Psa 126:6 | KingComments | STEP | The psalmist asks the LORD if He will change their lot from the danger of the enemy to deliverance by the LORD, which he compares to a change from drought to running water ( ). He asks for a change from tears and weeping to rejoicing ( ). Their prayer is that the LORD will give to those who are going back with so few, the comfort that others will join them. They do not ask to “restore their captivity’, the captivity of those others, but to “restore our captivity”, that is, their own captivity, for their own restoration is not yet the restoration of all. It is prophetically about the great restoration and return of all twelve tribes to Israel. The remnant asks that the LORD changes their fate, a change so great that they compare it to the wilderness of Sinai with its wadis. These are the wadis in the Negev (=the south) wilderness, south of Israel. Wadis are dry river beds, and in the Negev – unlike other places – they are many hundreds of meters wide and come from a very large area. When it rains in the Negev, these dry riverbeds can suddenly turn into a flood of water that wets the entire wilderness and turns it into a beautiful sea of flowers. This great result of the return of all the tribes to the land is not the return from the Babylonian exile. That return consists of only a handful of Jews. Therefore, with the joy of that return, there is also the sorrow of the poverty of the situation ( ). Full joy will soon replace the sorrow that the God-fearing has because of the evil of the world in which he lives ( ). During the great tribulation, he will experience it in fullness, which will cause tears of sorrow. But after that, God will turn their fortunes and bring them into the blessing of the realm of peace where they will enjoy the blessing full of joy. There is now still sowing in tears ( ) because of opposition and enmity from the surrounding nations. All this sowing is done in anticipation of a result that causes joyful shouting. There is rejoicing when the LORD has fulfilled His promises according to His Word, according to His covenant. It proves the truth of the word of the Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes that the end of a matter is better than its beginning ( ). Prophetically we see this in what Isaiah describes. He portrays the return of God’s people as an act of the nations bringing God’s people as a grain offering to the LORD ( ). does have a special application to the Lord Jesus. He is the Sower Who carried the good seed, that is the Word of the kingdom, and sowed that seed ( ). This He has done while weeping, for it has been a hard work (cf. ). But He will “indeed” come again to earth “with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves [with him]”. With sowing, we may think of new life based on the first coming of Christ. With reaping, we may think of His second coming, when He comes in majesty and glory to accept His earthly kingdom. The sheaves are all His own who belong to the twelve tribes. They are sheaves as a result of the seed of the Word which He sowed in them and which has germinated in them, which is the new life, the life which He has given them. This is because He Himself also became the seed. He is the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died, resulting in tremendously rich fruit ( ). When He returns, He will be surrounded by the fruit that is the “result of the anguish of His soul” and “He will see [it and] be satisfied” ( ).

‏ Psalms 126:6

Sowing In Tears, Reaping With Joy

The psalmist asks the LORD if He will change their lot from the danger of the enemy to deliverance by the LORD, which he compares to a change from drought to running water (Psa 126:4). He asks for a change from tears and weeping to rejoicing (Psa 126:5-6).

Their prayer is that the LORD will give to those who are going back with so few, the comfort that others will join them. They do not ask to “restore their captivity’, the captivity of those others, but to “restore our captivity”, that is, their own captivity, for their own restoration is not yet the restoration of all. It is prophetically about the great restoration and return of all twelve tribes to Israel.

The remnant asks that the LORD changes their fate, a change so great that they compare it to the wilderness of Sinai with its wadis. These are the wadis in the Negev (=the south) wilderness, south of Israel. Wadis are dry river beds, and in the Negev – unlike other places – they are many hundreds of meters wide and come from a very large area. When it rains in the Negev, these dry riverbeds can suddenly turn into a flood of water that wets the entire wilderness and turns it into a beautiful sea of flowers.

This great result of the return of all the tribes to the land is not the return from the Babylonian exile. That return consists of only a handful of Jews. Therefore, with the joy of that return, there is also the sorrow of the poverty of the situation (Ezra 3:10-13).

Full joy will soon replace the sorrow that the God-fearing has because of the evil of the world in which he lives (Mt 5:4). During the great tribulation, he will experience it in fullness, which will cause tears of sorrow. But after that, God will turn their fortunes and bring them into the blessing of the realm of peace where they will enjoy the blessing full of joy.

There is now still sowing in tears (Psa 126:5) because of opposition and enmity from the surrounding nations. All this sowing is done in anticipation of a result that causes joyful shouting. There is rejoicing when the LORD has fulfilled His promises according to His Word, according to His covenant. It proves the truth of the word of the Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes that the end of a matter is better than its beginning (Ecc 7:8). Prophetically we see this in what Isaiah describes. He portrays the return of God’s people as an act of the nations bringing God’s people as a grain offering to the LORD (Isa 66:20).

Psa 126:6 does have a special application to the Lord Jesus. He is the Sower Who carried the good seed, that is the Word of the kingdom, and sowed that seed (Mt 13:1-9 ; 18-23). This He has done while weeping, for it has been a hard work (cf. Lk 19:41). But He will “indeed” come again to earth “with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves [with him]”. With sowing, we may think of new life based on the first coming of Christ. With reaping, we may think of His second coming, when He comes in majesty and glory to accept His earthly kingdom.

The sheaves are all His own who belong to the twelve tribes. They are sheaves as a result of the seed of the Word which He sowed in them and which has germinated in them, which is the new life, the life which He has given them. This is because He Himself also became the seed. He is the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died, resulting in tremendously rich fruit (Jn 12:24). When He returns, He will be surrounded by the fruit that is the “result of the anguish of His soul” and “He will see [it and] be satisfied” (Isa 53:11a).