Psalm 126:1-6 NKJV
126 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
On this Psalm, Luther writes: “This Psalm ends with a remarkable and glorious conclusion; which embraces, in a few words, the whole counsel and immutable decree of God concerning his church; namely, that it behooved Christ first to suffer, and then to be raised up, and exalted of God and glorified. And also, Christians must first fill up a certain measure of afflictions before they enter into their joy; while on the contrary, the men of the world fill up a certain measure of their joy before they are eternally punished and damned.” (A Manuel on the Psalms, pg. 353)
This is one of those truths of the Christian faith that man’s flesh struggles with and avoids. Yet, if Christians are taught the Word of God properly, they’ll be brought to understand that Christ crucified is the central image of God’s Word.
Man, however, can also be presumptuous in thinking that they can easily handle afflictions. Christ dealt with this with the two sons of Zebedee (see Mt. 20:20-23). Johann Spangenberg writes about that encounter: “Because the words of Zebedee’s sons sprang from an utter lack of understanding, Christ was lenient with them… In other words, He is saying, “You will certainly suffer distress and tribulation for My sake, and finally enter into My kingdom through death, and reign there not for a time but eternally. Before that time, however, you will suffer a terrible fall…”
“But I have prayed to the Father for you, that your faith may not fail and be extinguished. Therefore do not worry now about the reward. Only labor and let the Father worry. Everyone will be rewarded according to his labor, and My Father will distribute the reward according to His pleasure. As it says in the psalm, “Those who sow with tears will reap with joy,” (vs 5) And St. Paul says, “If we suffer together, we will also reign together.” (2 Tim. 2:12) (The Christian Year of Grace, Matthew Carver, pg. 428)
Let us pray: O Lord, mercifully sustain us as we inevitably sow in tears, and bring us to rejoice in Christ’s glory. Amen.