July 8, 2007

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Sow in Tears; Reap in Joy

 

Introduction: Psalm 126:1-6

 

“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:1-6.)

 

Verse 1: There is no doubt that this psalm was written by someone who experienced the captivity of Israel in Babylon. For seventy years, they experienced the humiliation of dominion by a heathen power because of their disobedience to God. Israel was not an innocent sufferer; they were not martyrs. God sent the punishment after years of warning and pleading by the prophets. This freedom from captivity seemed as a dream to them. It was hard to believe that they were really going home after so long a time. Cyrus decreed that they could leave peacefully; no military conflict; no miraculous act of God as with Egypt to free them.

 

Verse 2: This psalm was probably composed immediately for the occasion. We could call it a “new song” because new songs in Scripture expressed the feelings of God’s people at the moment. They may have sung this as they marched home from Babylon. They sang that the Lord had done great things for them. It was a joyful song of praise to God that could come only after years of anxiety and tears. There is a truth here that we do not want to miss. The greater the anxiety, the more plentiful the tears of sorrow, the greater the rejoicing will be. Sow in tears; reap in joy.

 

Verse 3: They sang that the Lord had done great things for them. The song expressed their joy. James wrote, “If any man is merry, let him sing psalms.” (James 5:13.) One of the most unusual circumstances was Paul and Silas singing while in stocks in Philippi. They did not wait until they were released; they sang while in pain. (Acts 16:25.) Generally, James stated the reasons for singing and praying. “If any is afflicted, let him pray. If any man is merry, let him sing psalms” (James 5:13.)

 

Verse 4: “Turn our captivity” shows that some were still in captivity. The Jewish exiles did not return all at once. Cyrus the Great gave the decree to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Groups returned over a period of years. Others stayed in Babylon and did not return at all. They had become financially secure and established in their new land and did not want to leave. They got over their sadness of being defeated by a foreign power and no longer wept. They became comfortable in their captivity. Weeping, at least, expresses that they understand their situation and desire to return home. The psalmist expressed the desire that they return in such great numbers that they would be like a river ever increasing after rain.

 

Verse 5: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” is one of the great statements and truths of the Bible. The sowing of seed and planting a crop is a time of toil and labor. The exiles had wept often in captivity. They were servants to their captors. Sometimes those in power demanded the Jews to sing for them. They overheard their wonderful songs of faith and hope. Yet they could not sing so joyfully while in captivity.

 

“By the river of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” (Psalm 137:1-6.)

 

Verse 6: The imagery is that of a farmer sowing seed and waiting for the harvest. He sows in tears, but reaps in joy. He will come again bearing his sheaves with him. For the farmer the harvest comes in the fall. He must wait patiently for the early and latter rain. (James 5:7.) James is addressing those who are oppressed. He tells them to be patient unto the coming of the lord. We must remember that not all the harvest comes due in the fall. Sometimes we must wait even beyond that time. In due time, the lord will relieve our pain and give us rejoicing.

 

Value in Weeping

 

It may sound strange to say that it is good to weep, or that there is value in weeping, but it is true. The Jews in exile had lost their homes and land; they were carried away into captivity in a Gentile land. Weeping showed that they understood their situation. Perhaps most of them wept at the beginning, but after staying for a while in captivity, they became established in new homes. Some remained in the land of Babylon, though they were free to go home. Their tears dried up in time. The psalmist wrote, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill (or cunning, KJV).” (137: 5.)

 

Jeremiah. One of the prophets who spoke beforehand about the coming captivity in Babylon was Jeremiah. He told them that the time of captivity would be seventy years. He said, “This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jer. 25:11.) Jeremiah wept so much as he preached and warned the people that he became known as the weeping prophet. The truth is that most of the prophets and ambassadors for God wept.

 

He said, “Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jer. 9:1.) He gave this as his reason for weeping—“The harvest is past; the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (8:20.)

 

When Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah wrote his lamentations. He cried out, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there is any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.” (Lam. 1:12.)

 

Paul for Israel. In the time of the New Testament, many of the Jews refused the Gospel of Christ. Saul of Tarsus, who was at first blinded by his early training, later wept over the lost condition of Israel. He wrote, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Rom. 9:1-3.) “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge.” (Rom. 10:1-2.)

 

Some of these who so opposed Christianity caused Paul the apostle to shed many tears. He said to the Ephesian elders, “From the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptation.” (Acts 20:18-19.) He continued, “Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. And now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” (20:31-32.)

 

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Phil. 3:18.) There are still many enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. We too should weep because so many do not understand the cross; many do not care about what happened on Calvary. They do not love the Lord Jesus Christ who so loved them that he died for them. He said, “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13.)

 

Jesus wept during his life. No one before him or after ever had such a serious mission in life. No one ever cared as much as Jesus did. Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. The tears came out of sympathy for those who were weeping for Lazarus.

 

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. He said, Where have you laid him? They said unto him, Come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him!” (John 11:33-35.) This was a very tender moment. Jesus and Lazarus were close friends. This shows the humanity of Jesus; it shows his identity with us.

 

As the time for the cross neared, Jesus wept in the garden. He prayed that the Father would remove the cup of suffering if possible. An angel appeared unto him and strengthened him. “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:22.)

 

The Hebrew writer described it vividly: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared.” (Heb. 5:7.) The phrase, in the days of his flesh, shows that Jesus suffered all during the days of his earthly life. The cross was before; a battle with evil must be enjoined. Jesus would suffer greatly, but afterward he would arise in victory.

 

Joy Comes in the Morning

 

“Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5.) This was true of the Jewish exiles. They wept because they dwelt in a strange land, but God delivered them. They came forth with singing on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus wept in the garden, but rejoiced on the first day of the week. He arose from the dead with all the pain of the cross now brought to fruition. “Jesus, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross and despised the shame.” (Heb. 12:2.)

 

In the midst of difficulty, we wish for it to pass away quickly. But we must travail and weep while on earth, but in heaven we will rejoice.

 

Adam and Eve. Ever since the departure of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, man has wept over his fallen condition. If we weep not, it shows that we do not understand the condition in which we live. There has been a river of tears flowing from the old Garden of Eden down to the present time. That first dwelling place for man was most likely in the same area where the Jews lived in captivity in Babylon. The very name, Babylon, came to stand as a synonym for captivity and oppression. Rome in Revelation is called Babylon. “Babylon, Babylon the Great is fallen.” (Rev. 17:5.)

 

There are many circumstances in life in which we shed tears. Life is serious business. Here are some reasons why men weep.

1. Many families are presently crying during the night because they have lost sons and daughters in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2. The families who lost loved ones at Virginia Tech will not be able to forget what happened. Their lives are forever changed.
3. Many suffer from serious depression and mental illness. Their lives are confusing and difficult. They desire a better life.
4. Husbands and wives hurt one another by not being faithful to their vows. Children of broken homes suffer.
5. Churches have good times and bad. We try to do the Lord’s work; we travail in pain sowing and watering, praying that the Lord of harvest will give the increase.
6. Conflicts and problems cause us to weep in churches. It is not easy to step out by faith and try to be God’s people. There must a refining process; it hurts.
7. Life does not always seem fair. Some struggle to succeed financially, emotionally, and physically. We grow old and lose our mates. We weep during the night.

 

In all of these and a thousand more, we need to remember that joy comes in the morning. If we sow in tears, we will reap in joy.