Commentary - Psalm 126:1-3

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 126 is a song of ascents, one of the psalms the pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem for the great feasts. This particular song is about the Lord's great "turnings." It recounts a past deliverance so stunning, so beyond all expectation, that it felt like a dream. This is a psalm about what J.R.R. Tolkien called eucatastrophe, the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears. It is unexpected salvation, deliverance when all seemed lost.

The first half of the psalm (vv. 1-3) looks back to this monumental act of God, this return from captivity, and the explosive joy that resulted. This joy was not contained within Israel; it spilled over and became a testimony to the surrounding nations. The heathen themselves became evangelists, declaring the greatness of Yahweh's deeds. The psalm then pivots in the second half to a prayer for God to "do it again," grounding the plea in the character of the God who has already demonstrated His power to save. It is a psalm that teaches us to remember God's past deliverances as the fuel for our present prayers and future hopes.

Outline

Context In Psalms

As a "Song of Ascents" (Psalms 120-134), this psalm was part of the hymnal for Israel's pilgrims. These songs were sung as they traveled to Jerusalem, a journey that was both a physical ascent and a spiritual one. This context of pilgrimage is crucial. The worshippers are on their way to the place of God's presence, and they are singing about His mighty acts of salvation. This particular psalm is post-exilic, looking back on the return from Babylon. The generation that first sang this likely included those who had been born in captivity and were now, against all odds, back in the land of their fathers. Their recent history was a powerful, tangible demonstration of God's covenant faithfulness. The psalm captures the raw emotion of that deliverance and turns it into a settled confidence for the future.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

A Song of Ascents.

Right out of the gate, we are told what kind of literature we are dealing with. This is a song for a road trip, but not just any road trip. This is for the pilgrimage up to Zion, the holy city. The journey itself was an enacted parable. You leave your ordinary life behind and you go up, up to the house of the Lord. These songs were designed to shape the heart of the worshipper along the way. They are full of longing, trust, and remembrance. This is not a song for the stationary; it is for those on the move, for pilgrims who know they are not yet home.

1 When Yahweh returned the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.

The psalm opens with a memory, a foundational deliverance that redefined everything. The name of God used here is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, the great I AM. It was not chance, or the edict of a pagan king, that brought them back. It was Yahweh. He "returned the captive ones." The Hebrew word for "returned" is shuv, which also means to turn back or repent. This is one of the Lord's great turnings. He turned their captivity.

And the result was sheer disbelief. "We were like those who dream." This was not the kind of thing you expect in the ordinary course of affairs. This was a miracle hanging in the air. Imagine being born in Babylon, your grandfather telling you stories of a city you've never seen, a Temple that lies in ruins. And then, one day, you are walking through the gates of that very city. It would be surreal. This is the shock of grace. When God truly moves, it often has this dreamlike quality. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. It is an unexpected deliverance that leaves you rubbing your eyes, wondering if it can possibly be real. This is the eucatastrophe. All is lost, the darkness is total, and then, a light you never thought you'd see again.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with shouts of joy; Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”

The dreamlike shock gives way to an explosion of joy. Notice the physical, earthy nature of it. It wasn't a quiet, contemplative gratitude. It was loud. Mouths filled with laughter, tongues with shouts of joy. This is not the polite chuckle of the religious. This is a deep, belly laugh of the redeemed. This is the kind of joy that cannot be contained or managed. It erupts. When God saves, He doesn't just change our legal status; He gives us a new song, a new laugh.

And this joy is evangelistic. It is so loud, so undeniable, that the neighbors can't help but notice. "Then they said among the nations..." The heathen, the Gentiles, the surrounding pagan peoples, they are the ones who get the next line. They become interpreters of God's providence. They see this rag-tag group of exiles restored to their land and they know this isn't normal. This isn't just a shift in geopolitical fortunes. They rightly conclude, "Yahweh has done great things for them." God's work in the lives of His people is meant to be public. It is a spectacle for the world, and even the unbelievers are sometimes given the grace to see it and declare it for what it is.

3 Yahweh has done great things for us; We are glad.

The people of God hear the testimony of the nations and they make it their own. They put their "amen" to it. The nations said Yahweh did great things for "them." The redeemed reply, yes, He has done great things for "us." This is the move from observation to personal confession. It is one thing for the world to notice God's work; it is another for the church to own it, to internalize it, to make it the bedrock of their identity.

And the result is simple, profound, and declarative: "We are glad." The Hebrew is straightforward. We are joyful. This gladness is the direct consequence of recognizing what God has done. It is not a vague optimism. It is not a happiness dependent on circumstances. It is a gladness rooted in a specific, historical act of God's salvation. He has done great things. Therefore, we are glad. This is the logic of Christian joy. It is always a response to the mighty acts of God, chief of which is the turning of our ultimate captivity to sin and death through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Application

This psalm teaches us to build our present faith on the foundation of God's past faithfulness. We must be story-keepers. We have to remember the great things God has done, both in the grand sweep of redemptive history and in the small details of our own lives. When was a time you were "like them that dream?" When did God deliver you in a way that left you shaking your head in wonder? Remember that. Tell your children about it. That memory is not just a pleasant nostalgia; it is ammunition for the battles you are in today.

The joy described here is a public, infectious joy. Our laughter and singing should be so robust that the unbelieving world around us has to ask what is going on. And when they conclude that God must have done something for us, we must be ready to agree with them heartily. "Yes, He has done great things for us, whereof we are glad." Our gladness is a witness. A sour Christian is a contradiction in terms, a poor advertisement for the gospel of grace.

Finally, this great turning from Babylon is a shadow, a type, of the greater turning that Christ accomplished. He is the one who leads us out of our ultimate captivity to sin and death. His resurrection was the greatest eucatastrophe in history. All was lost at the cross, and then the stone was rolled away. Because of that, we can look at any current "captivity," any trial or sorrow, and pray with confidence, knowing that the God who brought His people from Babylon, and who brought His Son from the grave, is the same God we serve today.