Psalm 126:1

New Living Translation

When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!

For Meditation

Feel the joy of the Psalmist when he wrote the one hundred and twenty-sixth Psalm. Imagine the atmosphere of the people as they ascended to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, bearing their sacrifices. Just close your eyes and hear the music in the air.

Nothing beats the sensation a pleasant surprise brings into the life of the unexpectant. The Psalmist illustrates a similar situation when the Lord brought the exiles back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile (Psalm 126:1). He says it was like a dream.

When I read about the laughter and the songs of joy that filled the air, they take me back to the Old Polo grounds in Accra on the eve of 6th March 1957, when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared independence for Ghana. I can still feel the electricity in the air from the footage of that evening. No African country had ever gained independence from colonial rule, and few people thought it was possible in their time. Their shock made the occasion so extraordinary -like a dream.

The Assyrians had brought the Northern Kingdom to an end by exiling its people and re-populating it with people from afar. So, Judah, their sister nation in Babylonian exile, asked how they could ever return to their native land. False prophecies had destroyed every hope and drowned the voice of God through Jeremiah. They had forgotten how God had promised seventy years for the Babylonian exile (Jeremiah 29:4-23). But the faithfulness of the Lord never fails.

The people found themselves back in Judah with a rebuilt Jerusalem, temple, and walls to celebrate the goodness of God. The nations marveled at the amazing thing God had done for His people – a testimony to His glorious name (Psalm 126:2-3).

I don’t know your situation this morning, but I know the God of compassion and love who can restore your fortunes as He did for Judah. He can turn your mourning into dancing, your darkness into light, and your weeping into laughter. His name is El-Shaddai – God Almighty. You know Him if you have found refuge in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Trust in His promises, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, [and] faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). He will come through for you in due time.