THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXXVI. Encouragement To Keep Doing God’s Will

(Psalm 126:1-6)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Our Church is preparing to disciple children and teens a week from now in our Vacation Bible School ministries, for God calls us to make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). However, we often need encouragement to keep doing God’s will even with regard to VBS, and such a time is now:

(1) Violent crime is becoming common all over: (a) In our area, “the shooting of five people at Waterbury’s Brass Mill Center” June 3^rd “serves as a reminder . . . that . . . violent animosity is prone to explode into gunfire at any moment.” (Mall shooting fuels broader dysfunction,” Republican-American, June 6, 2025, p. A6). (b) On the national scene, “clashes . . . between federal immigration authorities and protesters seeking to block them from carrying out deportations” in Los Angeles has escalated to demonstrators “hurling rocks and chunks of cement” with “federal agents in riot gear” unleashing “tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.” (Eric Thayer and Jake Offenhartz, “National Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles on Trump’s orders,” Republican-American, June 9, 2025, p. A9)

(2) Financial greed permeates even federal government programs: “‘The Affordable Care Act followed the same approach to expand Medicaid to able-bodied adults without children. The law’s authors knew that the allure of 100% federal financing for the first three years and 90% thereafter would entice even red states to expand their programs. . . . Such adults now comprise 40% of the Medicaid case load.’” (“Quotable,” Ibid., citing John F. Cogan, “Medicaid Is Overdue for a Big Beautiful Overhaul,” Wall Street Journal, June 4)

(3) Dysfunction marks many schools and homes: “Parenting has declined not just because welfare policy is . . . subsidizing fatherlessness and child neglect, but also because government and schools have let parenting decline by eliminating behavioral and academic standards for both parents and students. There are no penalties for parents who fail to see that their children get to school reliably . . . There are no penalties for parents or students when students fail to learn . . . (and) Connecticut’s only comprehensive policy of public education – social promotion – destroys behavioral and academic standards.” (Chris Powell, “How spending devalues education,” Ibid., June 2, 2025, p. A6)

(4) The local church is the vehicle that 1 Timothy 3:15 reveals is the pillar and foundation of the truth that God uses to disciple the nations, but problems exist there, too: (a) T. A. McMahon of The Berean Call wrote in the “TBC Notes” section of the October 2003 TBC newsletter, “(W)e’re receiving more and more letters from our readers bemoaning the fact that they can’t find fellowship in the Lord. Most churches in their area have capitulated to various unbiblical trends or outright heresies.” (b) That report was made 21 years ago, but the trend has only grown: We received a flyer in last week’s mail from a church whose lead pastors are a husband and wife combo. They hold to the “essential beliefs” of the divine inspiration of the Bible, the Trinity, the Fall of man into sin and Salvation by faith alone in Christ! However, they assert freedom for its members to hold to whatever “non-essential beliefs” they want! Issues like tongues speaking, homosexuality, transgenderism, eternal security, the time of the rapture and women pastors are realms where people have freedom to believe as they desire even if the Bible clearly comments on them!

Need: So, we ask, “In view of today’s great hurdles, what support does God offer for us to keep doing His will?”

I. Psalm 126:1-3 recalls the thrill of the nation when God brought back Israel’s captives from Babylon:

A. The return of the captives had seemed like a dream in contrast to the previous sufferings of captivity, v. 1.

B. Laughter, songs of joy and even remarks by Gentiles nations that God had done great things for Israel’s people marked that time of relief, Psalm 126:2.

C. The psalmist acknowledged that God had done great things for them, what had filled them with joy, v. 3.

II. However, though joyful over their return from captivity, the nation faced hardships, so the psalmist asked God to complete the nation’s restoration, Psalm 126:4-6:

A. The psalmist asked God to restore Israel’s fortunes by completing the return of all the captives, likened to the seasonable wadis (‘apiq, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 67) of the “negev” (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 108), the desert in southern Judah, Psalm 126:4. These streams “in the dry season have little or no water but . . . in the rainy season overflow their banks. Under God’s ‘showers of blessings’ the highways from the east would be full of returning captives” (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 884-885).

B. The soil had lain fallow for seventy years, so it left the fields difficult to plow and plant for a harvest. Consequently, the psalmist hoped that those who sowed in tears would reap with songs of joy, Psalm 126:5.

C. Since Israel was basically an agricultural society, the psalmist broadened the experience of Israel’s farmers in working the soil to the nation’s whole restoration to its former way of life. He hoped that he who went out weeping, carrying seed to sow, would return with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves with him, Psalm 126:6. The work to restore the land to its former habitable state would take hard, tearful work, but with God’s blessing that effort would yield the blessing of fruitfulness and a restored nation. (cf. Galatians 6:9)

Lesson: Though the psalmist expressed his joy along with Israel’s joy of being released from Babylonian Captivity to return to Israel, he asked God to finish bringing all the captives back so that the difficult task of restoring the nation to its former habitable state would be completed with God’s joyful blessing.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) If God leads us to do a work for Him, may we rely on Him for the power and motivation to complete that task, regardless how difficult, that we might rejoice in its completion.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

There are some Scripture passages that address what Israel faced in returning to the Promised Land from the Babylonian Captivity, and they give us insight and encouragement relative to this sermon’s lesson (as follows):

(1) In Ezra 4:18-24, Gentile foes of the Hebrews who initially returned from Babylon under Ezra the priest opposed Israel’s rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. They sent a letter to Ahasuerus king of Persia warning that a rebuilt Jerusalem would cause Israel to rebel against him, so the king sent a response putting a stop to the restoration.

(2) God in Ezra 5:1-2 then raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people of Israel to build the temple, so they began to rebuild the temple that Babylon had destroyed.

(3) When Israel’s Gentile enemies tried to oppose them, the Hebrews continued to work on rebuilding the temple until a letter was sent to the new king Darius petitioning him to have the Hebrews stop the work, Ezra 5:3-17. Darius followed his predecessor king Cyrus’ wish to rebuild the temples of the gods of the nations whose people came under his control in honor of those gods (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Ezra 1:2), so he gave strong orders for the Gentiles not only to allow the Hebrews to continue to rebuild their temple, but then to provide goods the Hebrews needed to carry on their worship at the temple under pain of execution for disobeying his command, Ezra 6:1-12. Thus, the Gentiles obeyed the order and the Hebrews kept on building the temple, Ezra 6:13-14a.

(4) Ezra 6:14b reported that the prophets Zechariah and Haggai kept encouraging the people of Israel to keep building the temple, and (a) Zechariah 4:6-10 told how Zechariah informed Israel’s governor Zerubbabel that the great figurative mountain of a job he faced in rebuilding the temple would be achieved “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b-7 KJV). The hands of Zerubbabel who laid the foundation of that temple would also finish it, Zechariah 4:9, for “who had despised the day of small things?” The Hebrews who had seen the temple of Solomon in all of its grandeur viewed Zerubbabel’s rebuilt temple as nothing in comparison to the former temple, a source of discouragement. However, God sought to encourage them to get the temple rebuilt.

(5) The prophet Haggai in Haggai 2:1-9 addressed this discouragement as well, noting that the people who had seen the former temple of Solomon in all its grandeur viewed Zerubbabel’s temple rebuilt out of burned, used stones to be as nothing in comparison (Haggai 2:1-3). Nevertheless, Haggai encouraged the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Joshua and the people of Israel to work, for the Lord was with them (Haggai 2:4). God Who had been with Israel when she came out of Egyptian bondage was still with them as they had come out of Babylonian Captivity, so the people of Israel were not to be afraid (Haggai 2:5). The glory of the Millennial Kingdom temple would be greater than the glory of Solomon’s temple, meaning that the temple being built by Zerubbabel, though not as glorious as either the past temple or the future Millennial temple, kept the plan of God moving forward as it kept the centralized worship of Israel going to connect the past with Israel’s glorious future, Haggai 2:6-9 (Ibid., B. K. C., O. T., p. 1542).

(6) Thus, the Hebrews kept building and finished the temple in accord with Darius’ edict. In dedicating the temple, the “offerings were on a much less lavish scale than those at the dedication of the Temple of Solomon which involved more than 200 times as many oxen and sheep (1 Kings 8:63). The people were much poorer and fewer in number at this time” (Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Ezra 6:16). Nevertheless, the people set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of God at the temple in accord with the Law of Moses, Ezra 6:17-18. Israel kept the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread with joy since the Lord had turned the heart of king Darius to them to strengthen their hands in the work of the temple, Ezra 6:19-22.

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. If God leads us to perform a task for Him, may we trust Him for the capacity to finish the work.