Songs from the Heart Day 22 Psalm 126

Read the Psalm

Zion’s Restoration

A song of ascents.

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,

and our tongues with shouts of joy.

Then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord had done great things for us;

we were joyful.

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,

like watercourses in the Negev.

5 Those who sow in tears

will reap with shouts of joy.

6 Though one goes along weeping,

carrying the bag of seed,

he will surely come back with shouts of joy,

carrying his sheaves.

—Christian Standard Bible

Take a few minutes to mull over what you’ve read. Let these prompts guide you.

What does this psalm teach you about God’s character? What do you learn about the psalmist’s posture toward or relationship with God?
Think about a time when you were excited and happy to come home. Remembering those emotions, how does that experience help you to better understand the joy Israel felt upon returning home from exile (vv. 1-3)?
What are the things in your life right now that cause you to say, “The Lord has done great things”? How has he done great things in the past? How has he done great things in your church?
How will you choose to thank and praise him for the great things he has done in your life or the life of your church?
Turn your attention to verses 4-6, a prayer for restoration. If you were writing these verses in your own words, what imagery or situations from your own life would you ask God to restore?
Reread verse 5. When have you experienced a season of tears? How was God present even in the devastation of that season?
What does it mean to “sow in tears”? How can you seek to live with hope even in difficult and trying seasons?
If you are in a season of hardship, what would it look like for you to remain faithful, believing that God will be faithful to restore you?
Think about the situations in your life right now seem overwhelming or full of grief, the circumstances that you worry will never end. How can you plant seeds of hope and trust in God’s faithfulness today, trusting that you will one day see a harvest? Journal your prayer of response.