Psalms 126:5

THE PROMISE

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

For he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come home again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him."

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Psalms 126:5). Isaiah wrote that, "As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8). This simply means, "No tears; no converts to Christ." This sentiment, "Coincides with the Preacher on the Mount, `Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted' (Matthew 5:4)."[13]

"When a man's heart is so stirred that he weeps over the sins of others, he is elect to usefulness. Winners for souls are first weepers for souls. As there is no birth without travail, so is there no spiritual harvest without pain and tears. When our hearts are broken with grief at man's transgressions, we shall break other men's hearts. Tears of earnestness beget tears of repentance: `Deep calleth unto deep.'"[14]

Right here is the secret of the ineffectiveness of many Christian people's influence over others. There is simply no tearful earnestness in their desire for their salvation.

We reject as ridiculous the notion that back of this verse is, "The ancient myth of the death of the god of fertility,"[15] and that the wailing when the sower sowed the seed made it fertile! No! There is a genuine spiritual truth in this passage which was immortalized by the great Christian Church preacher, Knowles Shaw, in his hymn, "Bringing in the Sheaves."[16]

Go then even weeping, Sowing for the Master,

Tho' the loss sustained our spirit often grieves.

When our weeping's over, He will bid us welcome.

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

- the 3verse of Shaw's hymn.

As Delitzsch noted, the primary reference here is to the tearful hardships endured by the returnees from Babylon. "The tearful sowing is only an emblem of the new foundation-laying which really took place, not without many tears (Ezra 3:12), amid sorrowful and depressed circumstances."[17]

Thus, as Kidner noted, "The psalm, speaking first to its own times, speaks still."[18] And what does it say to us? God's former blessings are a pledge of others yet to come. Every dry stream should be looked upon as a potential river. Diligent work, the good seed which is the Word of God, and tearful earnestness on the part of the sower are the certain pledges of a bountiful harvest, when "We shall come rejoicing, Bringing in the Sheaves."