It is a great pleasure to be here with you all this evening to bring you the word.
Please turn with me, if you would, in the word of God to Psalm 126.
Our text this evening is particularly verse 3, but we will look at and read the whole psalm.
Psalm 126, let us hear God's own word.
A song of ascents.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.
The Lord has done great things for us.
We are glad.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
So far, the reading of God's word.
Psalm 126 is one of 15 psalms that all bear the title Songs of Ascents.
Or we might translate that as Songs of Going Up.
Or maybe even Songs of Climbing Stairs.
And scholars are somewhat divided as to exactly what that title means.
But it seems related to the annual pilgrimages that God had said to ancient Israel.
The people were to make three times a year to Jerusalem.
Three times in the year.
Faithful Israelites, at least men with their older sons representing their families, though women and other children could come too.
They were to go to Jerusalem to worship God.
And that must have been quite a burden on a lot of people.
Three times in the year to leave behind family and work.
Many would have been farmers.
They would have been concerned about the farm.
Many would have lived far from Jerusalem, near border areas.
They would have been concerned about enemies coming in to attack, perhaps, while they were gone.
Many would have had to make difficult journeys.
They couldn't just pile the family in the car and drive there in an hour.
And so we may wonder, why did God impose such a difficult burden on his people?
At Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths, they were to go up to Jerusalem to worship.
But God tells his people why he has laid this requirement upon them.
In Exodus 34, verse 24, where he says,
For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders.
No one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
And what God is saying here is,
When you go up three times a year, you will remember that I gave you the land.
And as I gave it to you, so will I preserve it for you.
This is an exercise in which you can remember the blessings of the Lord,
in which you can call to mind again that it is not by the skill of your farming,
that it is not by the strength you have to protect your border,
that you have what you have and you are what you are.
But it is because the Lord has given it to you.
And one of the things that is striking about these 15 psalms,
that may well have been sung when the pilgrims went up to Jerusalem,
or that may well have been sung when the pilgrims arrived in Jerusalem,
is how they celebrate different ways in which the Lord comes to his people to deliver them.
We can summarize them if we wanted to in short lines.
Psalm 120 is about how the Lord delivers.
Psalm 121, how the Lord keeps or guards.
We could go on through the songs of ascents,
how the Lord helps, how the Lord surrounds,
how the Lord builds, how the Lord blesses,
how the Lord forgives, how the Lord remembers.
And you see, these relatively brief songs are all intended to draw the mind of God's people back to the Lord
and to the various ways in which he remembers and blesses and provides for his people.
And this particular psalm, we might well say, could be summarized as the Lord restores.
Verse 1, we read,
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion.
God restores blessings to his people.
That's part of the character of our God.
And the first half of this psalm looks backward,
reflecting on the ways in which God restored his people in times past.
And the second half of this psalm looks forward
to how the Lord is going to restore the fortunes of his people in the future.
So it seemed to me a good psalm to think about at this time of year,
the beginning of a new year,
when we're prone to look back at the year past
and to look forward to the year to come,
that we might also reflect on what God has done
and what God promises that he will do.
And I'd like to suggest tonight that we can take a text from this psalm
for the new year of 2022.
A text that can direct us, inspire us, encourage us,
at least for the rest of the evening.
And it can be a verse, I think, to have in our mind
to encourage us as we live for the Lord in this year.
And that verse is Psalm 126, verse 3.
The Lord has done great things for us.
We are glad.
The Lord has done great things for us.
We are glad.
This verse declares to us that we should know something.
And it's an important thing for us to know
because there are many in this world, sadly, who do not know it
or are those who are prone to forget it.
You and I are prone to forget the truth of this verse
amid the trouble and the difficulty and the struggle of this life.
But this verse calls upon us to know, to acknowledge,
to embrace that unique relationship that exists with our covenant God.
Know that the Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God of his people,
He has done great things for us.
This is a verse about God's grace, about his provision,
about his mercy for his people.
Know that the Lord has done great things for you
if you are among his people.
And that should be a great encouragement for all of us in the new year.
That should help guide and direct us in our living.
We are those for whom the Lord has done great things.
And we need to know that.
We need to remember that.
We need to be reminded of that
so that when we find ourselves in need,
when we find ourselves discouraged,
when we find ourselves depleted,
tired, angry, anxious,
feeling losses in this life,
we can be assured that our God is a restoring God.
That the grace of our God surrounds us as his people to restore us.
So how does this psalm draw us to that truth
that God is a restoring God?
Well, the first half of this psalm really invites us to remember.
To remember what God has done for us in the past.
The Israelites, as they walked to Jerusalem,
had many things to think back on, didn't they?
That God had done for them.
How God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt
through his servant Moses.
How God had established a kingdom and a holy city for them
through his servant David.
How God had brought them back out of exile
and given them once more a land,
even after their sin and disobedience.
Perhaps the particular focus of this psalm.
How God again and again and again restored his people.
And we can look back at the history of the church, can't we?
And think of times of restoration.
Times amid chaos and controversy
when God restored his church.
In the ancient church.
We might think especially of the time of the Reformation.
God throughout the history of his people
comes from time to time
in remarkable power and blessing
to restore our fortunes.
Fortunes there not meaning riches,
but restoring the well-being of his people.
And it is good for us to think back
on those times of blessing
from the hand of the Lord.
As he builds up his church,
as he restores the life of his people.
But it's not just the blessings
that the Lord brings
into the people of God as a whole,
on a grand scale in view here.
This psalm, I think,
invites us to consider
more personally,
more individually,
about those times of blessing
and restoration and renewal
that the Lord brings into our own lives.
In fact, we might notice
that the next psalm
is a celebration of family.
The psalm after that
is a celebration of prosperity,
even in this life.
And I think that's not accidental.
So this psalm encourages us,
and certainly this time of year
encourages us to look back
and think,
how many are the blessings
that I've received
from the hands of the Lord,
even in my own personal life.
Maybe I wasn't at the Exodus,
or at the establishment of Jerusalem
at the capital city,
or even at the Reformation.
None of us here are that old,
I think.
But I see, nevertheless,
in my own family life,
in the life of my friends,
in the life of my work,
the hand of the Lord's blessing,
how he has been with me in the past,
how he has restored
and done so
in so many wonderful ways.
And of course, above all,
when we think of the restoration
of our God,
of his mercies in the past,
we must think of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why we've read
from Acts chapter 3,
the wonderful sermon of Peter,
as he had healed the lame man.
But Peter did not want anyone
to think that this wonderful work of God
came from him,
or from anyone else.
It was a wonderful work of God
that should draw attention
only to Jesus Christ,
and the times of refreshing,
as he wrote.
The times of refreshment
that come from the hand of our Savior.
Times of refreshment.
It's a phrase we find
only there in Acts 3
in the New Testament.
Times of refreshment.
Times of restoration.
But that captures, I think,
the spirit of the first half
of Psalm 126.
That the Lord comes to his people
with times of restoration,
with times of refreshment.
And I hope for every one of us here,
at the end of 2021,
however difficult this year may have been,
a year that has been filled
with real difficulty for many of us,
that we can also look back
and think,
the refreshment of the Lord,
the restoration of the Lord,
the grace of the Lord,
the mercy of the Lord,
has been with me.
And this psalm
is a very happy psalm.
You might just go through some time
and underline
the number of times
the word joy appears
in this psalm.
When the psalmist,
or when the pilgrims, perhaps,
as they're heading towards Jerusalem,
think about what the Lord
has done for them,
they say,
we were like men who dreamed.
Have you ever had that experience?
Something happened to you
that's so good
that you can hardly believe it.
That's what the psalmist here is saying.
When we contemplate
those times of restoring
from the hand of the Lord,
sometimes we just have to step back
and say,
how can this be?
Am I dreaming
that the Lord would be so good,
so kind,
so merciful to me?
How could I have ever deserved this?
Am I dreaming?
Our mouth,
the text says,
was filled with laughter,
and our tongue
with shouts of joy.
Mouths filled with laughter.
It's a beautiful picture,
isn't it?
Laughter, I think,
may not always be
our greatest strength,
especially as Presbyterians
sitting in church,
but this psalm encourages us
to think about
that joy bubbling up in the heart,
so profound that we can't hold it back.
Songs of joy,
such blessings
that the psalmist says,
even the nations,
even the Gentiles
have to stand back and say,
the Lord has done
great things for them.
Great things.
Great things for them.
Do you know
that in your own heart
that the Lord
has done great things
for you?
It is one thing
to say with the nations,
the Lord has done
great things for them.
The nations watched
while Pharaoh
and his armies
were plunged into the sea.
A great thing of God.
And they shuddered.
But it's another thing
to say with the people of God,
the Lord has done
great things for us.
Moses and the Israelites
crossed through
on dry ground.
A great thing of God.
And they smiled.
And of course,
in the coming of our Lord Jesus,
the nations,
the Gentiles,
don't only stand back
and observe
great things of God
or only wonder
at the power of our Lord
as he comes
in great judgment
against them.
But the Lord is now
doing great things
for them too.
Praise God for that
or probably none of us
would be here tonight.
We're included
in the restoration,
in the times of refreshing,
so that we too
can say with Israel of old,
the Lord has done
great things for us.
And we are filled with joy.
Do you know that?
Do you feel that?
It's okay to feel things.
Don't overdo it.
But it is okay to feel things.
And this is what should
well up within us
when we think of the Lord
Jesus Christ
and his saving work for us.
When we think of God's
faithfulness to his people
through the centuries.
When we think
how he overcame
again and again
the sin and rebellion
of his people,
we should be filled
with joy.
We should be filled
with thanksgiving
that the Lord
has done such things,
that the Lord
has done
great things
for us.
It's interesting
to note
just a couple of
psalms over.
In Psalm 131,
David,
in another song
of ascents,
writes,
O Lord,
my heart is not
lifted up,
my eyes are not
raised too high,
I do not occupy
myself with things
too great
and too marvelous
for me.
With things
too great,
with great things.
It's the same phrase.
David the king
is saying,
you know,
great things
aren't really
for me.
Why does he say that?
Not to deny
that he has
responsibilities
that are serious,
but to confess
before the Lord
that even though
he is king,
great things
ultimately,
always,
only belong
to God.
It is God
who is always
the one doing
great things
for his people.
And that's why
we rejoice.
That's why
we are filled
with joy.
That's the truth
of our past
as the people
of God.
But this psalm
goes on to say
that's the truth
of our future
as the people
of God as well.
Verse 4,
restore our fortunes,
O Lord.
This implies
that in the present
things are
somewhat problematic
for the people
of God.
They look back
to a great day
of blessing.
They look forward
to a great day
of blessing,
but they're praying
for that blessing
because the present
is difficult.
Restore our fortunes,
O Lord,
like streams
in the Negev,
like streams
in the wilderness,
like water
in the desert.
What is the picture
of water
in the desert?
It's unexpected,
isn't it?
Because water
is so often
unexpected
in the desert.
But it's also
delightful.
It's powerful.
The delightfulness
of suddenly seeing
the desert
overflowing,
even blooming
in all of its beauty.
That's the image
we're given
for when God
restores the fortunes
of his people.
Unexpected,
delightful,
glorious,
wonderful times
of refreshing
from the hand
of the Lord.
Lord.
And we should
look forward
to that.
We should
anticipate that.
We should be
confident in that.
But there's also
a kind of hard
realism in this
psalm,
isn't there?
The psalmist
is never sentimental,
but is always
honest.
Verses 5
and 6.
Those who
sow in tears
shall reap
with shouts
of joy.
He who
goes out
weeping,
bearing the
seed for
sowing,
shall come
home with
shouts of
joy,
bringing his
sheaves
with him.
This is,
of course,
the picture
of a farmer,
isn't it?
A farmer
who begins
by sowing
the seed
and then
only months
later is able
to reap
the harvest.
And the
picture drawn
here is of
a farmer
who finds
it hard
to do
that work,
knowing that
there will
be fruit
to it
only months
later,
and then
only should
the Lord
bless his
labor.
So the
sowing is
seen as
this hard
struggle
of weeping.
But the
promise is
that out
of that
hard struggle
will come
blessing
and fruit
and joy.
And that's
a description
of the
Christian
life,
isn't it?
First
comes
suffering
and then
comes
glory.
First
comes
suffering
and then
comes
glory.
It's the
picture of
David's
life as
he suffered
under
Saul
and only
later
enjoyed
the fruits
of kingship.
It's
certainly
the picture
of our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
who
suffered
in this
world
only
later
to enjoy
the fruits
of
resurrection,
the glory
of
resurrection.
And the
psalmist
says to
us,
you know,
this may
well be
the picture
of your
life too.
It may
well be
that in
the present
it is
not so
clearly
good.
It is
not so
obviously
joyful.
It is
not so
evidently
wonderful
that this
life is
and often
can be
a life
of weeping.
I
often
think about
this
sometimes
at
baptism
recalling
the
words
of one
of the
old
Reformation
era
forms
for
baptism.
Some
of you
may
know
it.
The
prayer
that
God
in
his
mercy
would
be
pleased
to
call
out
of
this
life
this
one
baptized
out
of
this
life
which
is
nothing
but
a
constant
death.
I've
wondered
is that
too
strong?
does
that
too
much
deny
the
blessings
of
this
life?
The
joys
of
this
life?
I
think
it's
right
to
say
that
this
life
even
amidst
blessing
and
joy
is
filled
so
often
with
suffering
from
sin
that
it
can
be
a
veil
of
tears
if
not
only
at
least
really
and
truly.
But
there
is a
promise
here
isn't
there?
There
is a
promise
of
laughter
of
shouts
of
joy
there's
a
promise
of
times
of
refreshment
even
here
in
this
life.
But
Acts
chapter
3
not
only
promises
times
of
refreshment
in
this
life
but
also
it
calls
us
to
look
forward
doesn't
it?
To
a
time
of
restoration
of
everything.
Acts
chapter
3
verse
20
Pray
that
he
may
send
the
Christ
appointed
for
you
Jesus
who
must
remain
in
heaven
until
the
time
comes
for
God
to
restore
everything.
And at
the beginning
of a
new year
it's
good
for us
to remember
that a
time is
coming
when God
will
restore
everything
when
Jesus
Christ
returns
in
glory.
That's
our ultimate
hope
isn't
it?
God
that
no
matter
how
good
the
harvest
of
2022
will
be,
no
matter
how
glad
we
are
to
turn
the
page
of
the
calendar,
to
move
on
from
difficult
times
for
so
many
of
us
of
isolation,
of
illness,
of
the
needs
we
have
as
sinful
creatures
in
a
sinful
world,
that
this
is
not
a
restoration
of
everything,
but a
restoration
is
promised
to
us
one
day
in
the
glorious
appearing
of
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
And
whatever
the
weeping
of
this
life
has
been,
the
joy
of
that
great
day
will
be
unimaginable
to
everyone
who
is
in
Christ.
We
will
be
like
those
who
dream.
Then
there
will
be
laughter
and
shouts
of
joy
among
the
righteous.
So
as we
remember
God's
restoring
grace
in
the
past
and
as
we
look
forward
to
God's
restoring
grace
in
the
future,
what
are
we
to
do
in
the
present?
Well,
this
psalm
would
say
to
us
we're
to
pray.
Verse
4
is a
prayer.
Restore
our
fortunes,
O
Lord.
In
this
life,
one of
the
great
privileges
and
one
of
the
great
tasks
to
which
we are
called
is the
task
of
prayer.
Many
of you
will
know
one of
John
Calvin's
more
profound
statements
that
prayer
is the
chief
exercise
of
our
faith.
How
do we
build up
our
faith?
It's
by
praying.
Because
prayer
is a
turning
to
God
with
an
acknowledgement
that
he is
in
charge.
God
that
he is
the
one
who
can
do
what
we
cannot
do
for
ourselves.
That
he is
the
one
who
undergirds
us
with the
loving
arms
of a
father.
That
he is
the
one
who
has
given
us
the
gift
of
his
own
son
to
save
us
and
to
preserve
us.
That
he
is
the
one
who
sends
his
spirit
into
our
midst
to
refresh
us.
So it
is good
for us
to call
upon
him,
to plead
with
him,
that he
might
restore
us
when we
are in
need
of
times
of
refreshing,
times
of
restoration.
But we
should be
praying,
shouldn't we,
also for
one another.
We should
be praying
for the
difficult
times that
some of
us
face.
We
should be
praying
for the
church
around
the
world,
some
of our
brothers
and sisters
who are
persecuted,
or living
in parts
of the
world
where the
church
has become
so old
and weak
or
impressed
more with
itself
than with
the Savior
that it
seems
hardly to
function.
We
should be
praying
with the
psalmist,
restore
our
fortunes,
O
Lord.
But as
we pray,
we should
remember,
too,
that our
Lord Jesus
Christ is
still praying
for us.
He
still
knows
our
needs.
He
still
sees
us
in
our
difficulties.
He
prays
to the
Father
for us
that we
might be
guarded
and
protected.
Hebrews
7.25
tells us
He
always
intercedes
for His
people.
Hebrews
4.14
reminds us
He
is still
the
great
high
priest.
Hebrews
9.24
tells us
He
appears
in
God's
presence
for us.
Isaiah
53.13
reminds us
He
made
intercession
for
transgressors.
And that's
a critical
part of
the ministry
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ
that is
still
going on
to this
day.
Does that
encourage you
in your own
praying?
that we
have a
Savior
who also
prays
for us
that when
we
struggle
we can
know
as our
Lord Jesus
Christ
said to
Peter
I have
prayed
for you
that your
faith may
not fail.
I have
prayed
for you
so go
and strengthen
the brothers
in the
faith.
Often
it seems
we pray
just thinking
that if
only we
could pray
hard enough
or long
enough
or loud
enough
then perhaps
then God
would hear
us.
But we
need to
remember
that Jesus
stands there
next to us
and for us
praying with
us as well
as for us
carrying our
prayers to
the Father
standing before
the Father
as the
sacrifice
with his
wounds yet
there present
in heaven
caring for
us
guarding
us
always ready
to restore
us.
Romans
8.34
says
Christ
is at
the right
hand of
God
and is
also
interceding
for us.
He's
there as
the glorified
Savior.
He's
there as
the Son
seated at
the place
of honor
but he's
also there
interceding
still
providing
still
praying
still
ready
to restore
us
in our
need.
And what
an encouragement
is that we
have such a
Savior
and such
a mediator
who always
cares for
us
who never
forgets
us
who never
lets us
go
who never
ceases
to provide
so that
when we
plead to
God
to restore
our fortunes
we can have
confidence
when we
look back
in joy
at God's
restoring
grace
and when we
look forward
in joy
with anticipation
of God's
restoring
grace
we look
ultimately
at our
Savior
and then
in Christ
we can
say
my God
goes before
me
my God
goes with
me
my God
surrounds
me
my God
provides
for me
even
water
in the
desert
even
water
in the
desert
whether
this is
a year
of great
blessing
or a
year
of much
weeping
the promise
of the
Lord
stands
strong
weeping
may last
for a
night
but joy
comes
in the
morning
sowing
may be
tough
in the
springtime
but oh
it is
sweet
in the
autumn
when the
sheaves
are gathered
and that's
the promise
that God
will restore
all things
one day
that there
is a
future
for the
people
of God
but even
in the
meantime
even
now
in the
meantime
God
promises
that he
will season
our lives
with refreshment
that he
will use
his gracious
power
to sustain
us
that in
our need
he provides
that in
our weakness
he is strong
that in
our hunger
and in
our thirst
he prepares
a table
for us
in the
wilderness
before the
presence
of our
enemies
that he
feeds us
with himself
that our
cup
overflows
even as we
come to hear
the word
preached to us
on the
Lord's day
when we see
the eternal
word made
visible
in baptism
in the
Lord's
supper
those signs
and seals
of the
covenant
of grace
we are
nourished
and we
can marvel
in great
confidence
with the
psalmist
and say
God
has restored
my soul
and we
can say
with the
psalmist
surely
goodness
and mercy
will follow
me all
the days
of my
life
for the
Lord
has done
great
things
for us
the
Lord
has done
great
things
for us
we are
glad
let's
pray to
that end
for the
year
2022
amen
let us
pray
oh
Lord
how rich
and encouraging
is your
word
and how
precious
is the
promise
that
in Jesus
Christ
you have
done
great
things
for us
and how
thankful
we are
that beyond
what we
could hope
beyond
what we
could do
you are
our
righteousness
and you
are our
refuge
and you
are our
rest
and we
pray that
out of
that great
saving
work
that you
have done
for us
in Jesus
Christ
that we
might be
a people
who knows
how great
a God
we have
that knows
the greatness
of our
sin and
misery
in our
guilt
that knows
how great
a deliverer
you are
in your
grace
and that
knows how
we are
to be
thankful
to you
for such
a deliverance
and such
a restoration
and gratitude
but Lord
we would also
be bold
to pray
that often
in the new
year
we might
be able
to say
with joy
the Lord
has done
great things
for us
but we
would pray
that even
in the
times of
weeping
that must
come
we would
still say
the Lord
has done
great things
for us
and we
pray that
in this
coming year
our hearts
over and
over again
would be
filled with
praise
and prayer
for you
are great
and good
beyond our
imagining
and we
would also
pray
oh Lord
come
quickly
come
quickly
Lord
Jesus
and restore
everything
and fill
our hearts
and our
mouths
with laughter
and with
songs of
joy
forevermore
hear us
for we pray
in Jesus
name
Amen
excuse me
would you
please stand
for our
final item
of praise
this morning
we sang
Psalm 23
in the
Sing Psalms
version
so I thought
tonight we would
sing it in the
superior version
of the old
Scottish Psalter
so let us
sing the words
of the Psalm
together