Psalm 126:5-6
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall surely come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
So much of sorrow is entailed on fallen man, that his path through life is properly called a valley 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 given to them were exceedingly 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 labor 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 labors, and prosper their endeavors; and that, if they were content to “sow in tears, they would reap in joy;” yes, that every one of them who should “go forth, weeping, and bearing precious seed, would surely 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 outcome 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 connection; 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 God’s 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!
Truly, in the retrospect of every succeeding day, he may well sit down and weep bitterly, yes, and mourn before God in dust and ashes!
In truth, this is, in a measure, the habit of the Christian’s 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 my eyes, because men keep not your law,” then 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 will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son, Jeremiah 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, yes, “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Look at the very remnant of whom we have just spoken; and see the outcome of their humiliation, “They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD–the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow! Jeremiah 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! Isaiah 61:1-3.”
But, after all, this is only a foretaste of that which they shall hereafter enjoy, a cluster from Eshcol, a pledge 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 fullness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore! Psalm 16:11.”
The connection between these two periods being marked, I proceed to show,
II. The certainty and blessedness of this connection of sowing in tears, and reaping in joy.
1. The certainty of sowing in tears, and reaping in joy.
In the natural world the connection 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 gardener 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 those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose! Romans 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, Psalm 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, Hosea 6:3.”
The benighted traveler 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.
In the same way, 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 sowing in tears, and reaping in joy.
The joy of the harvestman may be fitly used to characterize the Christian’s consolations here on earth, Isaiah 9:3; but it will convey no idea of his felicity hereafter in glory; for all that here he sought and tasted shall there be enjoyed in its utmost fullness! And if the feast of which the prodigal was made to partake, on returning to his Father’s house, was so blessed—then what must the banquet be which is prepared for us above!
Truly, in comparison with that, the sublimest happiness of man on earth is no more than as a twinkling star, compared 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 that the blood of Christ could purchase, and all that the love of God can bestow, is the portion reserved for every believer 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 gardener find any pleasure in casting his seed into the ground, if he had no prospect of a future recompense. But both the gardener 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 “sows 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 gardener is confined to a few weeks for the discharge of his duty, whereas the penitent prosecutes his labors 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” 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 penitent 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 sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully! 2 Corinthians 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! James 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, at that time,” declares the LORD, “the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten! Jeremiah 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 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 honor and glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ! 1 Peter 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 bears fruit, the gardener prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit, John 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 Gardener, who consults its ultimate benefit in proportion to the prospect which it affords of progressive fruitfulness.
In the same way, God’s dearest people are 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, O tempted believer, how profitable your trials have been to you. Consider how they have tended:
to humble your pride,
to weaken your attachment to earthly things,
to make you feel your need of God’s continual help,
and to quicken you in your way to the heavenly Zion!
And then learn to say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; and it is in love and faithfulness that you have afflicted me.”
3. How sweet to the Christian should be the thoughts of death.
Death is as the wagons 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 belongings, because all the good of the land of Egypt was his! Genesis 45:19-20.”
So then, brethren, let it be with you. Behold the wagons sent to bear you home, where 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! Psalm 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 says the Spirit; for they rest from their labors, and their works follow them! Revelation 14:13.” Only view death aright, and you will account it among your most valued treasures! You will even “be looking for, and hastening unto, the coming of the day of Christ.” If it is unto you, “Christ to live”—then do not doubt for a moment but that “to die will be gain! Philippians 1:21.” For this is the irreversible decree of God, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life! Galatians 6:7-8.”
Charles Simeon