Songs of Joy

Psalm 126:2

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

I remember singing “Bringing in the Sheaves” when I was growing up in church. I found out that sheaves were the cut and bound grains that were brought in from the field at harvest time. Several of my great-grandparents were farmers. They knew all about waiting for the harvest, wondering if all their hard work would pay off. Psalm 126 tells the story of farmers rejoicing at harvest time.

People who work in fields of grain (farmers) feel joy when their crop comes in and gives them a good payoff. All during the growing season, they had to protect their crop from its natural enemies: bad weather, drought, insects, disease.

Likewise, people who work in fields of spiritual rebirth (pastors, missionaries, Christians world-wide) feel joy when they see the harvest from the seeds they’ve sown. They’ve prayed over their seeds that God would protect their growing season and allow a good harvest. When they see the person who had been captive to sin making the decision to hold onto God’s hand and trust him for their rescue, they are filled with more joy than the farmers experience.

Songs of joy are a natural response when a period of waiting is followed by good news. How many times have you heard a loud “Hallelujah!” as if someone was at a Handel’s Messiah sing-a-long, only to discover that the person had just received good news?

We train our children to say “Thank you” when someone does something good for them. Singing a song of thanksgiving to God is so easy. He’s always listening.