A Psalm for the Grieving
Reading for Sunday 3.12–Tuesday 3.14
There are many parallels between our spiritual journeys and the journey of Israel. For much of Israel's history, they placed their hope in Yahweh's future intervention, looking to His past acts of faithfulness as the bedrock of their faith.
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Psalm 126
A Song of Hope
1 When the LORD restored the well-being of Zion,
we thought we were dreaming.
2 At that time we laughed loudly
and shouted for joy.
At that time the nations said,
"The LORD has accomplished great things for these people."
3 The LORD did indeed accomplish great things for us.
We were happy.
4 O LORD, restore our well-being,
just as the streams in the arid south are replenished.
5 Those who shed tears as they plant
will shout for joy when they reap the harvest.
6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed,
will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain.
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A Psalm for the Grieving.
The appeal of Psalm 126 centers on the double use of the phrase "restore our well-being" (vv. 1 & 4), each marking the beginning of the psalms two distinct parts. The first looks back, celebrating Yahweh's intervention on Israel's behalf (vv. 1-3). The second appeals directly to Yahweh to intervene once again (vv.4-6).
And this is where you and I live. This painful in-between place is so much of what our spiritual lives are. We find ourselves in desperate need of God to show up again, longing for what we know only God can bring.
The final section of the psalm carries its freight. The appeal to Yahweh is an appeal for restoration. "Lord, intervene for us again!" once again, we see a psalm demand God act. The psalm's open-ended nature lends to open-ended readings that can provide balm to aching, weary souls.
Yet whatever struggle we import into the psalm, the psalmist makes it clear, God will once again bring about our flourishing. Those who weep will have joy. Our tears sowed in sorrow, and pain will burst forth to new life.
The God of the empty grave will meet the toil, pain, and struggle that so often accompany a life of faith.
For now, we live in the tension, looking back to what God did on our behalf, looking forward to what God has yet to do for us in the future. We wait, grieving what we don't yet have, hoping for what we know will one day come.
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Reflect with a friend
In what ways do you find yourself living in the tension of what God has done, and what God has yet to do?
Reflect on the ways God has intervened into the world in the past on your behalf, both on a cosmic level and a personal level. Reflect on the things left undone, the things that make you ache and you still long for God to address.
How does hoping in God to come through strike you in the moment? Does it feel that God’s intervention is distant or never coming, or perhaps close and at hand?
Name moments you’ve felt this ache before, and ways God has addressed it.
