PSALM CXXVI _The joy of the Israelites on their return from captivity, and_ _the effect their deliverance had upon the heathen_, 1-3. _The prayer which they had offered up_, 4. _The inference they draw from the whole_, 5, 6. NOTES ON PSALM CXXVI This Psalm is not of David, has no title in the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Psalms 126:2. _THEN WAS OUR MOUTH FILLED WITH LAUGHTER_] The same effect as was produced on the poor liberated Grecians mentioned above. _THEN SAID THEY AMONG THE HEATHEN_] The liberty now granted was brought about in so extraordinary a way, that the very _heathens_ saw that the hand of the g... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Psalms 126:3. _THE LORD HATH DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US_] We acknowledge the hand of our God. _Deus nobis haec otia fecit_, "God alone has given us this enlargement." _WE ARE GLAD._] This is a mere burst of ecstatic joy. O how happy are we!... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Psalms 126:4. _TURN AGAIN OUR CAPTIVITY_] This is either a recital of the prayer they had used _before_ their deliverance; or it is a prayer for those who _still remained_ in the provinces beyond the Euphrates. The Jewish captives did not all return at _once_; they came back at different times... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Psalms 126:5. _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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Psalms 126:6. _HE THAT GOETH FORTH AND WEEPETH, BEARING PRECIOUS SEED_] The metaphor seems to be this: A poor farmer has had a very bad harvest: a very scanty portion of grain and food has been gathered from the earth. The _seed time_ is now come, and is very unpromising. Out of the famine a... [ Continue Reading ]