Saturday, December 3rd, 2022
Living the Dream
I'm not sure how I missed it before, but today, when reading through Psalm 126, I noticed something very interesting! Maybe it's nothing, but bear with me for a moment.
It's in verses one through three, as contrasted with verses four through six. See the word "restored?" Here it is in context:
1 When the Lord RESTORED the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;...
It sounds great! The fortunes have been restored; everyone is laughing and shouting, presumably back from exile. But what I find noteworthy and just a little confusing is that the writer doesn't seem to be quite satisfied. I'll get into this in a moment.
The six last words of verse one stick out to me: "We were like those who dream." I'm tempted to ask, "Is he actually living the dream, or just dreaming to live?"
I like that play on words, but in case you're not following, take a look at the next section:
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
What's going on? Are things restored or yet to be restored? Are our tongues making shouts of joy, or are we asking for shouts of joy?
The consensus among the commentaries is that the psalmist wanted more. God had done some restoration, but not all of it. That sounds plausible, and I have no problem accepting that it could be true.
But maybe it's more interesting than that. I wonder if our writer is imagining a preferred future. Maybe these first three verses are a biblical example of positive thinking? Maybe he's taking people down the road of expectation and trying to awaken in them a hunger for the blessing in store.
We probably have no way of knowing for certain, but we do know what Jesus has said about faith in prayer. In Mark, chapter 11, verse 24, Jesus says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
I suspect that this is what is happening in Psalm 126. Our psalm-writer could be imagining a time when he can look back and say, "The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced!"
Whatever situation we find ourselves in, however sad, broken, lonely, or destitute, we can put ourselves in the place of these exiles. We can sing of the future as if it's already happened because it has been promised.
God is our saviour and our rescuer, and soon we shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying our sheaves.
Amen