When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter

And our tongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us;

We are glad.

Restore our captivity, O LORD,

As the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

—Psalm 126

Too often, I think God the Father gets a bad rap. It’s not uncommon for people to think the God of the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament have two completely different personalities. They think about stories like the Great Flood and how the Hebrews had to wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their lack of faith and assume He’s a harsh God with a permanent scowl tattooed across His face, but that’s not what we see in today’s psalm.

The author and date of this psalm aren’t stated in Scripture, but from the context clues, we can figure out that Psalm 126 was written in response to a return from captivity. Every commentary I looked at believed this captivity to be the Babylonian captivity, a difficult, seventy-year exile in a land where the people didn’t respect their religion or customs. They weren’t slaves like their ancestors had been in Egypt, but they experienced plenty of persecution for their nationality and religion.

Knowing this background makes the opening to this psalm that much more amazing. There’s no complaining or mourning over all the years of trial and persecution. Instead, we find God’s people returning to their homes in utter joy. Life is so good, it seems like a dream.

In the first half of the psalm, the joy of the people is so great that it leads the people of the neighboring nations to recognize God’s work on the Israelites’ behalf. It gives me a bit of a chuckle that the Israelites are so busy laughing and shouting for joy that they don’t think to acknowledge the great things God had done for them until after the surrounding nations say it.

The first line of the second stanza, however, is a bit confusing. “Restore our captivity”? It sounds like when the Hebrews complained to Moses that they should never have left Egypt, like they were longing to be exiles once again.

But if we look at the original language we see that the three words that end up being translated as When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion are the same three words at the beginning of verse four that are translated Restore our captivity. It’s an example of a Hebrew poetry technique in which an idea is repeated but written in a slightly different way to reveal a new facet. In this case, the words appear in a different order and end with a different sentiment.

The first time, God has already begun the process of delivering His people and the people are rejoicing. The second instance recognizes the ongoing process of restoring Israel and ends with a reference to the streams of the South. These streams were known for being dry much of the year and then suddenly filling and flooding in the spring. 

Translation: God we see what you’re doing, and we’re so grateful! Please keep going… and can You do it fast?

Where the first phrase ends with joy, the repetition in verse four ends with longing for more of God’s work in their lives. And it’s not too hard to see why.

From beginning to end, this psalm is about two things—restoration and joy. Although the situation the people were leaving was a difficult one, all we get to see in this psalm is restoration and joy. Even the verses that start to mention the pain and suffering the Israelites would have gone through end with joy and prosperity. It’s like God was systematically wiping away the pain and replacing it with a joy so rich and deep that it seems like a dream.

That’s our God! He’s a Restorer, a Redeemer, our Source of ultimate, blissful joy! He wipes away tears and replaces them with laughter. Yes, He allows us to struggle and experience the consequences of our choices at times, but for all who choose to join His family, a day is coming when we’ll get to experience the joy of being brought back out of exile, and what a day that will be!