Anticipating Worship: Encouragement in Captivity
Psalms 126
May 22, 2022
Everyone here knows the beloved song “Amazing Grace” by heart.
Those verses ring so true to the journey of our lives.
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. Tis grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.”
Those two verses of that great hymn
Could easily be the theme song of Psalms 126.
We return to these songs of ascents and it is as though
We journey with the pilgrims as they make their way to Jerusalem.
Each time they face a new hill or a new burden
It is as though the leader of the caravan shouts out,
“Psalms 122 everyone!” or “Let’s all sing Psalm 125 together”.
They are songs of encouragement and hope
Meant to express the sheer joy it will be
When we all arrive together to worship the Lord in Jerusalem.
Certainly each of these Psalms has its ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT
In the coming worship of heaven.
“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing His praise than when we’ve first begun”
That is the ultimate fulfillment of all these hymns
As we are all on this pilgrimage together.
But as we journey we find A SYMBOL or A PICTURE of that fulfillment
As we gather for corporate worship.
The gathering of the church is
The closest glimpse we are allowed to see of the coming glory of heaven.
And while we wait for the day of glory, corporate worship
Becomes one of our greatest joys and greatest encouragements.
So we have been talking about
The tremendous blessings of corporate worship.
Everything from fellowship in suffering to joy in arrival.
Everything from a sanctuary from evil to a place where hope is rekindled.
It is a blessing to be able to gather with God’s people in worship.
And TONIGHT we talk about this blessing some more.
Here we have a people in “captivity”.
I think it is best to see their “captivity”
In a GENERIC SENSE rather than a specific one.
By that I mean, I’m not certain the reference is here to the Babylonian captivity,
Or even a captivity that has removed Israelites from their land.
Rather, it’s best to see it here as a generic burden.
• Perhaps the Philistines have attacked…
• Perhaps the locusts have ravaged the fields…
• Perhaps there is a drought in the land…
• Perhaps it is that “scepter of wickedness” that disheartens…
• Perhaps it is a time of spiritual apathy in the land…
It is a figurative captivity.
We’ve felt something to that effect over the last few years in our nation.
• When people were told to stay home or wear masks or stay 6 feet away.
• When stores were closed and services were not rendered.
• When travel was restricted and gatherings monitored.
• Now when inflation is driving up prices and life is harder.
• As drought and fires ravage our part of the world.
It is a bondage
It is a burden
It is a captivity of sorts
That is what is going on in the lives of our pilgrims.
And again we see that relief in this captivity is found
As they gather with the saints and find some perspective
In their difficult circumstances.
They get encouragement.
How valuable is this in difficult days!
Encouragement is a true blessing of corporate worship.
Let’s work our way through this 126th Psalm
And see the encouragement our pilgrims have found in captivity.
We describe here what the corporate gathering is used for.
#1 A TIME TO REFLECT
Psalms 126:1-3
There is definitely a present and real conflict or burden
That faces our pilgrims.
LIFE IN THE PRESENT IS DIFFICULT.
BUT as they gather for corporate worship
It is NOT to immediately recount all their problems.
Indeed, God has told us:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
While there is a time to present our requests and burdens to God,
(As our pilgrims surely will.)
The first business of the church when they gather
Is to give thanks to God for all that He has done.
Our first mandate and priority is to praise and give thanks to our God.
And that is where these pilgrims begin.
It begins with a time of reflection
On all the places where God has brought them.
They remember a time of prior deliverance.
“When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion…”
As the pilgrims assemble there is a time given to remember where they once were.
• They were in captivity.
• They have struggled before…
• They have suffered before…
BUT THE FOCUS OF THE SONG
Is not on the suffering but rather on God’s redemption.
“the LORD brought [them] back”
And this is of course where we are called to begin
Every time we gather.
We even periodically take the Lord’s Supper
To remember what Christ did for us.
We all must stop and think about what we were.
• Do you remember your life before redemption?
• Do you remember the sin that enslaved you?
• Do you remember your terrible attitude toward life?
• Do you remember your fallen logic?
• Do you remember the way you used others?
• Do you remember your idolatrous ambitions?
You were in captivity.
Paul spoke to Timothy about ministering to such people.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
The reality is that this was us.
We used to be enslaved.
And God redeemed us!
Psalms 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Ephesians 2:1-7 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
That is the opening song of the congregation.
But it’s NOT JUST salvation we remember.
There have been plenty of other captivities from which we have also been saved.
• Remember that time of financial hardship and God carried you through?
• Remember that time when your marriage was on the rocks and God fixed it?
• Remember that time you were sick and God healed your body?
• Remember that time your kids were in peril and God brought them back?
• Or even remember that time of tragedy and grief and God sustained you?
Remember your captivity and how God delivered!
We delight and we rejoice once again in the joy of that day.
(1b) “We were like those who dream.”
We were people who, in that moment, thought God could do anything.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Facing the Giants”
It’s that story of the football coach who is losing, who is about to be fired, who can’t pay the bills, and who as a couple can’t have children.
And God does great things for him. He starts to succeed, his finances turn around and his wife gets pregnant.
And on the heels of each blessing the question is asked, “Tell me what is impossible with God?”
You know how you feel on the day of God’s deliverance.
There is an unbridled hope that God can do anything!
• Imagine the optimism when the Red Sea split!
• Imagine the optimism when that giant fell!
• Imagine the optimism when Cyrus issued the decree for Israel to go home!
You felt that once when God delivered you.
(2) “Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting;”
• When God delivered did you shout?
• When God delivered did you sing?
• When God delivered did you laugh?
I’ll bet you did!
It was a glorious time of rejoicing
Because God redeemed you from your captivity.
And what an IMPACT it even had on those around you.
“Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Even those around you could see God’s great redemption in your life.
• We think of Balak terrified because he saw how God was favoring the
Israelites.
• We think of Rahab in Jericho saying, “We’ve heard about how God is on
your side.”
• Or we think of others who notice God’s deliverance and God’s transformation.
They notice the change God works in us.
And they see God’s glory through our redemption.
That is a reality which God has worked in our lives.
From captivity to redemption
From redemption to testimony
And the pilgrims here first spend a moment thinking about
All that God has done on their behalf.
TURN TO: NUMBERS 33
(1-37)
And you read that and say, “Preacher, that’s pretty boring.”
It is unless you were one of the children of Israel.
And then every one of those stops becomes another story in the journey.
• Another place of God’s deliverance.
• Another place of God’s protection.
• Another lesson learned of God.
YOU COULD DO THAT IN YOUR LIFE.
We could do that in THIS CHURCH.
I think of 2004 in September we had a month of stillness and how a few women came forward compelled to go on mission and a year later God sent us to Africa, Lebanon, Israel, and El Paso.
In 2006 we were compelled to go to China but had no money and the PBR hired us to build all of those spur racks.
In 2012, 16 people were compelled to go to Sanyati and we certainly could not afford the projected $64,000 it would cost until God opened the flood gates and send like $75,000 to us.
How God sent funds to remodel a kitchen and the sanctuary.
I think of the day people in our church were saved.
Or the day when those in sin found repentance.
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come.
Tis grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”
When you go back over the course of time it is quite remarkable
All that God has done in His work of redemption.
And it culminates with A CORPORATE STATEMENT.
(3) “The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.”
And there we rest a moment.
I don’t know what captivity you currently endure…
I know there are some we corporately endure.
• We have a sceptor of wickedness in our land…
• We are enduring drought…
• We are dealing with economic inflation…
You may have some personal issues that make life difficult as well.
But before you take another step,
Can you gather with God’s people and say,
“The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.”
The opening of worship is the recognition of all that God has done.
And a declaration that He is good and you are glad.
The is the epitome of Christian gratitude.
It is impossible for Job not to come to mind here.
On the day when Job lost everything on earth.
Job 1:20-21 “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Can we do that first?
I love the break in the book of Romans.
After 11 chapters in which Paul outlines the glory of the gospel and all that God has done for us through Christ Jesus.
Chapter 12 begins the application section of the book and Paul says:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
The motive of Christian worship is not merely what God will do
But what He has already done.
Before you petition Him for His promises of future deliverance
You must first worship Him for His past mercies.
START THERE.
If God never did another good thing for us,
Thank Him for what He has done.
Make that declaration: “The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.”
AND OF COURSE WE DO THAT CORPORATELY
SO THAT: those who currently struggle with the pain of captivity
Might be caught up to join us.
There are times
When our burdens are heavy and bitterness threatens to steal our joy.
It is then that
The rest of the congregation (through their worship) does us the great service of reminding us of all that we have to be thankful for.
START THERE.
That is what corporate worship is, it is a TIME TO REFLECT.
And then comes the next chapter:
#2 A TIME TO REQUEST
Psalms 126:4
I’m so glad that God not only permits this, but even commands it.
Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
There is certainly a time to “let your requests be made known to God”
And that is where we come now.
Having remembered that our God is a God who delivers the captives,
The congregation now cries out for deliverance once again.
“Restore our captivity, O LORD”
That is a little misleading.
• They are NOT asking to go back into captivity,
• They ARE asking for deliverance from their current captivity.
Psalms 85:1-2 “O LORD, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah.”
Clearly the idea of “Restore our captivity” is a reference to restoring us from it.
It is the idea of restoration and bringing us back.
And because the congregation spent a moment
Remembering God’s past mercies and power
Now it is easier to pray in faith about their present predicament.
When you fail to give thanks…
When you fail to worship for what God has done…
It robs you of your faith when you present your current requests to God.
First take a moment and remember who you are addressing
And then let your faith rise in your request to Him.
They are not praying to an indifferent God.
They are not praying to an impotent God.
They are praying to a God who has a track record of deliverance,
And to a God who even if He doesn’t deliver,
It is only because He is at work in a greater way.
So remember that and then cry out.
We ask Him to save because He has saved before.
We ask Him to deliver because He has delivered before.
We ask Him to send rain because He has sent rain before.
You get the idea.
“Restore our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.”
There deliverance is compared to the relief after a long drought
When the waters come and the streams again begin to flow.
What was your mood when it rained last Monday night after almost 12 months of drought?
Well that is what we still pray for.
That God would deliver and restore as He has done so many times before.
And we do this not only individually, but corporately.
And can I put a plug in again for prayer meeting?
I realize it’s difficult and perhaps uncomfortable for some to come and just pray around a circle, but something in me refuses to make it about anything other than prayer.
I have this crazy belief that one ought to be able to expect the children of God to be willing to gather and to pray.
Personal prayer is certainly important, but I can think of few things more basic than when God’s people gather to pray together.
That just seems like something that is obvious church behavior.
We should gather together to seek and present our requests to God.
The corporate gathering is a time to REFLECT and a time to REQUEST.
#3 A TIME TO REMIND
Psalms 126:5-6
Our Psalmist takes what has been true in the past, adds to it a prayer of faith
And then reminds the congregation of the coming result.
• We know who God is.
• We know what God is done.
• We know He responds to the prayers of His people.
And now, we gather corporately
And we remind one another of what God has promised.
“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.”
IT’S FARMING.
I often use the analogy at funerals,
But the bible uses farmers for illustrations a lot and farmers always represent the same thing.
Farmers are pictures of hope.
(That’s all they have)
• A farmer will spend a large amount of money on a seed.
• Sometimes he’ll even go into debt to acquire that seed.
• And then he will do the unthinkable with it.
• He buries it in the ground.
• Ground he has prepared, but he buries it none the less and then he waits.
• All he has is hope that a crop will be produced.
It is hard labor, but if that crop comes up it will be pure rejoicing.
I don’t know if Lance and Willie and Chris actually cry when they have to go plow and plant, but I know they rejoice when they sell that cotton.
THAT IS THE ANALOGY USED HERE.
But it is more than a picture of farming,
It is a picture of bearing burdens.
We go through difficult events in our lives.
We go through difficult seasons in our lives.
And there are many times when we don’t really have a clue
Why we have been charged to go through them.
We have only the promise:
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We go through these times of captivity and all we have is the promise
That God knows what He is doing and it will be worth it.
BUT LET’S BE HONEST,
When you are in the middle of captivity it’s hard to see that.
And if you stay secluded it’s really hard to remember that.
YOU NEED THE CONGREGATION.
You need that brother or sister who will come up
And remind you of what you already know.
Hebrews 12 is that great chapter about God’s discipline
And how it produces righteousness in us.
The writer reminds:
Hebrews 12:10-11 “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
WE KNOW THAT,
But in the middle of captivity it’s hard to remember that.
And that is where the corporate reality comes in.
Notice what the writer of Hebrews says next:
Hebrews 12:12-13 “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.”
What is that?
• That’s when the brother or sister approaches and lifts you up.
• You’ve got weak knees and feeble legs.
• You’ve been beet and it feels like something is dislocated.
What a blessing when
• One comes up and helps you bear your load by reflecting with you on God’s past redemption.
• One comes up and helps you by joining you in prayer to the Lord.
• One comes up and helps you by reminding you of God’s promise to work for good.
Those are the absolute joys of corporate worship
Which cannot be overstated.
There is even a tremendous correction that can come here.
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;”
That is a blessing in our pain as well isn’t it?
Sometimes in our captivity we are prone to bitterness.
• We don’t understand and we get angry.
• Satan whispers in our ear and we listen to him.
What a blessing to have the church who can recognize that bitterness,
Expose it, and call us back to gratitude and gladness.
You see here that the corporate worship is also a time to remind.
We remind one another that “weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.”
We remind one another that “plowing and planting and weeding is hard work, but the harvest is so worth it.”
We remind one another that “even though God may allow trials and suffering in our lives that He is always at work for our good.”
BEYOND THAT…
Many people use these verses in an evangelistic sense.
They liken the sowing to the preaching of the gospel
And the harvest to the day a sinner is saved.
AND THAT IS NEEDED AS WELL.
Paul told Timothy to be faithful “in season and out of season”
There would be times when it seemed like people couldn’t get enough of the gospel
And there would be times when no one wants to hear it.
• The call to the Christian is to preach anyway.
• The call to the Christian is to keep sowing seed even if it feels like it’s all fallen on hard or weedy soil.
BUT THAT’S HARD ISN’T IT?
It’s hard to keep teaching that class week after week when it doesn’t appear they are listening.
It’s hard to keep sharing the gospel with that friend who just never seems to listen.
And fatigue hits us all.
But it’s then that
• We gather and reflect on how God has saved in the past. He has saved before and He will save again.
• We gather and request again God’s salvation of the lost.
• We gather and remind one another that God can save anyone, even the most hard hearted.
Paul said:
1 Timothy 1:15-16 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
That is encouraging isn’t it!
There’s hope for that friend you’ve been witnessing to.
There’s hope for that kid you’ve been teaching.
And sometimes we need that encouragement.
• Keep plowing…
• Keep sowing…
• Some day the harvest will come.
This is the encouragement we receive even in times of captivity.
WE NEED THE CONGREGATION.
• They help us remember what God has done.
• They petition God with us.
• They remind us that God is faithful to bring a harvest.
And in our captivity we are encouraged.
We love the blessing of being able to gather together.
