Good morning again, and I'd love you to turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 126.
Psalm 126, if you're using one of the Red Church Bibles, it's on 623.
So Psalm 126 on page 623.
So Psalm 126, page 623 of the Red Church Bible.
It reads,
I've been reading a book recently.
The main character in the book is a man by the name of John.
John is in his 70s and is reflecting on his life and much of what has happened during the course of his life.
Now, John in his life has had more than his fair share of grief.
He had lost a wife and a child at a relatively young age.
And on one occasion, as he's looking back on his life, he remembers an occasion when his friend who loved John had a newborn baby son.
And so the friend thought, wouldn't it be a lovely way to honor John and even to console John a little bit, to name the son after him?
Now, the friend doesn't tell John in advance that this is what he's going to do.
And so on the first occasion, when John meets this new little baby and is holding him in his arms,
the friend tells him, I'm going to name him John after you.
Now, it's church on a Sunday morning that he does this.
And so it's a very public occasion.
And John is pretty taken aback by the friend doing this.
And he doesn't really know how to react or respond.
He doesn't have a chance to gather himself at this news.
And so what should have been a wonderful moment where he feels honored and happy and joyful becomes a moment of real regret.
Because he's like, how do I respond to this?
How do I react with all these people looking at me?
And he wonders in years after that how his response shaped the relationship with the son who came to be known as Jack.
What should have been a moment of joy and happiness becomes one of sadness and regret.
And as he reflects on it, he thinks to himself, this wasn't the way it should have been.
This wasn't the way it should have been.
And if you are like me living in this world where we can hardly get through a week where we think sooner or later,
this isn't the way it was meant to be,
then we can resonate with what the author of this psalm writes in verse 4 where he says,
restore our fortunes, Lord.
And essentially what the psalmist is asking God to do is to make things right.
Make life the way it was supposed to be.
When we feel that in our health, in our work, in our friendships, in our relationships,
when we think this isn't the way it was meant to be,
what we long for is that it would be the way it was meant to be,
that it would be the way God has made it to be or intended it to be.
And so as we reflect on this psalm, there are two thoughts that move the author to pray this prayer,
to pray, restore our fortunes, Lord.
And the first thought that the psalmist has that moves him to pray this is this.
The Lord has done great things for you.
You see, verse 4, restore our fortunes, Lord, is based on the knowledge of verse 1,
when the Lord restored the fortunes, thinking back to the past,
when God had restored their fortunes before.
And when the author is asking for the psalmist to restore their fortunes,
he's not asking God to make them financially wealthy.
It's not financial fortunes he wants.
What he wants is that, in verse 2, that the Lord would do great things.
We see that phrase at the end of verse 2, the Lord has done great things for them.
Verse 3, the Lord has done great things for us.
That is God restoring our fortunes when God does great things for us.
And the psalmist recognizes that God has done great things for them in the past.
That in a very substantial way that God has brought about healing or restoration.
That life, to a large degree, for a time, has been the way it was meant to be,
living for him in his world, flourishing under his kind rule and reign.
And when God does great things in our lives, sometimes they are in very normal ways.
So you see that in verse 5 and 6, this idea of sowing and reaping or planting and harvesting,
this normal rhythm that we're so accustomed to.
But you realize that these normal things are actually great things when you lack them.
And so the farmer who has been through a time of famine will recognize how great it is when the crops grow again,
when the rains come again, when he enjoys these rhythms that sustain life.
There's lots of secondary reasons why a harvest happens,
but the author of this psalm recognizes that the primary reason that the harvest happens
is because God has done something great.
That's the primary reason that God has restored our fortunes.
And so sometimes these great things that God does happen in normal ways.
Sometimes they happen in more unusual ways.
So some people would see that in this psalm,
that the people have been brought back from exile into the land of Israel,
into their spiritual homeland, back from captivity,
which is reflected in this word Zion in verse 1.
They've been brought back to Zion, back to Jerusalem, back to Israel.
And this is a remarkable great thing that God has done in their life,
that he has restored their fortunes in a remarkable way.
And so the psalmist recognizes that God in the past has done great things.
These great things bring great joy.
In verse 1, we were like those who dreamed.
This is too good to be true.
You have to pinch yourself because it feels like a dream.
What you'd love to happen has happened.
What you never thought possible in this life has come to pass.
It is a joy that is too great for words.
In verse 2, our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
We laugh at jokes,
but it's more rare that we laugh with joy,
where something has happened in our life that is so great,
that God has done something so wonderful,
that all we can do is laugh and shout with joy.
You've seen it in the Olympics over the last little while.
Mondo Duplantis,
if you saw Mondo Duplantis breaking the world record for the pole vault,
and the commentator is talking, talking, talking,
filling the airtime about how wonderful it is and how great it is,
what's Mondo Duplantis doing?
He's just laughing, and his friends and his family are just shouting with joy
at what has happened.
And of course, as God's people,
we recognize that God has done great things
that bring great joy in our lives.
There's a story in the Bible of a husband and wife.
The man is called Abraham,
and the wife is called Sarah.
They're both well into their 90s,
and God promises them that they will have a son.
And Sarah's response to that is to laugh.
And the reason she laughs is because she thinks it's a joke.
Are you joking me, God?
Don't you realize our age, God?
Well, God goes ahead and keeps his promise to them
and does this great thing in their lives.
Sarah has a baby, and after she has the baby,
she laughs again, but this time it's not because it's a joke.
This time it's with joy.
Listen to what she says in chapter 21 of Genesis.
God has made laughter for me.
Everyone who hears will laugh over me.
And she said,
Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?
Yet I have born him a son in his old age.
And so she laughed with joy because God had done great things.
Because God has done great things that gives this joy
that is too great for words.
And it is a joy that is undeniable.
In verse 2, in the second half of the verse,
then it was said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for them.
The nations around Israel would have had their own so-called gods,
and they would have at least have acknowledged
that Israel had their own God as they sought, Yahweh.
They would have said something like,
well, you have your God, and we have our God,
and that's fine, and we'll respect each other,
but they're separate,
and so that's the way it is meant to be.
And yet even in that confused worldview,
they cannot help but recognize
the joy that God's people have
at the great things that he has done.
The nations say of them,
God has done great things
because they see the joy that they have.
And you know, on more than one occasion,
when somebody has come along to a church gathering,
and I've chatted to them afterwards,
and they will say to me,
well, I don't have the same faith as you,
I don't have the same belief as you,
they're essentially saying,
I don't have the same God as you,
they will often say,
that singing was amazing.
There was such joy there
because they recognize,
even though they disagree,
that God has done great things,
that there's such joy among these people.
One commentator writes about this psalm,
this is John Calvin,
he says,
the writer's intention was to encourage
extravagant rejoicing,
lest forgetfulness should bury
the remembrance of God's grace.
Indulgence in such celebration
was entirely appropriate.
Today, similar joy should characterize
the assembly of the Lord's people
whom he has gathered.
God has done great things for us.
For you.
And that is what moves us
to ask him to do it again.
Restore our fortunes, Lord.
Well, I mentioned that we had baptized
a couple of people in the River Lee in July.
Yatzec and Christian,
both guys, I think in their 40s or 50s,
who had come to faith in recent times.
Yatzec shared with me his story
beforehand,
and I asked him,
was it okay for me to share this?
And he says it was.
Yatzec lost his father and his mother
at a young age.
And this, as you can imagine,
had a profound impact on his life.
Yatzec said this,
I felt completely abandoned
by everyone,
including God.
I felt useless
and unwanted.
No one cared about me
or what I did.
In my heart,
there was only emptiness,
as if I had died
while still alive.
There wasn't a week that went by
without me drinking
to the point of unconsciousness.
I was 16 or 17 years old then.
I never sought a return to God.
About two years ago,
and now we're talking about 2022,
after another downfall,
I lost the will to live.
I had a plan
to swim far out to sea,
to go under,
and never to return.
I don't remember
if it was exactly the next day
or shortly after
I had planned everything.
I met a man
whom I'd known
for a few months.
He had never mentioned God
or anything
about such topics,
and suddenly
he handed me a card
advertising a course
in Cork Baptist Church.
I looked at it
and thought,
is this a joke?
Are you kidding me?
God,
why are you doing this?
Why now?
Where were you all my life?
I didn't want to read it.
I didn't want to acknowledge
that card's existence.
When I started reading it,
what I remember
is not the exact words,
but to me,
it sounded like God saying,
I know you,
and I know what you're planning.
I have something different for you.
Just come back to me.
Since then,
almost a year and a half
have passed.
In the church,
I met many wonderful people,
my new family.
For the first time,
I read the Bible
and realized how little
I knew about Jesus.
The problem is,
we can't control life.
It will always be difficult
on earth.
I never was
and never will be perfect.
Through this journey,
I understood that
even when I want to escape
from life's challenges,
God is reliable
and gives me hope
to endure
until I am with him
in heaven
in perfect peace
and security.
There's less and less
pessimism in me
and more and more hope
and only Jesus Christ
can give freedom.
The same yesterday,
today,
and forever.
And as we baptized Jacek,
I couldn't help
but thinking
he had planned
to swim out to sea,
to go under the waters
and never to come up.
We brought him
under the waters,
symbolizing his death
with Jesus,
but we brought him
back out of the water,
symbolizing his resurrection life
with Jesus.
I couldn't help but thinking
God has done
great things
for Jacek
and he has done
great things
for you.
And as you reflect
on the last week,
it is worth thinking
what are some of the great things
that God has done?
And they may be
just normal things
that we take for granted
the day-in,
day-out rhythms of life
where he sustains us,
sowing and reaping,
planting and harvesting,
sleep and rest,
work,
family,
friendships,
relationships,
creativity.
And you recognize
that there are many
secondary reasons
for us enjoying
these things,
but the primary reason
is that God
has given us
these things.
He has done
great things.
And sometimes
we will have
more unusual moments
where God
has done great things
that are truly remarkable.
Maybe not delivery
from captivity
in Babylon,
but something
like for Jacek
that is
truly
remarkable.
And we need
to hear this,
don't we,
this morning,
that God has done
great things for us.
Because sometimes
we forget.
sometimes
in life
it just gets busy.
But it is good
to remember
that God
has done
great things
and it moves
us to plead
with him
to restore
our fortunes
again.
That's the first
thought.
God has done
great things
and here's the
second one.
God will do
great things
for you.
He's done
it before.
he will
do it
again.
Verse 4,
restore our
fortunes,
Lord,
like streams
in the Negev.
Now the Negev
is a barren,
dry,
desert,
arid,
parched
land
where nothing
seems to be
happening
and there seems
to be no
life.
But then
the rains
come and
the river
beds are
suddenly filled
with torrents
of water
and the
flowers
flourish
as if from
nowhere
and the
plants grow
and the
animals return
and suddenly
what was
barren
and lifeless
and seemingly
dead
is again
thriving
and it
is virtually
overnight
that God
has done
this and
the author
of the
psalm
wants God
to restore
their fortunes
in this
way
quickly.
Do something
quickly,
Lord.
And that
is what
we long
for.
If we
are in
a time
where it
just feels
like our
relationships
or our
work
or our
family life
is just
tough going
like the
Negev,
we want
him to
do something
quickly.
And sometimes
he does
do this
quickly.
Sometimes
he will
restore
our
fortunes
quickly.
I was
chatting
with another
man in
our
congregation.
David is
his name.
He was
happy as
well for
me to
share this.
David told
me that
he had
been living
in Dublin
for a
time.
He was
in a
new city,
new job,
and on
one particular
occasion there
was just
stress on
every area
of his
life.
so he
hadn't
yet
connected
with
people,
so very
little
friendship.
I hadn't
yet connected
with the
church.
He was
in this
new city.
He was
two days
from being
homeless
because of
his landlord
wanting him
out of the
house.
His team
at work
was in
open rebellion
against his
boss,
and so in
every area
of life he
was just
under this
stress,
so stressed
that he
got physically
ill on the
way to
work one
morning.
And David
said to
me that
he loves
sharing this
story because
by one
o'clock that
day everything
had been
changed by
God.
Work,
relationships,
accommodation,
everything had
been changed.
It was like
streams in
the Negev,
and he
acknowledges
that that
was God.
There was
lots of
secondary
reasons,
but the
primary reason
was that
God did
great things.
And you
know,
sometimes God
will do
great things
in our
lives very
quickly,
but sometimes
it's a
longer
process.
In
verse 5,
those who
sow with
tears will
reap with
songs of
joy.
The image
here is of
sowing and
reaping,
planting and
harvesting.
this isn't
a flash
flood that
brings
restored
life.
Planting and
harvesting takes
time and
effort and
patience, and
it is hard
work, it is
intense, and it
can be sad at
times.
Particularly so
if you are a
farmer who has
been through a
year or two or
more of famine,
seed, and
you are going
to plant, and
you are
literally throwing
it away, and
you are thinking
to yourself, this is
all or nothing, I
have nothing left.
If the rains don't
come, if the
harvest doesn't
come, this is it.
And so you
can understand
in verse 5 why
some will sow
with tears, and
then you have to
wait, and
wait, not
just days or
weeks, but
months.
And
eventually,
something starts
to happen.
Eventually, there
are little green
shoots,
breaking up
through the
soil, leaves,
crop, harvest,
and it has
felt like an
eternity, but
the remarkable
thing is that if
you've taken a
snapshot of the
field before
and after, the
transformation is
just as dramatic
as streams in
the Negev.
Now, it has
taken time, but
it is just as
dramatic to see
this field now
flourishing.
It has taken
time and
tears, and it
has been tough,
but the promise
is that God
will do great
things, even
when it is
slower than
we would
want, slower
than we would
like, and when
we're waiting, it
can feel like an
eternity as we
cry out to
him.
what's striking
though is that
God does great
things, not
just in our
circumstances, but
he does great
things in us.
It's interesting
that verse 6
seems to repeat
verse 5.
So verse 6,
those who go out
weeping, carrying
seed to sow, will
return with songs
of joy, carrying
sheaves with
them.
Now, at first
glance, that just
seems to be a
repetition of
verse 5, maybe
to underline it,
maybe to amplify
it, but you
notice that the
focus has
shifted in
verse 6.
So in verse
5, the focus
is on the
sowing and
the reaping, and
it's kind of a
secondary thought,
the way in which
the sowing and
the reaping is
happening.
But in verse
6, the focus
is on those
who go out
weeping,
returning with
songs of joy,
and the
sowing and
the reaping
are kind of
the secondary
thought.
And so what
you realize is
that there has
been more than
one transformation
here, that
God has been
doing something
great, not
just in the
land, bringing
a harvest, but
in the one
going out,
sowing with
tears.
And what you
realize is that
yes, God
cares about
crops and
about land
and about
his creation,
but actually
he cares
even more
about the
one weeping.
And so
he promises
us that
he will do
great things
in you,
in his
people,
where those
tears being
sown now
will be
transformed
into joy.
many.
And sometimes
it'll be
quickly, and
sometimes it'll
feel like an
eternity, but
we can be
sure that
he will do
great things
again.
And that
moves us to
plead with
him to do
this.
In that story
that I mentioned
back at the
start of the
man whose
friend named
the boy
after him,
and he
had this
moment of
regret and
sadness that
he hadn't
responded better.
Forty years
pass and the
boy grows up.
He goes by
the name of
Jack, and
the relationship
between the
friend John
and the
son Jack
are not
easy.
So it's
difficult at
times, it's
awkward at
times, there's
misunderstanding at
times, there's
conflict at
times.
And John
regrets his
own words and
thoughts and
actions.
But at the
end of the
book, John
and Jack are
sitting at a
bus stop, and
John asks
Jack, the
friend's son,
if he can
pray a
blessing for
him.
And this is
what he says.
Jack took
his hat off
and set it
on his knee
and closed
his eyes
and lowered
his head,
almost rested
it against
my hand.
And I did
bless him to
the limit of
my powers,
whatever they
are, repeating
the benediction
from numbers,
of course.
The Lord
make his face
to shine
upon thee
and be
gracious
unto thee.
The Lord
lift up his
countenance
upon thee
and give
thee peace.
Nothing
could be
more beautiful
than that
or more
expressive
of my
feelings,
certainly,
or more
sufficient for
that matter.
Then when
he didn't
open his
eyes or
lift up
his head,
I said,
Lord,
bless John
Ames
Boughton,
that's Jack,
this beloved
son and
brother and
husband and
father.
Then he sat
back and
looked at me
as if he
were waking
out of a
dream.
Thank you,
he said.
And what's
remarkable
about that
moment is
not just
that it
has been
40 years
to get
to this
point,
and you
can see
how God
had been
at work
in the
relationship,
but it's
also remarkable
that John
was able
to pray
like this
for Jack,
who had
brought
such
heartache
and such
turmoil,
not only
into his
life,
but into
the lives
of his
own dad
and many
others as
well.
And you
realize that
God had
done great
things in
his own
heart.
And you
know,
it's a good
question for
us to
ponder as
we wait
for God
to do
great
things in
our lives
and in
those around
us.
What's he
doing in
my heart
as I
wait on
that?
What's he
doing in
me?
And
remarkably,
what this
psalm promises
us,
that slowly
but surely
God is
bringing about
transformation,
moving us
from tears
to joy.
God will
do great
things for
you.
And that
moves us
to plead
with him
to do
it.
How can
we be
sure of
this?
How can
we be
sure that
God will
do great
things for
us?
Here's the
reason we
can be
sure of
it.
The
Apostle
Paul writing
to the
church in
Rome says
this,
he who
did not
spare his
own son
but gave
him up
for us
all,
how will
he not
also along
with him
graciously
give us
all things?
There's the
anchor for
the promise
that God
will do
great things
for us.
Paul says
that if
God has
given his
son over
to death
for his
people,
he is not
going to
spare
anything
necessary,
anything
good for
us.
He will
do great
things for
you.
I was
at a
funeral
on
Friday
up in
Dublin,
a man
who had
been part
of the
church
up there,
baptized
when he
was 14
in the
church,
started
playing
music
when he
was 16,
he'd
been
playing
piano
and organ
up until
last month,
he was
80 when
he passed
away.
And
this man
is with
the Lord
now,
Derek
is his
name,
and Derek
would tell
us if he
was here
this morning,
you know,
one day
God will
do
something
great.
Derek
is with
the Lord
in glory
now,
the tears
have been
wiped away,
the pain
and the
suffering
is gone,
and it's
hard for us
to fathom
what that
will be
like,
but we're
assured,
we're assured
that God
will do
great things,
and so we
plead with him
that he
would.
Let's
take a
moment to
ask God
to do
just that.
Heavenly
Father,
we know
that life
in this
world,
we will
never have
it the
way we
would want
it to
be in
a perfect
sense.
Lord,
we recognize
that you
have done
great things
in the
past in
our lives
where you
have brought
substantial
restoration of
our fortunes,
where you
have worked
in ways
that are
sometimes
quite
normal,
it seems,
and sometimes
quite
remarkable.
Lord,
many of
us here
recognize
that and
can testify
to that.
Lord,
help us to
remember that
so that it
would move
us,
Lord,
to call on
you to do
great things
again,
things that
are far
bigger and
greater than
we could
ever ask
or imagine.
Father,
we want to
praise you
that we
have this
promise that
you will do
great things,
and we
know that,
not because
we deserve
it, but
because this
is what Jesus
has assured
us of,
that in him
being given
over to
death,
how will you
not freely
give us all
things?
God,
we long
for you to
do great
things again,
and Lord,
we draw to
mind areas
of our life
where we
feel that
need deeply,
and we
commit these
relationships
and friendships
and other
areas to
you, and
we ask that
you would
do great
things.
And Father,
we praise
you that
there is
coming a
day
when you
will make
all things
new, and
Lord, that
we believe
it, we
can hardly
get our
heads around
it.
But Father,
we look
forward to
that day,
in Jesus'
name,
amen.
We're
going to
sing to
respond to
something of
what we've
been thinking
about, just
reflecting on
God's
goodness, his
faithfulness, and
so on, and
so let's
stand and
sing praise
to God
now.
Thank you.
It's
been
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