Mark's Blog

Reading: Psalm 126

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
then were we like those who dream.

Then was our mouth 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,
and we are glad indeed.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses of the Negev.

Those who sowed with tears
will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed,
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheave.

This is a psalm of restoration—which might not seem appropriate in an Advent meditation—except it is! Is not The Coming more than one event?  Has He not come?  Will He not come again?  Did He not do great things at the First Coming?  Will He not restore at the New Coming?

One might argue that the New Coming will not be restoration, but re-creation. The reality is that God always intended creation to be heaven on earth! We wrecked the First Creation with our pride and haughtiness. Jesus restored the fortunes of Zion when He came, and when He comes that restorative work will be completed on earth as it is in heaven!

Look at our reaction to all of this Coming on the part of the Lord! We can hardly believe He is doing it! It is like a dream that He would restore us—but it must be the best dream ever!  We laugh just thinking about it!

And we can’t stop talking about the great things that He has done—everywhere—all the time—we can’t stop talking and shouting about it.

And singing about it—songs of joy!  Life with and without the Coming is full of tears—lots of pain, lots of loss. We have all cried—sobbed—but The Coming turns those hopeless tears into purposeful participation in the harvest of joy! I thought my tears were just poured out onto dry ground, but The Coming revealed to me that the ground had been restored and the seeds of joy were just waiting for that watering!

The penultimate verse is in the past: “Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy!”

The final statement, however, is the future: “Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheave.”

Maybe we should break out the old songbooks and sing Bringing In the Sheaves more often to remind us of His Coming!