Bringing in the Sheaves (Psalm 126)

Psalm 126:1-6

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us, we are glad.
Restore our fortunes O Lord, like streams to Nigeb!
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

As a kid I grew up singing the hymn "Bringing in the Sheaves" on Sundays in afternoon church service. I was studying this psalm this past week, when the music to that old hymn by Knowles Shaw from 1874 got brought back to my memory. This song was inspired by Psalm 126, specifically verse 6 "He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy; bringing his sheaves with him."
The last two stanzas and chorus goes:

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither dark clouds nor winter's chilling breeze,
By and by the harvest , and the slave labor's ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Going forth with laughter, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained, the child often grieves;
When our weeping is over, He will tell us gently,
We shall come to heaven, bringing in the sheaves

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

I've heard this song many times over the years, but never knew until this week that it was inspired by Psalm 126. This psalm is a community lament that remembers a time of God's mercy on his people and asks for a fresh showing of His mercy. In times of crisis and trouble, God's people may take encouragement from past events of mercy and pray for more of it.
In verse 1- the writer describes the Lord's mercy as so great- that it is like that of a dream!
The writer continues to call for the Lord's restoring to be as that of the streams of Negeb. Negeb- a southern region of Judah that was especially dry and desert like- would be green and fertile land with plants if the dry gullies were to run as streams through it.
A calling and plea to be restored. For dry and weary hearts to be restored and made new- pleading for water to come to the thirsty souls.
It sounds so backwards in the last few verses. That those who sow in tears, those who go out weeping, shall come home with shouts of joy and bringing the sheaves in with them. Who wants to sow in tears?
And yet- isn't this so often how work for the Kingdom goes? Alot of sowing in tears, alot of hard and overwhelming nights when I feel like all I have is questions for the Lord, pleading over and over for those I love to be brought into a saving faith. Alot of what looks like fruitless labor.

But the hope that lies in Psalm 126 is amazing. The harvest will come! And maybe it won't be me seeing the fruit of my labor in this small town ministry, maybe it won't be till Heaven when I get to see all those I love with the Master, but oh this psalm speaks of joy in the harvest!

"The Lord has done great things for us, we are glad."

Yes, the Lord has done, is doing, and will continue doing great things in the work here in Eureka.

"The gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches."- Charles Hodge