all the servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. And those who have been set free now have this observable desire. It bubbles on out. The Israelites had been set free and they can't restrain themselves in verse two. Then he says, was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the brethren, the Lord has done great things for them. There are no words to convey such joy. Only laughter can quite do it. Those who had once been laughed at by their captors now laugh with the laughter of heavenly delight, just sheer joy. In the words of the Psalm 40, verse 3, he has put a new song in my mouth. And as they break forth in joy, they speak of freedom, they declare their liberty, they make a conscious decision to be happy in the Lord. The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad. I absolutely love even the thought of such profound jubilation. and to know that heaven is full of that exact emotion undiluted by earthly care, just joy, just praise. When you reflect on the fact that it is God who does great things for us, it becomes easy to smile and not frown. In fact, it was Job who would say, till he fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with rejoicing. How is it then that there are so many Christians who go through life with a downhearted spirit? How does a downhearted spirited Christian make any sense? If God truly offers joy in his presence, then how can those who claim to know him best show joy the least? Frankly, the grumpy Christian doesn't make sense unless you group him with the hypocrites of this world. Our God is a God of joy. It was said that Spurgeon was once criticized for putting too much laughter into his sermons. They would criticize Spurgeon and say his sermons were frivolous and lacking gravity. And one woman actually after his service came up to Charles Spurgeon and said, Spurgeon, your sermons are too, they make people laugh too much. They need to be more serious. to which Spurgeon replied, my good lady, if you only knew how much I restrained myself up here. How encouraging it is to be remembered that God is a one who delights in the joy of his people. My travels in evangelism before I became a pastor, one thing that God continued to press in my heart is that there were many auditoriums that I'd walk into that hadn't laughed together for a long time. many churches that had gone through many dark trials and lots of tears, but very few times of laughter. Friends, is there not something worth praising God about when it comes to the rejoicing to know, I was lost, but now am found. I was blind, but now I see. We struggle to have lasting joy, but that is not what God intends for us. God always has our best interest in mind and he's looking for ways to redeem lost sinners to himself that they might be free to this eternal joy and praise him. As they praise him, there's also this as as he kind of writes and weaves this psalm, it's almost like he now turns the prism and and as he turns the prism and the light shines through another color, another hue comes out. And certainly there's praise when it comes to joy, but there's also prayer. The prayer of the soul set free. Because as these pilgrims ponder their past and the deliberate deliverance that they had, they also lift up their voices to pray. And the psalmist recognizes that there is still work to do. The decree of Cyrus, after 70 years, left the Israelite people with unleashed euphoria amongst the Jews. It guaranteed liberation for the Jewish nation. It provided for them a way to return to their promised land. It provided even a process by which they could rebuild the temple. This was amazing. It was like a dream. But there was still a lot of work to do. There was still building and rebuilding to be done. And if you've ever studied the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, you know that this was a long process with lots of opposition. The Jews returned to the land, and they faced relentless hardships. They had to contend with cold, hard realities of a sin-cursed world, and rebuilding Jerusalem would require many years of blood, sweat, toil, and tears, and the process would nearly be stalled numerous times. In fact, Nehemiah and others would build, you remember, with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other. This is not, yeah, I mean, it was euphoric that you're there, but this is also a lot of hard work. And the psalmist seems to recognize the potential of such difficulties, and so he prays. And he prays that God, who had already reversed the captivity of Zion, would restore the fortunes of the people as well. And actually, the phrase used in verse 4 is identical to the one used in verse 1. Shub-shabuth. Return the returning. And it's the identical same phrase in verse four that he just used in verse one. In other words, bring our return to completion. Totally restore the peace and prosperity of the people. This is a recognition that although the deliverance had been accomplished in a big picture sense, in a real world sense, there was still an ongoing continual process worth praying about. Theologians sometimes call this the already not yet dilemma. It's kind of a paradox. Believers are already sanctified, and yet they have not arrived at a level of holiness, and so there's a progression to their sanctification. Already, but not yet. We've already been delivered from sin's total dominion, but even as Paul writes, there are things that I know I shouldn't do that I still keep doing, and there are things I shouldn't do, and those are the things I'm not doing, and so on. There's an already and not yet. We who believe we've already been redeemed and adopted into the family of God and our ultimate salvation is guaranteed by the finished work of Christ, but we have not yet seen him because he's in heaven and we're down here. And just that thought alone is going to require a great deal of prayer. According to Romans 8 verse 23, it says we are still waiting eagerly for the adoption of sons to wit, the redemption of our bodies. And now these pilgrims pray. They are euphoric, but they pray just as spring rains, that this spring rain that would come would fill the floods of water to lavish their souls and it would completely come to fruition. Turn again our captivity as the streams in the south. They understand that prayer gives us a clear approach to God. The word turn again or restore in verse four is a word that could be translated turning again in verse one. It's a great working of God. Once we are saved, we've been turned again to a right relationship with God. And once we've been saved, we've been brought close to God. And once we've been saved, we've been adopted into the family of God. And once we've been saved, we have a new calling. And once we've been saved, we have a new home. And once we've been saved, God is our father. And once we've been saved, we are his children. We have been brought back. We have been restored. And now God offers us a direct access to him through prayer. And he wants, he desires for his children to talk to him. First John would say this is the confidence we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. It's been said that a woman went to Andrew Murray with a problem of feeling she couldn't pray. She said, I know I'm saved, but I just don't know how to pray. Andrew Murray said, why then don't you try this? As you go into your inner chamber, however cold and dark your heart may be, do not try on your own to force yourselves into a right attitude. Instead, bow before him and tell him that he sees in what sad state you are in and that your only hope is in him. Trust him with a childlike trust, have mercy upon you and wait upon him. And in such a trust, you want a right relationship with him. Let him know in your prayers, you are nothing and he is everything." The woman later told Murray that his advice dramatically helped her. It completely radicalized her prayer life. Dear Christian, are you a praying Christian? You recognize that the prayer closet is your admission that I am nothing and God, you are everything. But as you pray, let me ask you, what are you praying about? Because the prayer of this soul set free was for others. And prayer comes with a clear affection for others. And notice with me in verse four that these, what exactly these people are praying for. Those who rejoice that they had been set free in verses one through three, now pray for those who are still in captivity in verse four. And there was not a prayer of concern for themselves, friends. This is a prayer of concern for others. Again, there is a word here for our church. Those who have been delivered from sin should carry a burden for others who are still held down and oppressed by sin. They should go through this world with the vigor to see that others are set free. The story is told of Tom. A guy named Tom, apparently his friend said, Tom, you are exactly the sort of Christian that I like to be around. Tom said, what do you mean? How am I the kind of Christian that you like to be around? And his friend said, well, you never push your religion on me. I don't hear you barking about all this God stuff. You just let me be me and leave all that stuff alone. I'm comfortable around you because you never talk about the Bible. Tom went home and was very convicted that he had not been a good friend. Perhaps we need to change our prayer requests and be more like John Knox who said, give me Scotland or I die. Or like George Whitfield who had such a burden for lost souls that he has wrote in his Bible, give me souls or take my soul. Or the Apostle Paul who prayed, for I could wish myself were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. What are you praying about? Those who have been set free pray that others would also be set free. They're burdened that there are still yet others who are still enslaved to the sin and still not understanding that there is a freedom to eternal joy found only in our God. And yet he's still not done turning that prism. He turns it one way and we see praise come emanating out of that color. He turns it another and now the one who is praising is praying. And he turns it one final way and it's as if God now shines his light through and he says to the one who's been praising him and to the one who's been on his knees pleading and praying for even others who have not seen yet Christ as their savior. Now God, as he turns the prism one more time, says there's a promise for you. There's a promise for the soul set free. And these final verses continue the thought of the previous verses, but now they put some confident foundation. It's almost like they're pouring the concrete and the foundation for us. It really stamps down exactly what we say. If anybody were to ask, why should I praise God, and what should I pray for, and why does it matter? It's almost as if, well, here's the promise. And from the request of the people in the psalm, it seems the spirit of God himself is giving the reply to their prayer. It's oftentimes we sit, we pray, and then we wait. And we're not, you know, we're either God says yes or no or wait. And oftentimes it feels that way, but it's so nice to be able to read an inspired prayer and get the answer. And here's the answer. Here's what he says. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing impressive seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. This, I would guess, is a very familiar passage to many in this room. I used to hear sermons on this, normally applied to evangelism. And while it does apply to evangelism, as that's exactly what jumps off the page, there is truth here. There's three laws that we see come out. The first law is the law of sowing. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. And this law of sowing is reiterated several times in the Bible, even in the New Testament. In Galatians 6 verse 7, it says, Whatsoever a man sows, that will he reap. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 6 says, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. What you sow, you reap. And when the people of Israel were carried off to Babylon, they sowed many years of tears. For 70 years they endured an exile in the foreign land, but those so in tears will reap songs of joy. And so God brought them back. Isaiah prophesied it, he proclaimed it, therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return. and shall come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head, and they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Isaiah 51, verse 11. We understand this even in farming. What you put in the ground is what comes out. What you sow is what you get. Are you sowing many tears, knowing that God will turn sorrow into joy? Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. What are you sowing? But there's also a law of weeping. And I think believers often struggle to see prayers answered because we are praying without passion. Psalm 126 verse 5 teaches us that it is appropriate to be passionate in prayer. they that sow in tears. And while our churches may be lacking, and I truly believe that we are lacking in laughter, I also believe we've also lacked in sorrow, godly sorrow. In other words, what I've just painted is we come to church and we just sit as if emotionless creatures. And yet you open to the book of Psalms like this one, and how many of them pour out with songs of lament? brokenness, either over the sin of themselves individually or the corporate sin of the people, they are broken before God because a broken and contrite heart God hears. Do you know this is exactly the example we see of our Lord when he's on earth? Jesus wept three times. Jesus wept at Lazarus' grave in John 11, 35. He wept. He wept when he came and looked at Jerusalem in Luke 19 verse 41. When he was come near, he beheld the city and he wept over that city. And he wept over the burdens of the sins of the world in Luke 22. And each time he cried, his circle grew wider. His burden for his friend is enlarged to be a burden for the city of Jerusalem, which is enlarged to be a burden for the sin of the world. Friends, when's the last time you just wept for lost souls? We have the self-made American man who doesn't cry. Godly men have a strength to cry. Just ask Joseph. He wept when his brothers couldn't understand repentance and forgiveness. He wept, not for himself, but for them. It pained him. Sometimes we turn on the news and we just get angry. And there is a righteous indignation. But I think sometimes we need to turn on the news and we just need to get sad and weep. Say, come Lord, would you save these lost people? They're so blind. They're searching, but they don't have answers. They're only found in your word. There's a law of weeping, and there's a law not only of sowing and weeping, but thirdly, there's a law of, if I can get it on the screen, reaping. I don't know if it'll go up there, reaping. As that passion accompanies the prayer, you can come to discover a third law in this text. Verse five, he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. This is a natural outcome. There's no room for failure here. Those who act upon the law of sowing and the law of weeping will see the law of reaping. They will doubtless come again. Boy, do we have to hear that in our churches. We talked about this on Wednesday night. We expect that the word of God is preached in churches. That's a good expectation. Sometimes what we don't expect is results. But that is also an expectation we should have. When God's word is preached with the law of sowing and the law of weeping, we should expect the law of reaping. The fields are white under the harvest. Our master told us they were. I know sometimes we say, well, I'm just praying for revival. And I hope you are. But I hope you're also not missing the revival that happens Sunday by Sunday. Do you know there was one person who came forward and just today, made right with God, recommitted his life to the Lord, and I know there are some in this room, and that's why I'm bringing to your attention, who have been praying for revival in this church, and I want you to know God answered that prayer in one person's life today. That's my expectation. Is that your expectation? That's awesome to me. One person, right with the Lord, made today worth it. Sometimes we're like, well, it's just got to have to be millions and thousands. I want that. But one person is worth it to me. How about you? One person. There's a blessing to be found in that kind of passionate prayer. This is eternal joy. The story is told of Sherlock and Dr. Watson who were out camping once. Out camping together. Holmes woke up Watson in the middle of the night, looked at the stars. Watson blinked his sleep out of his eyes and looked at him. And Watson said, what's going on? And Holton said, well, what do you deduce from all of what I'm looking at? Dr. Watson, who just woke up, said, well, I guess I deduce, astronomically, I deduce that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I deduce that Saturn is in Leo, and horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Can we please go to sleep? Why are you asking me this, Sherlock Holmes? And Holmes said slowly, well, I deduce that someone stole our tent. Now, I bring that joke to you because sometimes the complex can also be very simple. What I've highlighted to you about joy is complex, but it's also very simple. And the simple truth is that God is the one who gives us joy. And what we can do is we can turn the prism and we can continue for not on several more hours of this, just keep turning the prism of eternal joy and just bask in its glow. And yet sometimes we can just stop ourselves and look at the bigger picture and say, it's just simply God. That's who it is. We are born captives to depravity. We are. We are born captives to the devil. We are born captives even to death itself. But Jesus is our freedom. And if you'd come to Jesus, the simple plan of salvation is he does give eternal joy. And while there's some amazing complexities there, it's also simple enough that a child can understand. And that's why I think sometimes we struggle with lasting joy, and that's why I close with that joke. Because sometimes we take the simple and we overcomplicate it, actually. We allow the baggage of this life and the difficulties of this life and the complexity of this life to stack up so much we can no longer even just frankly laugh. We can't even cry. We've been wrapped up in so much complexity that we've lost the focus on the Lord and the light that we've allowed to shine through the prism of this truth isn't shining anymore on the prism, even though the prism hasn't moved, we have. We've allowed other things to become so complex that we look at the stars that should just tell us the tent's not there. We don't realize, friends, that God is there for us. And while this may be complex, I want to end with the simple. The simple truth is that Jesus has come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly. That's what it means. to be free to eternal joy. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, we can turn this psalm ever so many ways and we can see the complexity of it. But Lord, may we end with the simplicity of the reality that it's only in you, it's only in you, Lord, that we find grace and hope and peace and strength and stability. Lord, there may be some in this room that have never accepted Christ as their Savior. May today be the day of their salvation. Or we rejoice for those who come, even this morning, and come to make a right relationship with God real and revived in that sense. Maybe even today, today, this evening, there may be others that would join the ranks that we could rejoice with. With every head bowed and every eye closed, the instruments are going to begin to play. If God has spoken to you, would you respond to him? Don't let another moment go by. You could come forward, we'll have people meet you up there. You could actually make your way to any door, including in the balcony, and there will be people ready for you to talk with you. If you wanna just pray with your spouse right there in your chair, you could certainly do that as well. Would you respond as God has spoken to you today? Let's pray together. Lord, we thank you so much. for your word and for the hope and peace and lasting joy that is found in it. Lord, may we run to you as the