Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: Psalm 126
The events in Psalm 126:1-3 are very exciting. We think about the people and their happiness. And we imagine that these events have only just happened. But verse 4 shows that this is not in fact correct.
In verse 4, the poet prays. He uses similar words to the words that he used in verse 1. There is trouble in Jerusalem again. It is a similar situation to the trouble that he described in verse 1. In the original language (called Hebrew), he asks God to ‘turn round’ to save his people again. Again, the situation seems hopeless. Again, the poet must pray for God’s help.
And now we understand why the poet wrote about the incident in verses 1 to 3. He needed to remind himself about God’s goodness. He needed to remember that God wants to save people. He needed to declare that God is good. So the poet praised God for his kindness during that former incident. And this gave the poet confidence to ask God to do it again.
The poet compared the current situation to the streams in the south of Israel. For much of the year, those streams are completely empty. The ground dries up and it becomes like a desert. There is no water in the entire region. You can only find the routes where the streams used to flow. But when rain returns to that dry land, the streams are full again. And where there is water, plants grow. The desert soon becomes like a garden. The situation has changed completely because God has sent rain.
God’s people needed their situation to change completely. Only God could do it. And the poet was confident that God would do it.
Next part: A lesson about seeds and the harvest
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© 2015, Keith Simons.