Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 126:5

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

5. The efforts of the returned exiles to re-establish the nation had been carried on in the midst of hindrances and disappointments, anxieties and fears; but the Psalmist cannot doubt that they will in due time bear fruit. “So is it ever in God’s kingdom. Precisely those undertakings, which at first seemed hopeless and were begun under pressing troubles, end in achieving the greatest good” (Von Gerlach, quoted by Kay). The tears shed at the Foundation of the Second Temple (Ezr 3:12), and the rejoicings at its completion (Ezr 6:16; Ezr 6:22), and at the Dedication of the Walls (Neh 12:27; Neh 12:43) were only illustrations of the general truth. Cp. Mat 5:4.

in joy ] With shouts of joy, the same word as that for singing in Psa 126:2. There is naturally an allusion to the rejoicings of harvest (Isa 9:3 &c.).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy – Though the sowing of seed is a work of labor and sorrow – often a work so burdening the farmer that he weeps – yet the return – the harvest – is accompanied with rejoicing. The truth is expressed in a general form, as illustrating the idea that enterprises which are begun under many difficulties, and which require much labor, will be crowned with success, and that the joy is more than an equivalent for all the weariness and sorrow. Thus it is in respect to the toil of the farmer; the cares and anxieties of the student; the work of conversion and repentance; the labors of the Christian pastor; the efforts of the Sabbath-school teacher; the faithfulness of the Christian parent; the endeavors of a church for a revival of religion; the zeal and sacrifice of the Christian missionary. The particular, allusion here is to the exiles, in their long and weary march to their native land. It was a work of toil and tears, but there would be joy, like that of the harvest, when, their long journey over they should again come to their native land. Compare Isa 9:3.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Psa 126:5

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Sowing and reaping

Painful work often finds pleasant reward. The way through the Red Sea and the howling wilderness leads to a fair and fruitful land flowing with milk and honey. Such is Gods law of compensation, always and everywhere working out its infallible result in the experience of His chosen people. Trace this principle–

I. In those whom God ordinarily employs in effecting the greatest good of others. Those who gain liberty for a nation, who achieve great things in art or literature, who are the leaders of great movements. They did none of these things, nor are such things ever done, without great personal self-sacrifice. They have had to sew in tears ere they, or any whom they sought to help, could reap in joy. Did Moses, or Joshua, or Gideon, or any of the old prophets sow without tears? or, having sowed in tears, did they fail in due time to realize the joy of harvest? Did not Athens poison her greatest philosopher and expatriate her grandest orator? Was not the most eloquent advocate of the Roman cause that ever raised his voice in the Roman Forum banished by the authority of a Roman senate, and beheaded by the perfidy of a Roman triumvirate? Did not the Copernican system of the universe long hang trembling on the lips of hated and persecuted men before it dared to stand forth and speak boldly to the world? and was it not afterward in the person of Galileo imprisoned, and in his books made to pass through the fire to Ignorance? Did the great discovery of Harvey cost him no pain or weariness? or were the works of Bacon, Newton and Shakspeare fully appreciated while they lived? And the artists who live for ever in their productions–the painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, who have filled the world with the triumphs of their genius–did they not toil, for the most part, in disappointment, and poverty, and sorrow, little esteemed during life, to be almost deified after death? The pioneer settlers of this new continent sowed the wilderness with their tears, and the heroes of American independence fattened her soil with their blood.

II. In the sphere of religion and morals. Whenever any great evil has been averted, or any signal triumph of truth and righteousness achieved, it has ever been at vast personal cost. See the Bible histories of all the heroes of the faith. Read St. Pauls account of his sufferings. And thus it was that Christianity, whose throne was a manger, whose diadem a thorn-wreath, whose victory the crucifixion of its Author, whoso triumphal pageant a funeral procession to a borrowed tomb, whose earliest champions a little band of despised and persecuted fishermen, is now filling the earth with its voices of jubilee, and peopling paradise with the subjects of its redemption. What painful sowing was there in the dark and dismal catacombs of Rome, in the gardens of Nero, and the Flavian amphitheatre. But the blood of the martyrs has ever been the seed of the Church. In the days of the great Reformation the life of Martin Luther was a perpetual conflict with error, but it filled all Continental Europe with Gods blessed evangel, and on the same ground Dollinger and his noble compeers have lately renewed the good fight of faith. But look we higher. Who are these arrayed in white robes, with palms, and lutes, and starry diadems, and whence came they? These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne, etc. They are all witnesses that the seed which your fathers scattered fell not all upon the rooks, among the thorns, and by the desert wayside. And this is your consolation–that however hard the toil, and however unpromising the seed-time, and however tardy the advent of the genial spring, an unweeping eye shall wash the field, and a celestial dew shall water the soil, and a creative power shall quicken the germ, and in due time the whitening grain shall summon the reapers sickle, and the harvest of joy shall have come. (J. Cross, D. D.)

The connection between present duties and future reward

I. Some of the occasions on which we are called to go forth weeping.

1. Over our religious profession. There are many struggles between light and darkness; many battles between sin and holiness: nature and grace are at enmity one with another, and must be so till this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality.

2. In the discharge of our duty.

3. When under the marked displeasure of God.

II. The precious seed which we are expected to bear.

1. The seed of cheerful self-denial.

2. The seed of patient perseverance.

3. The seed of perfect submission to the will of God.

4. The seed of genuine holiness.

III. The happy results experienced. Even here we taste the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of Divine love, and we become partakers of that happiness which the world cannot give, and which it is not in the power of the world to take away. But however much we may gather here, and whatever be the satisfaction which we experience from the blessedness of the harvest of Christianity in this world, the day of judgment will be the great harvest when we shall reap the labours of all our sowing. (W. Yate.)

Spiritual husbandry

Consider the text in its application to–

I. The Jews as a nation (Deu 32:3; Jer 21:9; Lev 26:41-42). When they are thus brought to sow in tears, they shall undoubtedly reap in joy. This seems to be the favourite theme of the prophets, especially of Isaiah (Isa 60:1; Isa 35:10). This is the event which the Jews themselves ardently long for; it is that for which they earnestly pray on the day of atonement; O our Father and our King, discover Thy glorious majesty to us speedily; arise, and be exalted to the eyes of all living, and gather our dispersions from among the heathen, and assemble us that are scattered from the extreme parts of the earth, and conduct us to Zion Thy city with songs, and unto Jerusalem, the city of Thy sanctuary, with everlasting joy.

II. Ourselves individually. Sorrow and suffering are the result of sin; and sin is interwoven with our very nature. But the Christian has not done with sorrow and tears, although through faith, which is of the operation of the Spirit of God, he has been led to trust in that Saviour who died for him, and the burden of transgression has been rolled from his oppressed spirit. Could the veil which now separates us from futurity be drawn aside, and those regions of everlasting happiness and sorrow which strike so faintly on the imagination be presented fully to our eyes, it would occasion, I doubt not, a sudden and strange revolution in our estimation of things. Many are the distresses, for which we now weep in suffering or in sympathy, that would awaken us to songs of thanksgiving; many the dispensations which now seem dreary and inexplicable, that would fill our adoring hearts with thanksgiving and joy.

III. The missionarys labour and reward. As the poor missionary stands on the boundary of the vast wilderness, or goes forth to its culture bearing the precious seed, he must needs weep to think how little of the territory he can occupy. But though he weeps, yet shall he rejoice. As surely as the grain sown in the earth shall vegetate and bring forth fruit in its proper season, so surely may we expect the principles of the Gospel to spring forth in rich luxuriance, proving incorruptible seed, and yielding fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold. (W. Carter, B. A.)

Sorrowful labour

I. We are often called to labour in which we have little joy.

1. The call to labour, for instance, may continue when those whom we hoped to gladden with our diligence and fidelity are gone.

2. All earnest labourers are liable to fits of despondency; Christian labourers certainly not less than others. Overwork, perhaps, is followed by reaction, or the too eager hope is disappointed because we see not any results for all our doing. We think that our fellow-labourers are not as earnest as we, that we alone are bearing the burden and heat of the day. Then there comes up the question, what is the use of all our toil?

3. We may be called to work in which we feel but little special interest; work which is to us perpetual self-denial. Our hopes may all tend to one sphere of effort; duty may sternly compel us to another.

4. We have often to work amidst ungracious men, with no hope at all that our labour shall be successful. There are other and happier labourers in other and more promising fields; why should we be hero toiling to no avail?

II. God rewards us according to our fidelity, and not according to our gladness.

1. Christ has never said, according to your gladness be it unto you; not even according to your hopefulness be it unto you; but according to your faith. And faiths triumph is seen in that it can live and labour when the light of joy is quenched; that it can call off the hopes that hover round an earthly brightness, and bear them up through darkness to the throne of the Invisible.

2. Our confusion of the reality of faith with the eagerness of feeling, our making so much of the cheerfulness of work instead of the work itself, shows that we are expecting the increase of ourselves rather than from God. The work is done; it leaves our hands, henceforth it is in His. The seed is sown; His seed is under His own care. He gives the dew of His benediction, the fruitful force is that of the ever-working Spirit. Not for nothing is it that Gods great ceaseless call to us is to do the work which He has given us; for, indeed, this is all we can do. We can be faithful to His call of duty, He is faithful to His promise.

III. Our text speaks not only of sheaves for the sowing, but also of rejoicing for the tears. The very tears are a seed that shall have a joyful springing; the sorrow shall return again in joy. The sorrowful sowing is a testimony for God, and this shall bear its fruit in icy. There is a striking contrast between the taunt of those who carried the Jews away captive, Sing us one of the songs of Zion; and this saying among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The patient labour of the exiles, the quiet toil of those who could not sing, won the heart of their oppressors. They were glad when the captives were restored, and sent them away with kindly gifts. Israels patience was the patience of faith; and Israels faith was a witness to the fidelity of Israels God. The patience and faithful effort of sad but trusting souls, Christian faith abiding unshaken though joy has gone out of the life; here is a lesson which cannot fail of impressiveness. It reaches to the unbelieving, and constrains them to thought concerning the Gospel; it cheers the heart and strengthens the faith of all believers. Each new revelation of Gods grace that comes on us as a surprise reproves us that we did not always rejoice as those who might be sure that all Gods ways are love. But it is blessed to feel ourselves reproved that our God may be exalted; we welcome the humbling lesson about ourselves which makes us more fully know how good He is. The joyful reaping that follows a tearful sowing prepares us for new trials of our faith. There may come again to you a time of tears, a time of sorrowing toil; but you know whose hand will at length wipe away all tears; you know that there is no seed-time but will at length yield its rejoicing sheaves. (A. Mackennal, D. D.)

Weeping and reaping:

I. An inspired provers. A proverb is often helpful; an inspired proverb ought to be to us an inspiration. Write it down at the head of all your difficulties and in the midst of all your struggles; it is one of Gods own pithy sayings, a maxim He Himself has made–They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

II. A personal experience. It is as though one shouted of his success, and announced Jehovahs triumph. By this he would record his gratitude, and encourage his hearers. If the moss in the desert could stimulate the fainting traveller, if a flower outside the prison wall could speak comfortably to the prisoner in his dreary dungeon, if a solitary star shining through the blackness of the night could bring hope and guidance to the storm-tossed mariner, may I not believe that this experience of David, or whosoever the psalmist may have been, long years ago, will be as a ministering angel to such as are tempted to think that the seed is wasted, that the harvest can never be, that their hopes are dashed to the ground to rise no more for ever?

III. A prevailing principle.

1. In everyday life. Scientists and inventors have toiled, and moiled, and thought, and struggled for many a long year. They have, for the most part, received little help from others. One or two perhaps espoused their cause and helped them through, but the rest either jeered and sneered, or else looked on complacently as if to say, We shall see what we shall see, but we do not think it will come to very much. It was a sowing season; aye, and if we had been behind the scenes we should have seen that it was a weeping-time as well. Some of these sowers died in obscurity. Many of them did not live to see their talent and their skill appreciated, but there was a harvest-time for all that, or if it has not yet arrived it is yet to be. On the other hand many of them did reap the reward of their talents; the proverb held good in most instances. So with philanthropists, and merchants, and discoverers; so indeed with all of every class. There are exceptions, of course, to this rule, but the exceptions proved the rule. Sometimes another reaps where one has sown, but for the most part the maxim holds good. Those who are honest, and earnest, and self-denying in their toil, those who wait awhile shall live to see success, and to reap reward,

2. In spiritual matters.

(1) Was it not just so in the matter of our conversion? Oh, for more sorrow of a godly sort! Oh, for more of the repentance that needs not to be repented of! May the tears flow till Jesus dries our eyes!

(2) The same is true of the matter of backsliding and restoration. If you have wandered, come back, but come with streaming eyes and wounded spirit, come with firm resolve that, God helping you, you will never do the like again.

(3) Apply the same truth to Christian service.

4. And to suffering.

IV. The proverb, the experience, the principle is also a precious promise. We have here–they make my eyes to shine with gladness–two of Gods shalls. These are absolute affirmations from the lips of Jehovah, who speaks, and it stands fast. (T. Spurgeon.)

Seed-time and harvest: –

I. The sower.

1. He recognizes a field of labour.

2. He employs his activities in the field.

3. He often toils with few co-operatives.

4. He mourns over his arduous work.

II. The seed-time.

1. It only lasts for a limited period.

2. It is often marked by adverse influences.

3. In anticipation of the seed-time the necessary seed must be secured.

III. The harvest.

1. It is certain.

2. It may be sometimes late.

3. It is sometimes bountiful.

4. It is compensating. (H. Peach, B. A.)

The agriculturist a picture of the Christian reformer

I. In the nature of his operation. The work of each is–

1. Necessary. The Creator does not do for the creature that which He has given the creature power to do for itself. The life of the world depends upon the work of the agriculturist. The work of the Christian reformer is equally necessary. If ignorance, error, and wrong are to be replaced by knowledge, truth, and right–if righteousness is to spring out of the earth–the Christian reformer must work.

2. Righteous.

3. Divine.

4. Productive of wonderful results.

II. In the mode of his operation.

1. Both have to disseminate a divine thing. The seed of the one is like the doctrine of the other; both are charged with life, and both are capable of indefinite expansion; both require suitable soil for their germination and development; both are perfect in themselves.

2. Both have to work in faith.

3. Both have to work under trial. The agriculturist sometimes goeth forth weeping. This was often the ease with those oriental farmers who lived in neighbourhoods infested with those wandering herdsmen who neither so.wed nor reaped themselves, but obtained what they required by plundering the cultivators of the soil. Such farmers, therefore, often carried their seed from their houses with anxiety and fear, and very often they found it necessary to have armed men to protect them in their operation. The Christian reformer has trials in his work How much distress does he experience, not only from the opposition of the world, but from the apathy, narrowness, and inconsistency of its professors!

III. In the issues of his work.

1. The manner of their return. They shall come with all the fruits of their labour. The pious parent, the Sabbath-school teacher, the missionary, the minister,–all shall return with the fruit of their labours. It shall be found then that none ever laboured in vain.

2. The certainty of their return. The traveller who goes abroad in search of undiscovered lands, like Franklin, may return no more; the merchant who goes to foreign markets in quest of gain may return no more; the hero who goes out to chastise a foreign foe, like Raglan, may return no more; but the true Christian reformer shall return. His harvest must come. Yes; when the battles of the world shall be over; when the markets of the world shall be closed; when the governments of the world shall be dissolved; when the Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world; when the purpose of mercy shall be fully realized; then, doubtless, the men of every age and clime, who have wept, and toiled, and prayed for the spiritual cultivation of the world, shall return. (Homilist)

Sowing in tears: –

I. Sowing as compared with reaping is a very laborious process. The land must be cleared, the soil broken up, the stones and rubbish removed, etc. That which is reaped in a few hours has cost him in the sowing many long weeks of toil. It is so in the spiritual life. The hard labour is at the beginning. The fallow ground and the stubble are to be broken up. The agony is at the gate that opens into the narrow way of a religious life. All after experiences are comparatively facile and pliant.

II. Sowing as compared with reaping is a lonely work. The reapers go in bands with shout and song; but the sower goes alone. And so in those spiritual processes connected with the new birth, each heart knoweth its own bitterness. Over those inner furrows of the soul goes no sower but the mans own conscience in the sight of his God.

III. Sowing as compared with reaping is in an untoward season. The sower must be out in the rough winds of March, under the dark, leaden sky, and upon the cold, clammy earth. It is so in spiritual things. The harvest is in revival periods of warmth and enthusiasm, but the sowing must be in times when the church is cold and everything looks discouraging and gloomy.

IV. Sowing as compared with reaping is a self-denying work. The farmer takes from his granary corn which he needs for his present supply, and scatters it that it may fall into the ground and die. The initial processes of religion involve self-denial. Man must be grown up. Many selfish aims and ambitions fall into the ground and die, that out of them may spring a higher and nobler life–the life that we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. (T. D. Witherspoon, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.] This is either a maxim which they gather from their own history, or it is a fact which they are now witnessing. We see the benefit of humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God; we have now a sweet return for our bitter tears. Or, We have sown in tears; now we reap in joy. We are restored after a long and afflicting captivity to our own country, to peace, and to happiness.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This is an argument wherewith he presseth the foregoing prayer, Psa 126:4, taken from the common course of Gods providence towards men of all nations, to whom he affords vicissitudes of sorrow and comfort; and particularly towards husbandmen, who though ofttimes they sow their seed-corn with care, and fear, and sorrow, yet afterwards for the most part meet with a joyful harvest. And therefore we hope thou wilt not deny this favour to thine own people. And as thou hast in some good measure granted it to us, so we pray thee grant it to our brethren, who are yet exercised with hard labours and griefs, that they and we together may at last obtain that blessed and full harvest which we still pray and hope for.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5, 6. As in husbandry the sowermay cast his seed in a dry and parched soil with desponding fears, sothose shall reap abundant fruit who toil in tears with the prayer offaith. (Compare the history, Ezr 6:16;Ezr 6:22).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. A proverbial expression, encouraging faith in prayer put up for the return of the captivity, whether in a literal or spiritual sense. Praying or seeking the Lord is sowing in righteousness, Ho 10:12; which is often attended with tears and weeping; the issue of them is not always seen soon: these, like seed, lie buried under the clods, but take effect and will rise up in due time: saints should wait patiently for a return of them, as the husbandman for the fruits of the earth; in due time they will produce a large crop of blessings, a plentiful harvest, which the praying saint will reap with joy; as those that prayed and waited for the redemption in Jerusalem; and as those that pray for the latter day glory, the conversion of the Jews, the fulness of the Gentiles, and the destruction of antichrist; the souls under the altar have been sowing in tears, but before long they will reap in joy, Re 6:9. It may be applied to the state and condition of saints in common in this life; now is their sowing time, and careful they should be that they sow not to the flesh, but to the spirit: and a sorrowful time it is, on account of inward corruptions, Satan’s temptations, divine desertions, and the imperfection of their services; but before long they will reap life everlasting, reap in joy, and be in the fulness of it; now they weep, then they shall rejoice; now they mourn, then they shall be comforted.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

5. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. This sentence, in my opinion, ought not less to be extended to the future than understood of the past. The carrying away of the Jews into Babylon was to them as a seed-time; (94) God having, by the prophecy of Jeremiah, encouraged them to hope for the harvest. Still, it was not without very great heaviness and anguish of heart that they were dragged into such long continued captivity. It was, as if in the time of dearth the poor husbandman, who already experiences the gnawings of hunger, were compelled to abridge himself of his ordinary food in order to provide for the coming year; and although this is a hard and distressing case, he is yet moved to sow from the hope of the harvest. The Jews then, when led into captivity, were, doubtless, no less sorrowful than he who, in the time of scarcity, casts the precious seed into the ground; but afterwards a joyful harvest followed, when they were delivered; for the Lord restored to them gladness, like that which is experienced in a most abundant increase. (95) I, however, also conceive that the Prophet exhorts the faithful to patience in reference to the future. The restoration of the Church was not yet completed, and even, for the two reasons which I have a little before specified, that period was evidently the time of sowing. Although the edict of the king frankly invited the Jews to return, yet only a few of many returned, gradually and fearfully, in small companies. Moreover, those who did so were unkindly and harshly welcomed by their neighbors, and to so much trouble were they subjected that their former bondage appeared equally tolerable. Whence we gather, that they had still to suffer — the full time of harvest, not having yet arrived; and, therefore, the Prophet, not without cause, exhorts them strenuously to labor, and to persevere in the midst of continual difficulties without fainting, until they found themselves placed in more favorable circumstances. With respect to the words, some translate. משך , meshech, a price; and others, a basket or seed vessel. (96) For the latter translation there is no foundation. Those who translate price quote in support of their version that passage in the book of Job 28:18 “The price of wisdom is above rubies.” But as the verb משך, mashach, from which this noun is derived, signifies to extend or to draw out, it may perhaps, both here and in that other place, be more fitly taken in its proper signification. In the text quoted from Job it is profound wisdom, and not intellectual acuteness, which is commended, and thus the extending of wisdom, that is to say, a continual course of wisdom, is, from its being deeply grounded, better than pearls. In like manner, in the passage before us, the drawing out of the seed is applied to the husbandmen themselves, implying, that they extend and prolong their life when they sow. If, however, the word price is preferred, the sense will be, that when corn is scarce, seed is committed to the ground with tears, because it is precious and costly. This doctrine extends still farther. Our life is, in other parts of Scripture, compared to the seed-time, and as it will often happen that we must sow in tears, it becomes us, lest sorrow should weaken or slacken our diligence, to raise our minds to the hope of the harvest. Besides, let us remember that all the Jews who were carried captives into Babylon did not sow; for as really among them, who had hardened themselves against God and the Prophets, had despised all threatenings, so they lost all hope of returning. Those in whom such despair brooded were consumed in their miseries; but those who were sustained by the promise of God, cherished in their hearts the hope of harvest, although in a time, of extreme scarcity they cast their seed into the ground, as it were, at venture. In order then that joy may succeed our present sorrow, let us learn to apply our minds to the contemplation of the issue which God promises. Thus we shall experience that all true believers have a common interest in this prophecy, That God not only will wipe away tears from their eyes, but that he will also diffuse inconceivable joy through their hearts.

(94) “ Fuit Judteis sun migratio sationis instar.” — Lat. “ Le tranaport des Juifs en Babvlone leur a este comme un temps de semence ” — Fr

(95) The word then may be prefixed to this verse: then, ie., when thou hast brought back the captives, they that sowed in tears shall reap in joy.” — Cresswell.

(96) “ משך. This word has been variously interpreted; for as it is found only here and in Job 28:18, its signification is uncertain. In the Syriac we have it rendered by a word which signifies a skin and hence J. D. Michaelis proposes to take משך for a sack made of skin. So Aben Ezra thinks ‘that it is the name of a measure in which there is seed.’ The author of Mendlessohn’s Beor, approves of this comment, and observes, that משך was a small cup made of skin.’ The root is משך, to draw out.’ We should, however, adhere as strictly to the meaning of the root if we render the expression as Gesenius has done, by the drawing of the seed, i.e., the strewing or sowing of the seed. I think, however, Michaelis’s rendering is the best, as fitting with the preceding word גסא; and so we have carrying the sack of seed, at the end of the first hemistich, which corresponds with carrying his sheaves at the end of the second.” — Phillips. On the margin of our English Bible it is “seed-basket.” Street reads, “Bearing the vessel with the seed;” Horsley, “He that goeth, and weeping beareth the seed to be drawn forth; French and Skinner, “Bearing seed for his sowing;” Fry, “Sowing his seed,” observing, that משך expresses the action of casting the seed into the ground; and Walford, “Carrying seed for sowing.” “Literally it is,” says Cresswell, “a drawing forth of seed, i.e., as much as the sower, putting his hand into whatever contained the seed, could take out at once. Amo 9:13.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(5) Joy.Rather, singing, as in Psa. 126:2. The harvest-home songs are contrasted with the anxiety of the seed-time. Probably the poet found the proverbial saying already current, but he has touched it with the consecrating hand till it has become only less precious than the saying of Divine lips, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

5, 6. Long years of delay, vexation, and suffering, occasioned by the hostile people adjoining the country of the Jews, occasioned depression and sorrow. The work of reconstruction was “great,” (Neh 6:3,) at best, and called for self-denial, courage, fortitude, and faith. But their enemies aggravated it a hundredfold. So struggles the Church of Christ in the earth, not only against natural infirmity and disability, but the hostile world. The closing verses are the language of strong faith and hope grounded in the word of God.

Sow in tears Often known in the East from scarcity of seed in famine; from perils of robbers, (as Job 1:14-15,) being often required to go to their fields, six or eight miles from home, armed; from painful labour and poverty; from fear of losing the crop, their only hope; from lack of rain, or from untimely rain. See note on Psa 104:23.

Bearing precious seed Literally, Carrying a basket, or sack, of the seed. No such word as “precious” is in the original, and meshek, (English version, “precious,”) which means to draw out, must denote the act of drawing out the “seed” from the vessel, or, by metonomy, the vessel itself from which it is drawn out. In Amo 9:13, the verb is rendered soweth.

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing Literally, Coming, he shall come with shouting. The form is intensive for, he shall surely come. The result is sure. The antitheses of going, coming; sowing, reaping; weeping, shouting; seed, sheaves; the implied doubt and anxiety in sowing, and the certainty of reaping, are exceedingly elegant and forcible.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

DISCOURSE: 720
SOWING IN TEARS

Psa 126:5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

THIS seems to be a general truth founded on the experience of those who returned from the Babylonish captivity, and the correspondent experience of all who return from the bondage of sin and Satan. The Israelites, like Peter liberated from his prison, were so astonished at their deliverance, that it seemed to them more like a dream than a reality. The very heathens themselves wondered at it, and ascribed it to the influence of Jehovah, as also the Israelites did with joy and gratitude, taking occasion from it to implore the speedy and perfect restoration of all their tribes [Note: Ver. 14. The rain which descended in torrents on the southern or hilly country of Judea, often filled the vallies with rapid streams, which quickly passing away as soon as the rain ceased, the rivers were suddenly transformed into verdant fields. Thus sudden and perfect the Israelites desired their restoration to be.]. Such also are the wonder and joy occasioned by the conversion of a soul to God; and such are the desires which instantly vent themselves in fervent petitions for complete deliverance. But as among the captive Jews, so in the enslaved soul, a season of sorrow precedes the time of emancipation. Nevertheless it shall be found universally true, that they who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Let us inquire,

I.

What we are to understand by sowing in tears?

The sorrow of the world worketh death; and therefore cannot be that to which the promise is made. To sow in tears implies,

1.

A painful recollection of past sins

[We all are sinners from our earliest youth: and every sin we have ever committed, is as fresh in the remembrance of the Deity as if it had been committed this very hour. Nor should we think the less of our sins because they have been long passed: on the contrary, we should view them with all the shame and sorrow that they excited in our bosoms the very instant that our consciences first accused us. Like Gods people of old, we should be bowed down greatly in the recollection of them [Note: Psa 38:3-8. Jer 31:19; Jer 3:25. Eze 16:63.], and earnestly entreat, with David, that God would not call us into judgment for them [Note: Psa 25:7.].]

2.

A penitent concern for present infirmities

[The very best of men has much within him to mourn over. It is but in part that any of us are renewed. Many are the corruptions that yet work within us; and the very imperfection of our prayers and praises is enough to make us go mourning all the day long. St. Paul found so much conflict in his soul by reason of his indwelling corruptions that he exclaimed, O wretched man that I am [Note: Rom 7:14-24.]! and groaned earnestly for death as the season when he should be freed from all the imperfections of his nature, and serve, as well as enjoy, God with unabated ardour [Note: 2Co 5:4.]. Thus should we also go softly before God in the bitterness of our souls [Note: Isa 38:15.], and lothe ourselves before him in dust and ashes [Note: Job 40:4; Job 42:6.].]

3.

An overwhelming sense of Gods goodness

[Nothing a more characteristic of true piety than this. Every day and hour we have reason to adore the divine goodness. What patience does God exercise towards us under all our backslidings! What readiness does he manifest to return to our souls the very instant we return to him, yea, often revealing himself to us, and shedding abroad his love in our hearts, when we had no reason to expect any thing but some heavy token of his displeasure! The psalmist, impressed with such views of God, exclaims, O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men [Note: Psa 31:19.]! But the most striking example of this frame of mind is afforded us by the poor woman, who, to express her love and gratitude, kissed the feet of her Saviour, and washed them with floods of tears [Note: Luk 7:38.]. Would to God that such were the state of our minds, and that we might ever be found, as to our souls at least, in that posture!]

Omitting many other grounds of weeping, we proceed to inquire,

II.

What encouragement we have to weep?

To those who sow their corn, there is but one harvest: but to those who sow in tears there are two:

1.

We shall reap in this world

[God will not despise the broken and contrite heart [Note: Psa 51:17.]: on the contrary, he will hear the voice of our weeping: tears, when flowing from a contrite soul, have an eloquence which he cannot resist. He will speak peace to the soul: he will blot out its transgressions as a morning cloud [Note: Luk 7:47-48; Luk 7:50. 1Jn 1:9.]. He will cause the light of his countenance to shine upon it; and will give unto it a spirit of adoption, whereby it shall cry with confidence, Abba, Father [Note: Jer 31:9; Jer 31:20.]! And will not such a harvest recompense a hundred years of weeping? Look but at the state of the Prodigal, and see him, after his short seed-time of weeping, welcomed to his fathers house, and feasting with him on the fatted calf; was he not well repaid? had he any reason to regret his tears of penitence? Thus then shall it be with us in this world, provided we be content to sow in tears: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy shall come in the morning [Note: Psa 30:5.].]

2.

We shall reap also in the world to come

[All that the penitent soul enjoys in this world is but an earnest of what it shall hereafter possess. There is a full reward [Note: 2 John, ver. 8.], an everlasting life [Note: Gal 6:8.], which shall be reaped as the fruit of what we now sow. The tears we shed are all treasured up with care in the vial of our heavenly Father: every sigh, and every groan, shall be remembered before him; and shall add to that abundant and eternal weight of glory which we shall then receive. And who can estimate those sheaves which we shall then bring with us? How will all our sorrows vanish in an instant, and be turned into unutterable joy [Note: Isa 30:10.]! Let us then look forward to that time, and not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.]

Address
1.

To those who have never known any seed-time like this

[Is there not occasion enough for you to weep? Think how you have neglected your God and father; how you have trampled on the blood of Christ your Saviour: and how you have resisted the motions of the Holy Spirit in your hearts! Think too, how you have made the very consideration of Gods mercy and forbearance an occasion of more boldness in transgressing against him! This, independent of any gross acts of sin, is sufficient to make your head a fountain of tears to run down day and night for your iniquities. Be afflicted, then, and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness; humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up [Note: Jam 4:9-10.].]

2.

To those who are daily sowing in tears

[Possibly, some may be discouraged, because they do not reap so soon as they expected. But, if this be the case, let them examine whether they do indeed sorrow after a godly sort: and, if they have the testimony of a good conscience in this respect, let them wait patiently, as the husbandman [Note: Jam 5:7.], for doubtless they shall come again with rejoicing: joy and gladness are sown for them, and shall spring up in due season [Note: Psa 97:11.]. Let them be contented to go on their way weeping, even though the way be ever so long; for tears are a seed precious unto God, and they shall bring a glorious harvest at the last.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

DISCOURSE: 721
THE SPIRITUAL HARVEST

Psa 126:5-6. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

SO much of sorrow is entailed on fallen man, that his path through life is not improperly called, a vale of tears. But it is not to the ungodly only that this portion is allotted: the man who is regenerate still finds much occasion to weep; and if he have reasons for joy peculiar to himself, so also has he for grief. The Israelites, when restored from their captivity in Babylon, felt, as well they might, that the mercies vouchsafed to them were exceeding great. The very heathen that surrounded them were constrained to acknowledge this. But, when they came to their own land, and saw the desolations that were spread on every side, and reflected on the time and labour that must be employed in rebuilding their city and temple, on the opposition they were likely to meet with in their work, and on their utter incapacity to restore either the city or temple to their former grandeur, they might well weep. They were, however, encouraged with the divine assurance, that God would be with them in their labours, and prosper their endeavours; and that, if they were content to sow in tears, they should reap in joy; yea, that every one of them who should go forth, weeping, and bearing precious seed, should doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
But we must not confine ourselves to the immediate occasion on which these words were written. They refer to every one that is engaged in raising a spiritual temple to the Lord: and they assure to him a happy issue to his exertions.
To elucidate the subject, we shall consider,

I.

The events here connected

Between seed-time and harvest there is in the minds of all a necessary connexion; and as in the natural world the action of sowing has always a reference to that of reaping, so it has also in the spiritual world.
The seed which the Christian sows is tears
[What other can he sow, when he looks back upon the transgressions of his former life? How he, from the first moment that he began to act, lived in rebellion against his God! In no respect has he been subject to the law of God, or regulated himself according to the divine commands. From open and flagrant sins he may be free: but he has lived as without God in the world, making his own will the one rule of his conduct, and his own pleasure the only end of his existence Does not such a life as this call for deep humiliation, and require to be mourned over with floods of tears?
Nor is this contrition less called for by his sins of daily incursion. Let any man compare the frame of his mind with that which his circumstances, and Gods dealings with him, demand: how faint his gratitude for mercies received! how superficial his sorrow for sins committed! how cold his devotions at the throne of grace! how feeble his efforts to glorify his God! Verily, in the retrospect of every succeeding day, he may well sit down and weep bitterly, yea, and mourn before God in dust and ashes.
In truth, this is, in a measure, the habit of the Christians mind; he is bowed down under a sense of his own manifold infirmities; and he walks softly before God, under a consciousness of his own extreme unworthiness. If David could say, in reference to the sins of others, Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law, how much more may every man say it, in reference to his own sins! In the days to which we are looking forward, when the remnant of Israel shall return to the Lord their God, it is precisely in this way that they will come up to Zion: They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born [Note: Jer 31:9.].]

From this seed, however, shall spring a harvest of joy
[In the natural world we expect to reap the very seed which we have sown: but it is not so in the spiritual world. If we sow tears, shall we reap tears? No, never, never, never. Far different shall be the fruit arising from that seed! even joy, yea, joy unspeakable and glorified. Look at the very remnant of whom we have just spoken; and see the issue of their humiliation: They shall come, says the prophet, and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their souls shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow [Note: Jer 31:12-13.]. It must be observed, that the first-fruits of this harvest are enjoyed even now: for the very scope of the Gospel is not only to proclaim liberty to the captives; but to give unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them, I say, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord; and that He may be glorified [Note: Isa 61:1-3.]. But, after all, this is only a foretaste of that which they shall hereafter enjoy, a cluster from Eshcol, an earnest of their future inheritance. The time is coming when they shall reap the full harvest in the fruition of their God, in whose presence there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore [Note: Psa 16:11.].]

The connexion between these two periods being marked, I proceed to shew,

II.

The certainty and blessedness of this connexion

And,

1.

The certainty of it

[In the natural world the connexion is not sure: every care may have been exercised in preparing the ground, and the best seed may have been sown in it; and yet, through blasting or mildew, or some other unforeseen calamity, the hopes of the husbandman may be disappointed. But in the spiritual world this can never occur. There may be many events which seem unpropitious, and threaten the total destruction of the life of God in the soul: but God will overrule them all for the final accomplishment of his own gracious purposes, agreeably to his own express engagement, that All things shall work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose [Note: Rom 8:28.]. The untoward circumstances may continue for a considerable length of time; but God engages, that though their weeping may endure for a night, joy shall assuredly come to them in the morning [Note: Psa 30:5.]. Extremely beautiful is that promise in the Prophet Hosea: Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. His goings forth are prepared as the morning [Note: Hos 6:3.]. The benighted traveller may be ready to imagine that the morning, as it were, will never arrive. But the sun, though as remote as possible from us, will return, and is actually making a progress towards us; and has its radiance ready prepared to pour it forth, for the benefit of the earth, at the appointed hour. So, in the darkest seasons of desertion is God prepared to lift up the light of his reconciled countenance upon us, and to refresh our souls with his enlightening and invigorating beams.]

2.

The blessedness of it

[The joy of the harvestman may be fitly used to characterize the Christians consolations here [Note: Isa 9:3.]: but it will convey no idea of his felicity hereafter; for all that here he sought and tasted shall there be enjoyed in its utmost fulness: and if the feast of which the prodigal was made to partake, on returning to his Fathers house, was so blessed, what must the banquet be which is prepared for us above! Verily, in comparison of that, the sublimest happiness of man on earth is no more than as a twinkling star to the meridian sun. To attempt to speak of the heavenly glory, is only to darken counsel by words without knowledge: for, what conception have we of the immediate vision of our God in the full effulgence of his glory? or what idea can we form of that throne and that kingdom which we shall possess above? Suffice it to say, that all which the blood of Christ could purchase, and all that the love of God can bestow, is the portion reserved for us in the realms of bliss.]

Behold, then,
1.

How desirable is true repentance

[I grant that repentance, considered without relation to its consequences, is not a pleasing exercise of mind: nor would a husbandman find any pleasure in casting his seed into the ground, if he had no prospect of a future recompence. But both the husbandman and the penitent sow in hope. Each of them knows, that without sowing he can never reap; and each of them expects, that if he sow in hope, he shall be partaker of his hope. Hence the employment is that which each of them affects. But there is this difference between the two: the husbandman is confined to a few weeks for the discharge of his duty, whereas the penitent prosecutes his labours to the very end of life; seeing that there is no day or hour which does not give him fresh occasion for penitential sorrow. He is to go forth bearing a seed-basket [Note: So it is rendered in the margin of our Bible.]; and exactly as the sower, bearing the seed-basket, scatters the seed as universally as he can over the whole field, so does the penitent, every step he takes in the field of life. And whereas one may sow too early and too much, the other knows that he never can too soon begin the blessed work; and that the more profusely he sows, the more abundantly he shall reap: God having ordained, in reference to this as well as to every other duty, that he who soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he who soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully [Note: 2Co 9:6.]. To all then I say, Be afflicted, and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he shall lift you up [Note: Jam 4:9-10.]. I say, To all, without exception, would I give this advice; for it is by a conformity to it, under the Gospel dispensation, that every child of God shall be known: In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going, and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward; saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten [Note: Jer 50:4-5.].]

2.

How reconciled we should be to trials

[To the Christian there may be many storms and tempests, or a long-protracted season of distress, which may threaten the destruction of all his prospects: but as, in relation to the wheat, the frost is even desirable to destroy the vermin, so are diversities of seasons beneficial to the spiritual seed: as St. Peter has said; The trial of our faith, which is much more precious than of gold, which, though it stand the trial of fire, will perish at last, will be to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ [Note: 1Pe 1:7.]. It is remarkable that our blessed Lord, speaking of himself as the true vine, and of his people as the branches, says of every branch that beareth fruit, the husbandman purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit [Note: Joh 15:2.]. It might be hoped, that, since it was already fruitful, it might escape the wounds inflicted by the pruning-knife: but that is not consistent with the will of the great Husbandman, who consults its ultimate benefit in proportion to the prospect which it affords of progressive fruitfulness. So are Gods dearest people often most severely tried; and they whose sheaves shall hereafter be found most abundant, are often made to apprehend an entire failure of all their prospects. Consider, thou tempted Believer, how profitable thy trials have been to thee; how they have tended to humble thy pride, to weaken thine attachment to earthly things, to make thee feel thy need of Gods continual help, and to quicken thee in thy way to the heavenly Zion: and learn to say, It is good for me that I have been afflicted; and it is in love and faithfulness that thou hast afflicted me.]

3.

How sweet to the Christian should be the thoughts of death

[Death is as the waggons that are about to carry home the produce of the field, or as those which were sent to bear the afflicted Jacob to his beloved Joseph. The sight of these made Jacob forget all his troubles, and become indifferent to all that he possessed in this world: He regarded not his stuff, became all the good of the land of Egypt was his [Note: Gen 45:19-20.]. So then, Brethren, let it be with you. Behold the waggons sent to bear you home, whither you shall go rejoicing, bearing your sheaves with you. Yes, the tears that you have shed have been treasured up by God in his vial [Note: Psa 56:8.]; and they shall be recompensed into your bosom a hundred and a thousand fold. Hear the declaration of God himself to this effect: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit: for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them [Note: Rev 14:13.]. Only view death aright, and you will account it amongst your most valued treasures: you will even be looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of Christ. If it be unto you Christ to live, doubt not a moment but that to die will be gain [Note: Php 1:21.]. For this is the irreversible decree of God, that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap: he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting [Note: Gal 6:7-8.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

These are sweet and general truths, which are not limited to the history of this event of the Church, but may be applied to the Church of God in all ages. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted, Mat 5:4 . And most unquestionably that grace which induceth sorrow for sin, will bring forth joy in the view of Christ’s righteousness. Jer 31:9 ; 2Co 7:10-11 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Ver. 5. They that sow in tears ] Whether ministers (as some restrain the sense), who serve the Lord with many tears and temptations, Act 20:19 , but see little fruit; or others, who sow in the tears of affliction and compunction for sin, the cause thereof; his foecunda sine dubio messis indulgentiae orietur, saith Arnobius, these shall certainly reap in joy pardon of sin, Isa 1:16 , power against it (these troubled waters cured the soul, as the tears of vine branches cure the leprosy), increase of grace. The lily is sown in her own tears, saith Pliny; so is grace: the olive is most fruitful when it most distilleth; so here, These April showers bring on May flowers, and make the heart to be like a watered garden, besides an access of glory; for they that weep with men shall laugh with angels; their tears shall be turned into triumphs, their sadness into gladness, their sighing into singing, their musing into music, &c. See Mat 5:4 . This the proto-martyr foresaw, and therefore (Bernbus de St Stephano),

Ibat ovans animis, et spe sua damna levabat.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)