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PSALM 126:
The Enjoyment of Being Freed from Our Self-life
Our Initial Enjoyment of Entering into the Church Life
Psalm 126 begins, "When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion, we
were like those who dream. At that time our mouth was filled with laughter
and our tongue with a ringing shout. At that time they said among the
nations, Jehovah has done great things for them. Jehovah has done great
things for us; we are joyful" (v. 1-3). The psalmist speaks of a joy that
is impossible to describe. This is our experience when we first came into
the church life. The turning of our captivity indicates that we were those
searching and struggling, possibly for many years. Then one day our captivity
was turned, and what we longed for became our reality. When this happened,
all we could say was, "This is a dream come true!"
We may have realized for years that God desired a testimony and a habitation.
We realized that God wanted to gain a group of people to belong to Himself
alone. Yet we were in captivity, either in Christianity or in the world.
But one day the Lord brought us to the local churches and we began to
enjoy the church life. He "turned our captivity." Then we were like those
that dream. We beheld all the dear saints. We beheld all the riches of
Christ. We found that we could serve the living God in reality. We had
the full realization, "Oh, thank You Lord! You have turned the captivity
of Zion! You have brought us to Your testimony! We are like those that
dream!"
We Need a Deeper Turn from Captivity
The psalmist then says, "Turn again, O Jehovah, our captivity like the
streams in the south" (v. 4). The first part of the psalm describes our
initial experience of the church life. Once we are in the church life,
eventually we long for a deeper turn. It is speaking of ourselves. The
psalmist says, "Turn again, O Jehovah, our captivity." In other words,
we ourselves need a deeper turn. To pray according to this understanding
is to tell the Lord, "Lord, I already came out of captivity positionally.
I am no longer in Babylon. I am no longer in the world or in Christianity.
I have come to Your testimony, and my stand is clear. I am for Christ
and the church. But, Lord, look at me. There are still so many things
that I have, and so many things that I enjoy, that are far from You. Lord,
I am still in captivity. Positionally I am released, but experientially
I am not released in full. I still have not yet been freed. I still have
so many things which capture me." When we realize this, then we pray,
"Lord, turn again my captivity."
Being Released from the Captivity of Our Self-life
We all need to be released from our captivity to our self-life. In this
captivity we lose our enjoyment of the Lord and the enjoyment of the church
life. Eventually we are not satisfied. If someone were to ask us, "Do
you find the church life satisfying?" our answer would probably be, "Yes
I do, but..." The "but" is a reflection on ourselves. It means, "Yes,
the church life is satisfying, but I am still in captivity. I am captured
especially by my self-life." We should not point our finger at anyone
else; we should point it at ourselves.
Being Freed from our Self-life Seems Impossible, but the Lord is Able
This psalm tells us that our second turn from captivity is "like the streams
in the south." The thought here is quite deep. To the south of Israel
there is nothing but desert. How can the psalmist expect to find streams
in a desert? This seems impossible. The thought of the psalmist here is,
"Lord, for You to turn my captivity in this way seems impossible. It is
like 'the streams in the south.' Only You can do such a thing." If we
cry out to the Lord this way, then He will answer us. He will respond,
"Yes, I will release you, but you must pay a price."
The Price for Being Freed from Our Self-life: Sowing Ourselves unto
Death
How does the Lord release us from our captivity? Psalm 126 continues,
"Those who sow in tears will reap with a ringing shout" (v. 5). The Lord
releases us from our captivity by asking us to pay a price. In this verse
the Lord tells us, "Now that you desire to come out of your captivity,
it is very simple. You just need to sow in tears." We might ask, what
does this mean? What is it that we sow? The Lord would say, "Go and sow
yourself." When we sow in tears it means that our self-life is over. We
realize that we must sow our very selves into the ground to die. We no
longer have any choice. We realize, "If I want to be delivered from my
captivity to my self, then I must bury myself and die. That is my future.
That is the only road ahead of me."
Sowing Ourselves into the Ground will Cause Us to Be Fruitful
The Lord Jesus was one who sowed Himself into the ground to die: "Truly,
truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).
If we wish to be fruitful, then we also must go and die. Psalm 126 is
very deep. First there is an initial enjoyment, but then there is a deeper
consecration. In this consecration the Lord does not demand that we do
anything. He only demands that we die. The Lord doesn't ask us to serve
Him. Instead, He asks us to sow ourselves into the ground, just as He
did. When we do this, the result is that we "reap with a ringing shout."
Death and burial is not the end. When we sow ourselves into the ground,
we will reap something. When we sow in tears, we will reap in joy! Praise
the Lord for this!
To
purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs
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