580_The God who restores our fortunes (Psalm 126) Psalm 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. 4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. A few years ago, a well-known humanitarian organization released a short documentary about a village in East Africa that had endured a devastating drought. For months, the land cracked beneath the relentless sun. Wells dried up, families were displaced, and the fields that once produced grain and vegetables became nothing but dust. Many villagers left, hoping to survive elsewhere. But one day, after months of waiting, dark clouds gathered unexpectedly. A sudden downpour burst over the parched land. The villagers ran out of their makeshift shelters with tears of astonishment. Children danced barefoot in the mud, older men raised their hands toward the sky, and women began to sing. One of the elders, overwhelmed with emotion, said something unforgettable: “It feels like waking up from a dream we thought was lost.” That statement captures the heart of Psalm 126. This short psalm, the seventh of the Songs of Ascents, is a picture of God’s people standing in the rain of His mercy after a long season of drought, displacement, and longing. It is a psalm drenched in relief—one that remembers a moment so astonishing that the people could hardly believe it was happening. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,” the psalmist says, “we were like those who dream.” It was as though reality suddenly became better than their imagination dared hope. God had done something so extraordinary, so unmistakably divine, that they stood stunned in gratitude. Scholars believe the psalm may reflect a time when God’s people, forced by famine to leave their hill country homes and seek survival in the lowlands, were finally brought back by God’s gracious intervention. Whatever the exact historical moment, the memory is clear: God took a displaced, discouraged, and diminished people—and restored them. They returned to the familiar hills they once feared they might never see again. Their relief overflowed into laughter, songs, and testimonies that even the surrounding nations could not ignore. The people around them said, “The Lord has done great things for them,” and Israel answered joyfully, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” This restoration is not a small act. Human history testifies how difficult it is to bring a displaced people back home. Once a community migrates—whether across a border or across an ocean—it often roots itself elsewhere. Generations grow up with new customs, new languages, new identities. But Israel’s story was different, because their return was not the result of politics
