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<Psalm 126: 1-6>

 Time is a creation of God.  Before the universe was created, there was no time.  According to Genesis 1: 2, before God created the heavens and the earth, “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.”  Based on this verse of the Bible, the Christian theology teaches that God created something out of nothing creatio ex nihilo.  He created the universe out of nothing.  Therefore, before the creation, there was no such thing called time.  Time will ultimately disappear when Jesus comes again and the everlasting heaven arrives amongst us.  The fact that humans live in the midst of time shows the created nature and limited aspects of humanity. 

  Time can be divided into three types: past, present, and future.  Time is infinitely divided under these three tenses.  Past is the time that has already passed.  Present is the period of instant moment that is upon us.  Future is the period of time that has not arrived yet, but will eventually come and go.  This moment the period of time that we worship was once a future that has now become a present that will eventually become a past.  This passage of time will always continue, in a never-ending cycle.

  Man is a being that is capable of remembering the past and reminisces about memories.  We often yearn, regret, or feel sorrow when looking back on past events.  As we get older our hopes for the future diminishes, while memories the past increases.  We often remind ourselves to forget what lies behind us, yet we can never be completely freed from our past.  Only those who suffer from a memory loss or those who suffer from mental insanity may not remember their past.  The rest of us continue to live while remembering our past. 

 Therefore, our past is precious to us.  Whether we did good or bad, succeeded or failed, rejoiced or sorrowed, we have a lot to learn from our past.  Good things we did, we must continue to do.  Failures and mistakes should not be repeated any more.  We must rekindle today’s moments of happiness tomorrow as well.  Painful memories must be let go without regrets.

  Present is also important.  We must be true to our present doing the best we can, otherwise we will find ourselves regretting in the future.  The present time goes by too fast, quickly becoming our past.  We must conserve the present.  We must do our best.  Ephesians 5: 16 tells us, “redeeming the time, for the days are evil.”  We must be honest and diligent about the present time, which is given to us.  We must live righteously.  We must live according to the will of God.  Only then will we not regret down the line.

  Future is not yet upon us, but it is just as important as past and present.  Future opens the door of expectations and hopes for us.  No one knows what will happen in the future.  Yet, everyone hopes that something good will happen in the future.  No matter how difficult and trying the present may be, everyone has some kind of hope for the future.

   If we recall some Korean words and phrases regarding ‘time,’ we can discover some interesting facts.  The word for ‘yesterday’ and ‘today,’ unlike most Korean vocabulary, is not derived from Chinese characters.  Both of those words are original Korean words.  But the word for ‘tomorrow’ is derived from Chinese characters. Strangely, there is no indigenous Korean word for ‘tomorrow.’  Why is that so? 

 ​Perhaps the history of the Korean peninsula filled with wars, conflicts, poverty, and pain took away the hope for tomorrow.  Perhaps people only looked to yesterday and today.  Perhaps the Korean people, dealing with yesterday and today’s events, might not have enough opportunity to think about tomorrow.  People without hope for the future is doomed to perish.  Individuals without hope for the future cannot live to the fullest today.  Future, therefore, is very precious as well.

 The season of waiting for the birth of Christ is the advent.  We wait for His birth with great eagerness and happiness.  In this meaningful season let us focus on Psalms 126.

 Psalms 126 is known as ‘A Song of Ascent.’  Psalms 120 through 134 fall in this category.  These psalms are named as such because these were the songs that the people of Israel sang when they made pilgrimage to the temple of Jerusalem during Passover, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering.  It is important to remember that these psalms were recited in the temple of Jerusalem while worshipping God. 

 Specific details are unknown, but Psalms 126 was written right after the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem after being held captive in Babylon.  Around 586 BC, the Babylonian Empire, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyed Jerusalem and took many people of Israel, including the king, as prisoners.  The people of Israel spent about 70 years in Babylonian captivity.  About 50,000 of these people, who went through great humiliation and suffering in the foreign land, returned to Israel in three groups.  The precise date of Psalm 126 is unknown; however, it is estimated that it was written some time right after the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem from Babylon.

 When we read this Psalms 126, we can read it in three tenses in the eyes of the past, the present, and the future. 

 1.  The Past.  Let’s first take a look at verses 1 through 3.  Here, the author of the verse is remembering the event in which God returned the people of Israel, who were held captive by Babylon, to Zion, the Jerusalem castle.  The first group of captives returned around 583 BC, so this verse is remembering the exciting experience of returning to homeland by the people of Israel.

  Those who were held captive in Babylon despaired that they would never set foot on their homeland again.  But God led them back to Jerusalem.  According to verse 1, when this miracle of return to homeland happened, the people of Israel felt as if they were dreaming.  They were probably shocked towards this unbelievable miracle.  They probably pinched one another to see if it was indeed a dream!

 According to God’s promise, the return of prisoners from Babylon became a reality, and Psalms 126 summarizes this experience in two ways.  According to verse 2, “our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with singing.”  Laughter and shouts of joy lingered in their mouth.  Let’s think about this.  Imagine these people, living like slaves for decades, being able to return to their homeland!  A miracle truly happened.  An impossible event in the mind of man became possible through the grace of God.  It is natural that they laughed and sang songs of joy.

  Think about those Koreans who were taken to Japan during the occupation and returned to their homeland after the liberation.  Think of those who were forcefully conscripted and taken to Sakhalin, and imagine their emotions as they stepped on their homeland soil upon return.  No words can describe such joy.  It is true.  People of Israel were probably the same.  They were so happy that all they can do was hug each other, laugh, and sing many songs of joy.

  Today, let’s try to remember the last time we laughed in joy.  Let’s look back and find the time in our past where songs of praise did not stop flowing out of our mouth.  Today, are we still laughing?  Are our faces tight and tensed, lacking joy?  Are our mouth full of complains and criticisms instead of songs of joy?  Let’s look back in our past.  Think of those times that gave us laughter and joy.  Look back at the time when songs of praise did not stop flowing out of our mouth.  Let’s rekindle that same joyous emotion!

 2.  The Present.  The author of Psalm 126 is looking at the cold realities of the present.  Although they returned home, the reality facing these people of Israel was harsh.  The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins.  The temple of Jerusalem, where joyous worship of God took place, was no more.  There was nothing to eat and wear.

 During the Korean War, when the North Korean army advanced on Seoul, many of its residents left, heading south.  When Seoul was recaptured from the communists, people returned to Seoul.  These people were probably happy that they were able to return to their homes and neighborhood, but the reality would have been tough.  Buildings lay in ashes and food was probably in great shortage.  The people of Israel returning from Babylon were in this same exact situation!

  Looking at these grim realities of the present, the author of Psalms 126 calls out to God.  Take a look at verse 4.  “Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.”  What does this mean?  Just as He let their fate return to Jerusalem from Babylon, they are asking God to save them one more time.  Even though they returned, the conditions are harsh.  And they are asking God for help, just as He has helped in the past.

  Not only does he want God to help them, but he also wants God to help them abundantly, like the watercourses in the South.  This waterway in the south refers to the waterways in Negeb, south of Hebron in Israel.  This waterway, except for the rain season of the Middle Eastern deserts, was always dry.  These waterways are often called ‘wadis,’ and they remain dry for most of the year.  When the rain downpours during the rain season, they overflow with water as if the levees will collapse.  So when the author is asking God to help them like the watercourses of in the Negeb, he is asking God to help them in the most unpredictable manner, like their return from Babylon.  And he is asking God to help them rapidly and abundantly, like overflowing waterways.

  Let’s look at our present moment.  Are we not like these people of Israel who just returned from Babylon?  Lonely this holiday season?  Isn’t everything disappointing and grim?  Economically difficult?  Did you lose your job?  Children are giving you problems?  Health is declining?  Call out to God.  Just as the author of the Psalms called out to God to help them abundantly, we must pray to God.

  Think about the past.  How much grace has God bestowed upon us?  How many times did He help us when we were in trouble?  Remember God and all He has done for us, and ask Him to help us in the present.  Yesterday’s God will surely help us today!  He will give us grace!

  3.  The Future.  Lastly, the author of Psalms clearly expresses the hope for the future.  Take a look at verse 5 and 6.  “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”  This is hope given to the people of Israel as they face the grim realities of the present.  It is telling them not to despair, even though the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins.  It is telling them not to give up!  Even though the reality is grim, it is telling them to stand up.  It is telling them to continually sow seeds and tend the field.

  When faced with despair, people often give up and give in.  But the problem will not go away.  Reality does not change.  Let’s think about this.  After the Korean War, Korea lay in ruins.  The whole country was destroyed.  But the people of Korea did not give up in the face of harsh realities.  Rather, they stood strong.  They tightened their belts and worked hard.  After only a few decades, the miracle of the Han River took place.  From the ashes of war, a great economic development took place!

  Those of us in difficulties and trouble need to listen.  No matter how bleak the reality, we must never give up and give in.  We must stand up.  We must have hopes for the future, and resurrect ourselves with the faith that God will help us.  We need to clench our teeth, shed tears, and sow the seeds.  If we do so, God will stand by our side and grant us great blessings.  The tears will turn into laughter, and sorrow will turn into joy.  The seed will grow and change into fruit.  We must have the hope that when we stand up with God, we will be victorious.  We must never forget the absolute truth that those who sow seed in tears will reap the fruit in happiness!

 After World War II, the Allied troops gathered and helped thousands of war orphans.  They gave the orphans food and shelter.  But the orphans, who were fed, were often afraid to fall asleep.  The troops understood what the problem was and gave each of the orphans a piece of bread before bedtime.  And they told the orphans that they were to hold this bread in their hands and not to eat it until the next morning. 

​After this, the orphans, surprisingly, fell asleep soundly.  Why?  The orphans previously could not fall asleep because they were worried about the next day’s meal.  They were worried that they might starve the next morning.  But when they held a piece of bread in their hands and laid down to sleep, they could fall asleep because they felt safe about the next day’s meal. 

  We must have hope for the future.  Trusting the truth that we reap what we sow, we must live the present.  Believing that faith, truth, diligence, and justice will prevail, we must head into the future!

 The God, who helped the people of Israel from the captivity of Babylon, is still alive today.  That God sent Baby Jesus to us some 2,000 years ago.  It was to save us from sin and death.