Seeds and Sorrows

Berean Baptist on February 26, 2018

Psalm 126

Psalm 126 is one of the psalms written during the captivity of Judah in Babylon. It is hard for us to relate to the extreme sorrow the Judeans experienced when they saw their holy temple destroyed, the walls of their beloved city breached, and then their subsequent deportation to a foreign land. The temple and the city were the center of their lives. Everything they were was structured around the worship of the temple from their diet to their health and hygiene, to their morality and social interactions, and then finally to their spiritual welfare. The tragedy of the deportation was the realization that their lives were destroyed. Everything they were was lost—except for one thing—they were still God’s people with a promise that if they would return to Him, He would be faithful to restore them (2 Chron. 7:14).

In verse 6, the psalmist wrote: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” The Reformation Heritage Study Bible helpfully explains: “The imagery suggests that the sorrows of believers are like God’s seeds by which He will produce a harvest of happiness for them.” We can relate this to the suffering of God’s people in the church age. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, the experiences of Old Testament believers are for our learning. The hardships of living a Christian life and the inevitable suffering that results will at last bring joy when we enter the heavenly kingdom. Each heartache for the cause of Christ is a seed sown which will be reaped with the benefits of eternal reward.

Peter commented on this phenomenon by saying, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:12-14).

These blessed words are a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us. We should never worry that in the dark night of sorrow God has abandoned us. Each sorrowful seed that is sown will someday grow up to our health and happiness in His eternal presence. It is hard to imagine the soul could be strengthened by such hard labor when at times it seems we are in such despair of trials that we are ready to die. However, true to the scriptures, no sorrowing in a life of toils lived for Christ goes unnoticed. None of the seeds fail to germinate into life everlasting.

The story this psalm tells is of the exiles going home. They realized their mistakes in turning from the living God. They repented of turning against Him, and the Lord was faithful to honor His promise by turning the hearts of kings to allow them to return home. God’s marvelous providence in changing the rulers’ hearts amazingly caused them to give financial aid and protection for the rebuilding projects of the temple and the city walls (Ezra 9:8-9). Tears welled in the eyes of the Judeans as their hearts burst for the graciousness of God in forgiving their terrible sins and restoring them to their homeland.

Relief was granted but the way was still difficult. Rebuilding took several more years as work stoppages by opposition kept them from their task. However, the leaders trusted God and were patient to work through every difficulty. Eventually, the work was done and the sorrows of hard labor and the weeping for troubles turned to the joy of being home in their beloved city.

The same is true for you, Christian. It may be hard now, but as the psalmist said in another place, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Keep your hope through the long night of despair. The seeds of sorrow you have sown will grow and you will have the joy of knowing God never leaves you or forsakes you.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Hope for Discouraged Christians

Berean Baptist on July 25, 2015

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:29)

This passage in Matthew is most helpful for discouraged Christians. Jesus knew the exact time to give His disciples encouragement because there were many negative overtones to His teachings. It was necessary for Him to deal with the sinful nature of men and to issue warnings of the wrath to come; and indeed we find much of the Bible is concerned with the destruction of the flesh, the downfall of the world’s systems, and the final punishment in hell for all that do not receive Christ as Saviour. It is also necessary for us to deal with these doctrines because a person must know of his sinful condition and the consequences of it before he can repent of his sins and trust Christ. After this information is given, we must further instruct those that believe concerning the hardships of living the Christian life. Unsuspecting new converts can be shattered unless they know it is not unusual to experience pain and suffering because of their faith. This is an inevitable result of following Christ. As Jesus said, the world will hate us because it hated Him. You can see from this that much of the Bible’s teachings must be negative because we live in a fallen, sinful world.

With so many negatives, is there anything positive? The disciples wondered this as they were being trained because they were graphically living out the negative aspects of following Christ. When Jesus perceived the weight of their present problems was becoming extremely burdensome, He broke through the negatives in scriptures such as Matthew 19:28-29. This is the promise of a glorious future in which He will come to sit on the throne of David and will rule the world in perfect peace and righteousness. This is a wonderful prospect which is far more than they could expect. Just to live in a holy kingdom without pain, suffering, hunger, and the constant attacks of Satan is more than they could ask. These factors alone are great encouragement.

However, in this scripture, Jesus steps beyond His personal ruling authority to let His disciples know they will also have their part ruling in the Kingdom. This is what they hoped for all along even though they did not fully understand what it would take to occupy their places of authority. They would become great in the Kingdom by first becoming the lowly servants of others. But still, without this full understanding, these verses came when they surely needed encouragement. They were on their way to Jerusalem for the last days of Jesus’ life when it would seem discouragement was all that was in store.

One of the great truths of this passage is to teach us not to always focus on our present circumstances. When our thoughts are too much on the present, they spoil the ability the future has to give us hope when needed. Christ taught the disciples in this place to look beyond their current hardships to their glorious future. The coming Kingdom would prove that everything they gave up for Him would be more than equally compensated; it would be exponentially increased with eternal rather than temporal value.

This is the same hope we are to look forward to in this promise made by Christ. These disciples are typical of all disciples—it will be worth it all for all of us. Never doubt the reality of His precious future promises. It will make all the difference in the world of how you are able face life’s challenges.

Pastor V. Mark Smith