Sermon – Psalm 126 – Restore Fortunes

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Psalm 126 – Restore Fortunes

March 6, 2016

            Our Lenten Journey with the Psalms is coming to a close.  Over the last few weeks we have learned that we can trust God as our refuge and fortress in times of trouble.  Then we learned to trust God by seeking his face in worship, Bible study and prayer.  We saw in David an example of one who trusted in God as he fled into the desert from King Saul.  And last week we heard that our happiness is dependent on our trusting in God’s forgiveness when we confess our sin.  Trusting God has brought us this far.  But our journey is not yet over.

            Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  We will join Jesus and his disciples in a procession into Jerusalem, and around a table for the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday.  We will join with other churches as we walk with Jesus to the cross, Crosswalk on the Ocean City boardwalk on Good Friday.  And two weeks from today we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  But all of this is still in the future.  We are not there yet. We are still in our pilgrimage, and all we have is hope that comes from trusting God.  We turn to Psalm 126.  But first, let’s pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

            Psalm 126 was traditionally sung by pilgrims making their way to the Jerusalem temple.  It is called a Psalm of Assent.  As pilgrims climbed up the fifteen steps leading to the temple they would sing psalms.  And on the seventh step they would sing the 126^th Psalm.

Psalm 126:1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

            The psalmist remembers a time when God had restored the fortunes of the people.   When the Bible speaks about restoring fortunes it is referring to the changing the conditions that brought about God’s wrath to conditions that bring about God’s blessing and mercy.  The Israelites had angered God by not caring for the poor and needy.  The result was a withdraw of God protection and a period of exile.  But then the conditions changed.  A new generation was born and they were willing to care for the disadvantaged.  God restored them to Jerusalem.

            The people of God had spent a generation in exile from their homes, farms and businesses.  They lived in a foreign land with a strange culture.  They had lost everything but their memories of joyous time past.  They were in an in-between time.  They experienced neither great joy nor intense agony.  But then, suddenly, they were allowed to go home and rebuild.  It came so suddenly it was like a dream.  They could hardly believe it.  God had actually intervened in national affairs with powerful kings.  God used the Persian Empire to free his people.  They were going home.

            As they journeyed back to Jerusalem, they with filled with laughter and joy.  People saw them and said that God had done great things for them.  They thanked God for all he had done. 

            As we look at our lives today we realize that we too have been blessed.  God has given us health and families and church and friends.  God had put us in a beautiful place with plenty to eat.

            But when Israelites arrived at Jerusalem and saw that it was nothing but a pile of rocks they realized that their fortunes had not yet been fully restored.  They realized that they had been freed from the hell of exile but had not yet arrived in heaven.  So they prayed.

           

⁴ Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

            The people of God looked ahead to the daunting task of rebuilding their lives.  It seemed almost hopeless. They needed a miracle.   And then they remembered a miraculous time when God had sent rain on the southern desert.  The wadis filled with water.   The desert began to bloom.  Seeds sown with little expectation of growth in a dry land grew into an abundant harvest.  What they needed was another miracle like that.

            The Israelites were living in an in-between time.  They remembered the joyful blessings of the past and hoped for more joyful blessings in the future.  Most of us today live in an in-between time.  We have plenty of memories of past joys.  And we hope for future blessing.  But today is neither good nor bad.  We want to experience joy once again.

            I once talked with a young woman about her relationship with her boyfriend.  They had been very much in love and were planning to marry.  But one thing led to another and they decided to break up.  Now though, they are getting back together.   They have past memories of joy together and they are motivated by a hope of restored fortunes.  But today, they have lots of issues to deal with.

            I have met many people in physical therapy.  They are thankful to God for the healing that has occurred.  But they know there will be long period of pain and rehab until they can resume normal activities.  Joy is far from their hearts, but they are filled with hope of restored fortunes.

            I know many people who were hurt in 2008 with declining stock prices.  Some had to delay their expected retirement.  Today’s stock market volatility concerns them and there is some fear of another stock market drop.  They remember the joy of accumulating wealth, but now they are not so sure.  All they have is trust that God will restore their fortunes.

            I know of people who left church during a personal crisis.  For some their prayers went unanswered, and they blamed God for their suffering.  But now they feel good being back in church, but they still struggle with unanswered prayer.  They hope that God will restore their joyful faith.

            I know a young man who graduated from college.  He got a good job in his field.  But his company is downsizing because of poor sales.  He doesn’t know if he will still have a job in six months.  He remembers God’s blessing in his life, but now he must rely on hope that God will restore his fortunes.

            I know people who have lived a long and happy lives.  But now they find that growing old is not as easy as it looks.  They wonder how their lives will end, with a bang or a whimper.   They have rich memories of the faithfulness of God, and now they are filled with hope that God will restore their lives.

            We experience these in-between times most of our lives.  We remember God’s faithful blessings in the past.  Today we live normal lives with normal problems.  What we need is hope for God’s restoration in the future.

            This is what the Kingdom of God is like.  Jesus came and said that the Kingdom of God was near.  He demonstrated its presence with signs and wonders.  But the Kingdom has not fully arrived and we still experience the power of evil in our world.    The Kingdom of God is both already here and yet to come.  The church exists in this tension of already but not yet.  We live in an in-between time.  Jesus has already come.  Jesus will come again.  And so we remember the joy of Jesus’ birth, and now rely on hope that he will come again as he promised.  And so like the psalmist we remember:

Psalm 126:1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.
² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

And we pray.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

            Restoring your fortunes requires changing the conditions that caused you to lose your joy.  So here is what you do.  Remember the blessings of your youth, the blessing of your family, the blessings of your career, and the blessings of your church.    And as you remember these blessings, be filled with hope in God, your refuge and strength.  Learn to trust in God’s faithfulness by seeking his face through worship, Bible study and prayer.  Know that God will protect you in the desert.  And God will let you experience happiness when you confess your sin.  Do these things and God will restore your fortunes and you will once again sing songs of joy.   Let’s pray.

            “Generous God, you have heard and answered our prayers and met our needs; and you have forgiven us our confessed sin; so we praise and thank you God for the way you respond to our prayers. We give thanks that you bless us every day with your mercy, and we rejoice that you have turned our tears of remorse into prayers and songs of praise and joy. What amazing things God has done for each of us, as we have been so blessed as members of a community of faith; and also as individuals who seek to love and serve our God. Praise be to God’s Holy Name. Amen.” 

(http://www.thetimelesspsalms.net/w_resources/pentecost22[30]b_2015.htm)