Psalm 126: Laughing and Dreaming II

The structure of Ps. 126 is similar to that of Is. 43:16-21, the OT reading for this week. It begins with a retrospective look at a great act of deliverance, then continues with a prayer for something now, and concludes with an oracle of assurance. That is how I will divide my brief exposition of this Psalm.

I. Looking Backwards (vv. 1-3)

No one is sure when this Psalm was written, but it makes most sense as a response to an act of deliverance of the people. The return from exile in 539 makes the most sense as a historical context. But more important than whether we can hook it to any particular date is the dreamy and suggestive language of the Psalm. The phrase "restore our fortunes" is a common biblical phrase, used both in contexts where the person is praying for deliverance (Ps. 14:7) and those where it has already happened or is promised (Deut. 30:3). The result of restored fortunes is given in v. 1: "we were like those who dream." In fact, the word translated "dream" can also be rendered "be strong." I like the play on the word; for those restored both are strong and can now allow their hearts and minds to dream. The word for "dream" (chalam) appears frequently in one other biblical narrative: the story of Joseph. Those restored are dreamers like Joseph.

But the people not only dream or are strong. They also laugh. The word rinah, the "shout of joy" appears three times in the Psalm to characterize the unbridled enthusiasm of the one delivered or awaiting it imminently. Indeed, laughter is the proper biblical response to restored fortunes. In Job 8, where Bildad is criticizing Job for his response to the disaster which has befallen him, he holds out a kind of hope for Job in the future. He says:

"See, God will not reject a blameless person,/ nor take the hand of evildoers./ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,/ and your lips with shouts of joy" (8:20-21).

Though Bildad is harshly judgmental, his hope is carefully worded in language familiar to the Biblical tradition. And so, the people's mouths are full of laughter. So full and evident is this laughter that even the nations notice it. Normally the word "nations" is used to describe people who are planning an attack on Israel or, at least, are ill-disposed towards them. But here the nations marvel. They don't "furiously rage together" (as in Handel's Messiah); they recognized God's work in their midst. Amazing, isn't it?

II. You Restored Us, Restore Us Again (v. 4)

We can't eat yesterday's manna or rely simply on the great acts of God for us in the past. The lesson from Is. 43 stressed a point even more challenging: even the Exodus, the greatest act of deliverance of the people, isn't enough for us today. We were told not to remember the former things (Is. 43:18). So it is here. The Psalmist has enjoyed God's salvation; joy was coming from the heart; but it isn't enough. We don't know what has befallen the individual or the community, but there is need for restored fortunes once more. The phrase "restore our fortunes" is, literally, "(re)turn our returnings" (though there are textual problems with one of the words). In other words, 'turn our fortunes once again, O God.'

The Psalmist asks for fortunes to be turned "like the watercourses in the Negeb." No commentator I have read knows whether this was a proverbial phrase in ancient Israel, but we can easily imagine that it was. The Negeb is the southern desert, a dry and parched land for most of the year but one that literally flows with a torrent of water after an winter storm. The dry gullies can turn almost immediately into life-giving streams. Ah, the Book of Job again comes to mind. When Job upbraids his friends in ch. 6 for deserting him or judging him at a time of need (but Job is overspeaking his point here, I believe), he uses an image of treachery drawn from the lack of water: "My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,/ like freshets that pass away,/ that run dark with ice,/ turbid with melting snow./ In time of heat they disappear;/ when it is hot, they vanish from their place" (Job 6: 15-17). So, the Psalmist is asking for restored fortunes that are the opposite of Job's experience. This time they are life-giving and not betraying. The Psalmist and we are in need for the flowing water from which we can drink deeply.

III. The Promise or Assurance (vv. 5-6)

The Psalm ends on an "up" note. Even though deliverance is not yet in hand, there is a sense that it will happen. It will happen just as surely as the crops come up after one has faithfully planted them. Why does one weep when planting the crops? Why do we "sow in tears?" Perhaps because we recognize that some kind of death happens when the earth is broken up. The seeds die and turn into something else. But the sadness is soon turned to joy when the crop comes up. So the one who sows will come home with shouts of joy.

I think the deepest Biblical theological reflection on this verse is in the Gospel of John. Jesus speaks of his own life in terms reminsicent of this Psalm. Hear his words:

"Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).

And again, from the same Gospel:

"Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy" (16:20).

Conclusion

The task of sowing in tears is ours today, for we stand between the great acts of salvation in the past and the desired act of deliverance in the future. Thus, we sow in tears. Why? Because it takes so much work to sow, and we don't see the fruit of our work right away. We labor in relationships; to establish a career; to gain knowledge; to learn skills. It is so difficult and takes so long. If we didn't love what we did we would have abandoned the effort long ago. Perhaps we have already abandoned many efforts. But we must sow in tears. Yet the promise is that just as restored fortunes came once, that they will come again. So we labor in hope, and we can almost anticipate the laughter that will yet fill the room and our hearts.

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