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;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
This psalm almost needs to be sung in conjunction with Jeremiah’s words from yesterday’s readings. Jeremiah had promised the impossible. This psalm asks us to imagine what it was like for the people of God to be restored to their land after the exile. He says they felt like they were in a dream.
Did your wedding day feel like that? Perhaps it was the day a child was born or a project succeeded or…what? I pray you have had a day like that in your life, when everything came together and you felt like you were in a dream, a good dream. Remember that day when your mouth was filled with laughter and you shouted for joy? Everyone who looked at you thought that you were blessed – God had done something great for you. Those days do not last. The psalmist seems to have come down from the emotional high which was his first day back in the promised land. The ancient Jews upon their return wanted to rebuild the temple. But their neighbors were not happy with the idea, they had to apply for building permits There was a great deal of red tape and problems. They got discouraged too. Look forward to another miraculous day when the man who sows grain walks out of his house with seed and returns with sheaves of grain. It will be a miracle day, a day which defies our comprehension and imagination. Look forward to it.