SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/11/2012 8:13:49 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 126 PT-1
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Psalm 126:1-3
Message of the verses: We will begin to look at the 126th
Psalm in Today’s SD by looking at a number of different commentators
introduction to the psalm in order to be better able to understand it.
“It was with reference to some great and surprising
deliverance of the people of God out of bondage and distress that this psalm
was penned, most likely their return out of Babylon in Ezra’s time. Though Babylon be not mentioned here (as it
is, #Psalm 137) yet their captivity there was the most remarkable captivity
both in itself and as their return out of it was typical of our redemption by
Christ. Probably this psalm was penned by Ezra, or some of the prophets that
came up with the first. We read of singers of the children of Asaph, that
famous psalmist, who returned then, #Ezra 2:41.
It being a song of ascents, in which the same things are twice repeated
with advancement (#Ps 126:2-3, and #Ps 126:4-5), it is put here among the rest
of the psalms that bear that title.”.
(Matthew Henry)
“A Song of Degrees. This is the seventh Step, and we may
therefore expect to meet with some special perfection of joy in it; nor shall
we look in vain. We see here not only that Zion abides, but that her joy
returns after sorrow. Abiding is not enough, fruitfulness is added. The
pilgrims went from blessing to blessing in their psalmody as they proceeded on
their holy way. Happy people to whom ever ascent was a song, every halt a hymn.
Here the trustor becomes a sower: faith works by love, obtains a present bliss,
and secures a harvest of delight.
“There is nothing in this psalm by which we can decide its
date, further than this, — that it is a song after a great deliverance from
oppression.”Turning captivity" by no means requires an actual removal into
banishment to fill out the idea; rescue from any dire affliction or crushing
tyranny would be fitly described as "captivity turned." Indeed, the
passage is not applicable to captives in Babylon, for it is Zion itself which
is in captivity and not a part of her citizens: the holy city was in sorrow and
distress; though it could not be removed, the prosperity could be diminished.
Some dark cloud lowered over the beloved capital, and its citizens prayed
"Turn again our captivity. O Lord.’
“This psalm is in its right place and most fittingly follows
its predecessor, for as in #Ps 125:1-5, we read that the rod of the wicked
shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, we here see it removed from them
to their great joy. The word "turn" would seem to be the keynote of
the song: it is a Psalm of conversion — conversion from captivity; and it may
well be used to set forth the rapture of a pardoned soul when the anger of the
Lord is turned away from it. We will call it, "Leading captivity captive.’”
(Charles H. Spurgeon)
“Some students connect this psalm with the sudden deliverance
of Jerusalem from Assyrian siege during the reign of Hezekiah (Isa.
36-37). But the Hebrew verb translated ‘turned
again’ in verse one (KJV; ‘brought back,’ NASB, NIV) and ‘turn again’ or ‘restore’
in verse four, is also used to describe the return of the Jewish exiles from
Babylon (Ezra 2:1; Neh. 7:6; Isa. 10:22; Jer. 22:10). Cyrus gave his decree in 537 B.C., and event
prophesied by Isaiah (44:24-45:7).
Isaiah also prophesied the joy of the people at their liberation (Isa.
48:20; 49:8-13; 51:11; 54:1; 55:10-12) and the witness of this remarkable event
to the other nations (Isa. 43:10-21; 44:8, 23; 52:7-10). But once the exiles were back in their land,
their joy began to subside, for life is not always easy when you are making a
new beginning after a time of discipline.
But life is so arranged that we must often make new beginnings, and the
Lord helps us by giving us special encouragements.” (Warren Wiersbe)
Within Us, the Joy of
Freedom (vv. 1-3)
“1 ¶ «A Song of
Ascents.» When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like
those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was
filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among
the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." 3 The LORD has done great things for us; We are
glad.”
I think by now that those who are familiar with the writings
of this Spiritual Diary know the background of the nation of Israel, but in case
they don’t I want to give just a brief history of the nation of Israel. God called a man named Abram, an idol
worshiper to go into what we call the Promised Land with his wife and God would
give them children. Abram, who was later
named Abraham by God was 75 years old when he followed the Lord by moving into
the Promised Land and his wife was 65 years old. God did indeed give them a son and then later
on God gave Isaac their son two sons, one who would follow the Lord named
Jacob, and one who would not follow the Lord named Ishmael. Jacob would have twelve sons and their family
would end up in Egypt where they would multiply to more than a million people
some four-hundred years later when God would do ten miracles through Moses
which would bring this family, now a nation out of Egypt in what is called the
Exodus. Forty years later the second
generation would go into the Promised Land and conquer it led by Joshua. Their generation and the next would follow
the Lord, but later generations would not follow the Lord. Later on God would raise up David to be king
over Israel and God would promise that the coming Messiah would be a descendant
of David. In 722 B.C. the Assyrians
would conquer ten tribes of Israel and then in 586 Babylon would conquer Judah
and take them captive into Babylon where they would live for the next 70
years. Now it is good to know that there
were representatives of all the twelve tribes of Jerusalem in those who would
go into captivity in Babylon. It is believed that the psalmist who wrote Psalm
126 was one of those who returned to the Promised Land and he truly had a hard
time believing that the Lord had fulfilled the promises that were written in
the books of Isaiah, and Jeremiah stating that this would happen and so he
writes “The Lord has done great things for us; We are glad.” We see that phrase in other places in the
Scriptures by different people of the Bible.
Moses in Deut. 10:21, Job in 5:8-9; Samuel in 1Samuel 12:24; David in
2Samuel 7:21-23, the prophet Joel in Joel 2:21, and Mary in Luke 1:49, and we
also see it from an unnamed demoniac in Luke 8:39. Dr. Wiersbe states “This ought to be the
confession of every Christian and every local church.” Dr. Bob Cook states “If you can explain what
is going on, God did not do it.” It
seems from these first three verses that the only way that the psalmist could
explain it was to say that the Lord had brought them back.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have seen things that have happened in my
life that the only way to explain it was that the Lord did it. This happened to me in Jan. of 1974 when the
Lord saved me. I was not looking for God
when I went to Florida in 1974, but God called me to be His child there and my
life has never been the same, and because of that I can echo what the psalmist said,
“The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.” The Lord has done great things for me and I
am glad.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Give thanks to the Lord for
the great things that He has done for me.
Memory verses for the week:
1Cor. 13:8-10
8 Love
never fails; if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there
are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesize in
part, 10 but when the perfect comes the partial will be done away.
10/11/2012 9:17:14 AM
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