Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
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Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
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They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
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They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Psalms 126:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Galatians 6:9 Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
- Isaiah 35:10 Then Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
- John 16:20-22 Most certainly I tell you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
- Joel 2:23 “Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your God; for he gives you the early rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the early rain and the latter rain, as before.
- Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- Jeremiah 31:9-13 They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn. “Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations, and declare it in the distant islands. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’ For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance; the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
- Isaiah 12:1-3 In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.” Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
- Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
- Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
- 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you grieve, though just for a while. I now rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold, this same thing, that you were grieved in a godly way, what earnest care it worked in you. Yes, what defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vengeance! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be pure in the matter.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 5. They who sow in tears shall reap in…
5. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. This sentence, in my opinion, ought not less to be extended to the future than understood of the past. The carrying away of the Jews into Babylon was to them as a seed-time; “Fuit Judteis sun migratio sationis instar.” — Lat. “Le tranaport des Juifs en Babvlone leur a este comme un temps de semence ” — Fr
The word then may be prefixed to this verse: then, ie., when thou hast brought back the captives, they that sowed in tears shall reap in joy.” — Cresswell.
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“משך. This word has been variously interpreted; for as it is found only here and in Job 28:18, its signification is uncertain. In the Syriac we have it rendered by a word which signifies a skin and hence J. D. Michaelis proposes to take משך for a sack made of skin. So Aben Ezra thinks ‘that it is the name of a measure in which there is seed.’ The author of Mendlessohn’s Beor, approves of this comment, and observes, that משך was a small cup made of skin.’ The root is משך, to draw out.’ We should, however, adhere as strictly to the meaning of the root if we render the expression as Gesenius has done, by the drawing of the seed, i.e., the strewing or sowing of the seed. I think, however, Michaelis’s rendering is the best, as fitting with the preceding word גסא; and so we have carrying the sack of seed, at the end of the first hemistich, which corresponds with carrying his sheaves at the end of the second.” — Phillips. On the margin of our English Bible it is “seed-basket.” Street reads, “Bearing the vessel with the seed;” Horsley, “He that goeth, and weeping beareth the seed to be drawn forth; French and Skinner, “Bearing seed for his sowing;” Fry, “Sowing his seed,” observing, that משך expresses the action of casting the seed into the ground; and Walford, “Carrying seed for sowing.” “Literally it is,” says Cresswell, “a drawing forth of seed, i.e., as much as the sower, putting his hand into whatever contained the seed, could take out at once. Amos 9:13.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap…
Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears] Whether ministers (as some restrain the sense), who serve the Lord with many tears and temptations, Act 20:19, but see little fruit; or others, who sow in the tears of affliction and compunction for sin, the cause thereof; his foecunda sine dubio messis indulgentiae orietur, saith Arnobius, these shall certainly reap in joy pardon of sin, Isa 1:16, power against it (these troubled waters cured the soul, as the tears of vine branches cure the leprosy), increase of grace. The lily is sown in her own tears, saith Pliny; so is grace: the olive is most fruitful when it most distilleth; so here, These April showers bring on May flowers, and make the heart to be like a watered garden, besides an access of glory; for they that weep with men shall laugh with angels; their tears shall be turned into triumphs, their sadness into gladness, their sighing into singing, their musing into music, &c. See Mat 5:4. This the proto-martyr foresaw, and therefore (Bernbus de St Stephano),
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Ibat ovans animis, et spe sua damna levabat.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This is an argument wherewith he presseth the foregoing…
This is an argument wherewith he presseth the foregoing prayer, Psa 126:4, taken from the common course of God’s providence towards men of all nations, to whom he affords vicissitudes of sorrow and comfort; and particularly towards husbandmen, who though ofttimes they sow their seed-corn with care, and fear, and sorrow, yet afterwards for the most part meet with a joyful harvest. And therefore we hope thou wilt not deny this favour to thine own people. And as thou hast in some good measure granted it to us, so we pray thee grant it to our brethren, who are yet exercised with hard labours and griefs, that they and we together may at last obtain that blessed and full harvest which we still pray and hope for.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.…
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. A proverbial expression, encouraging faith in prayer put up for the return of the captivity, whether in a literal or spiritual sense. Praying or seeking the Lord is sowing in righteousness, Hos 10:12; which is often attended with tears and weeping; the issue of them is not always seen soon: these, like seed, lie buried under the clods, but take effect and will rise up in due time: saints should wait patiently for a return of them, as the husbandman for the fruits of the earth; in due time they will produce a large crop of blessings, a plentiful harvest, which the praying saint will reap with joy; as those that prayed and waited for the redemption in Jerusalem; and as those that pray for the latter day glory, the conversion of the Jews, the fulness of the Gentiles, and the destruction of antichrist; the souls under the altar have been sowing in tears, but before long they will reap in joy, Rev 6:9. It may be applied to the state and condition of saints in common in this life; now is their sowing time, and careful they should be that they sow not to the flesh, but to the spirit: and a sorrowful time it is, on account of inward corruptions, Satan's temptations, divine desertions, and the imperfection of their services; but before long they will reap life everlasting, reap in joy, and be in the fulness of it; now they weep, then they shall rejoice; now they mourn, then they shall be comforted.
Psalms 126:6
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. They that sow in tears shall reap…
Verse 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.] This is either a maxim which they gather from their own history, or it is a fact which they are now witnessing. We see the benefit of humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God; we have now a sweet return for our bitter tears. Or, We have sown in tears; now we reap in joy. We are restored after a long and afflicting captivity to our own country, to peace, and to happiness.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 126:5-6. They that sow in tears shall reap…
Psa 126:5-6. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy — This seems to refer to the foregoing prayer; as if he had said, And this thou wilt do in thy good time: thou wilt give them, as thou hast given us, a joyful return after so sad a time of captivity. The argument is taken from the common course of God’s providence toward men of all nations, to whom he affords vicissitudes of sorrow and comfort, and particularly toward husbandmen, who till their land, and sow their seed, not only with toil, and the sweat of their brows, but, it may be, also with care, fear, and sorrow, doubtful about the success of their labours, and, perhaps, wanting the corn they sow to make bread for their families. They commit it, however, to the ground, where for a time it lies dead and buried. “A dark and dreary winter succeeds, and all seems to be lost. But, at the return of spring, universal nature revives, and the once desolate fields are covered with corn, which, when matured by the sun’s heat, the cheerful reapers cut down, and it is brought home with triumphant shouts.” Thus the released Jewish captives had sorrow, and cause of mourning, on account of “the fatigue of travelling from Babylon into Judea; the melancholy prospect of a long depopulated country and ruined city; the toil necessary to be undergone before the former could be again brought into order, and the latter rebuilt; these considerations could not but allay their joy, and even draw many tears from their eyes:” but “they are here comforted with a gracious promise, that God would give a blessing to the labours of their hands, and crown them with success, so that they should once more see Jerusalem in prosperity, and behold in Zion the beauty of holiness.” “Here, O disciple of Jesus, behold an emblem of thy present labour, and thy future reward. Thou sowest, perhaps, in tears; thou dost thy duty amid persecution and affliction, sickness, pain, and sorrow; thou labourest in the church, and no account is made of thy labours; no profit seems likely to arise from them. Nay, thou must thyself drop into the dust of death, and all the storms of that winter must pass over thee, until thy form shall be perished, and thou shalt see corruption. Yet the day is coming when thou shalt reap in joy; and plentiful shall be thy harvest.” — Horne.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They that sow in tears shall reap in joy…
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy - Though the sowing of seed is a work of labor and sorrow - often a work so burdening the farmer that he weeps - yet the return - the harvest - is accompanied with rejoicing. The truth is expressed in a general form, as illustrating the idea that enterprises which are begun under many difficulties, and which require much labor, will be crowned with success, and that the joy is more than an equivalent for all the weariness and sorrow. Thus it is in respect to the toil of the farmer; the cares and anxieties of the student; the work of conversion and repentance; the labors of the Christian pastor; the efforts of the Sabbath-school teacher; the faithfulness of the Christian parent; the endeavors of a church for a revival of religion; the zeal and sacrifice of the Christian missionary. The particular, allusion here is to the exiles, in their long and weary march to their native land. It was a work of toil and tears, but there would be joy, like that of the harvest, when, their long journey over they should again come to their native land. Compare Isa 9:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5, 6. Long years of delay, vexation, and suffering,…
5, 6. Long years of delay, vexation, and suffering, occasioned by the hostile people adjoining the country of the Jews, occasioned depression and sorrow. The work of reconstruction was “great,” (Neh_6:3,) at best, and called for self-denial, courage, fortitude, and faith. But their enemies aggravated it a hundredfold. So struggles the Church of Christ in the earth, not only against natural infirmity and disability, but the hostile world. The closing verses are the language of strong faith and hope grounded in the word of God.
Sow in tears—Often known in the East from scarcity of seed in famine; from perils of robbers, (as Job_1:14-15,) being often required to go to their fields, six or eight miles from home, armed; from painful labour and poverty; from fear of losing the crop, their only hope; from lack of rain, or from untimely rain. See note on Psa_104:23.
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Bearing precious seed—Literally, Carrying a basket, or sack, of the seed. No such word as “precious” is in the original, and meshek, (English version, “precious,”) which means to draw out, must denote the act of drawing out the “seed” from the vessel, or, by metonomy, the vessel itself from which it is drawn out. In Amo_9:13, the verb is rendered soweth.
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing—Literally, Coming, he shall come with shouting. The form is intensive for, he shall surely come. The result is sure. The antitheses of going, coming; sowing, reaping; weeping, shouting; seed, sheaves; the implied doubt and anxiety in sowing, and the certainty of reaping, are exceedingly elegant and forcible.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. The efforts of the returned exiles to re-establish…
5. The efforts of the returned exiles to re-establish the nation had been carried on in the midst of hindrances and disappointments, anxieties and fears; but the Psalmist cannot doubt that they will in due time bear fruit. “So is it ever in God’s kingdom. Precisely those undertakings, which at first seemed hopeless and were begun under pressing troubles, end in achieving the greatest good” (Von Gerlach, quoted by Kay). The tears shed at the Foundation of the Second Temple (Ezr_3:12), and the rejoicings at its completion (Ezr_6:16; Ezr_6:22), and at the Dedication of the Walls (Neh_12:27; Neh_12:43) were only illustrations of the general truth. Cp. Mat_5:4.
in joy] With shouts of joy, the same word as that for singing in Psa_126:2. There is naturally an allusion to the rejoicings of harvest (Isa_9:3 &c.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Joy.—Rather, singing, as in Psa_126:2. The harvest-home songs…
(5) Joy.—Rather, singing, as in Psa_126:2. The harvest-home songs are contrasted with the anxiety of the seed-time. Probably the poet found the proverbial saying already current, but he has touched it with the consecrating hand till it has become only less precious than the saying of Divine lips, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.…
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Then we, who are now "sowing in tears", (Ezr_3:12, 13 Neh_1:4) re-establishing Israel in its own land amid grief and pain and distress, shall "reap in joy," see the fruit of our exertions, and rejoice thereat.
Vers. 5, 6. Spiritual farming.
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Our Lord told the apostles that he would make them fishers of men." We may hear him telling us that he will make us farmers of men; for there is much to be done in the way of sowing and reaping in spiritual husbandry.
I THE SOIL OF THE HUMAN SOUL. That in which the sacred seed must be cast is the soul of man: not any one special part of it. Our appeal must be made to the entire nature-to the understanding, with all its powers of spiritual discernment, of reasoning, of memory, of anticipation; to the affections, which have gathered round objects that are unworthy of them, and that may be directed to the highest, even to God himself; to the will, which has, in the last resort, to determine whether or not we will choose Christ for our Savior, and his service for our portion. We fail as Christian husbandmen unless we direct our efforts to mind, heart, and will, when we work under our Master in these sacred fields.
II THE SEED OF DIVINE TRUTH. The "precious seed" we have to sow is that truth which is distinctively Christian. We have to teach what Christ has taught us; we have to present him, himself, to the minds and hearts of men. The surpassing value of every human spirit in the sight of God; the yearning of the Divine Father over his absent children, and his longing to welcome them to his heart and to his home; the truth that Jesus Christ died for the sins of men, and now offers himself to all penitent souls as their Savior and Lord; the great fact that every one who humbles himself before God, and heartily accepts Jesus Christ for all he offers to be, is immediately and absolutely forgiven, and taken up into the loving and abiding favor of God; the promise of eternal life to those who are faithful unto death; these are the great truths which we are charged to deliver, to implant into the soil of the human soul.
III THE SERVICE OF SOWING.
1. The spirit in which we should sow the seed is that of our Master himself the spirit of tender interest, of brotherly affection, of an inexhaustible faith, of patient hope.
2. The methods we adopt are various; we may converse, or we may write the friendly letter, or we may print the elaborate treatise, or we may teach the small group of boys or girls, or we may address the great congregation.
3. The conditions may be favorable or unfavorable. We may go forth hopefully, expecting great things; for we may know that the spirit of inquiry and receptiveness is prevailing. Or we may "go forth weeping;" we may "sow in tears;" we may be discouraged and disheartened, for we may feel that the hearts are hard, and the minds are dull, and the purpose is set against the truth and the claims of God.
IV THE CERTAINTY AND THE JOY OF REAPING.
1. We have the definite promise of God: "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," etc. (see Isa_55:10-13 1Co_15:58)
2. We know that the truth of Jesus Christ is perfectly adapted to the needs and cravings of the human soul, and that the Divine Spirit has power to break the stoniest heart and to bow the most stubborn will, as well as to enlighten the darkest understanding.
3. We remember that the seed of truth may slumber in the soul for many years, and may yet prove to be fruitful of life.
4. We look forward to the hour, beyond the horizon of time, when we shall know that our labor was not in vain in the Lord. The farmer sows his seed, looking for rain and wind and sunshine, hoping for the harvest in the autumn: but he may be disappointed; there may come the blight, or the drought, or the flood, and his wagons may never "come again" laden with the golden grain. But we who labor earnestly and prayerfully in sacred fields of usefulness, shall not be disappointed. The Divine promise will certainly be fulfilled; our work shall be rewarded;" He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Sad sowing-times.
Thomson says, "I never saw people sowing in tears exactly, but I have often known them to do it in fear and distress sufficient to draw them from any eye. In seasons of great scarcity, the poor peasants part in sorrow with every measure of precious seed cast into the ground. It is like taking bread out of the mouths of their children, and in such times many bitter tears are actually shed over it" Compare the tears at the laying of the foundation of the second temple, (Ezr_3:12) and the joy when it was complete. (Ezr_6:16, Ezr_6:22) And keep in mind the strain and anxiety through which the first returned company of exiles had to pass.
I SAD SOWING-TIMES OF SCARCITY. Such always followed on famine years, when the old corn stores were used up, and the harvest of the year allowed no proportion to be reserved for seed, and, if reserve was made, the quality guaranteed no good coming harvest. Then the spring seed-sowing was an anxious time. It involved a serious loss of what was immediately needed. And experience of past famine made the harvest from this seed-sowing seem unusually uncertain. It is thus in Christian work. "We have toiled all night, and taken nothing," and it is hard to put down the net again. When the Church is cold and dead, even preaching the gospel comes to be sad and heartless work. Yet it must not be given up. Weep we may, but sow we must. We never know Where God"s showers of blessing fall.
II SAD SOWING-TIMES OF INSECURITY. Travelers tell of seeing sowers in the East sowing with one hand, and holding a musket in the other, for the Bedouin will steal the seed-corn, as well as rush in and sweep away the harvest. How anxious the farmer will be until his precious seed is safely in the soil! This may suggest those circumstances which so often hinder the success of our Christian work; things beyond our control which render our work fruitless. Spite of them, we must persist in sowing, if it must be sowing in tears.
III SOWING-TIMES OF ATMOSPHERIC PERIL. The weather is but seldom just to the farmer"s mind, and in some seasons the sowing seems hopeless: what can the seed do but rot in the ground? This may suggest the dispositions both of the Christian workers, and of those among whom they work. These often make a sort of atmosphere, in which the seed-sowing seems hopeless. Nevertheless, we must go on sowing, even if it must be in tears. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap…
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Hence, present distress must not be viewed as if it would last for ever; it is not the end, by any means, but only a means to the end. Sorrow is our sowing, rejoicing shall be our reaping. If there were no sowing in tears there would be no reaping in joy. If we were never captives we could never lead our captivity captive. Our mouth had never been filled with holy laughter if it had not been first filled with the bitterness of grief. We must sow: we may have to sow in the wet weather of sorrow; but we shall reap, and reap in the bright summer season of joy. Let us keep to the work of this present sowing time, and find strength in the promise which is here so positively given us. Here is one of the Lord's shalls and wills; it is freely given both to workers, waiters, and weepers, and they may rest assured that it will not fail: "in due season they shall reap."
This sentence may well pass current in the church as an inspired proverb. It is not every sowing which is thus insured against all danger, and guaranteed a harvest; but the promise specially belongs to sowing in tears. When a man's heart is so stirred that he weeps over the sins of others, he is elect to usefulness. Winners of souls are first weepers for souls. As there is no birth without travail, so is there no spiritual harvest without painful tillage. When our own hearts are broken with grief at man's transgression we shall break other men's hearts: tears of earnestness beget tears of repentance: "deep calleth unto deep."
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Ver. 5. They that sow in tears. I never saw people sowing in tears exactly, but have often known them to do it in fear and distress sufficient to draw them from any eye. In seasons of great scarcity, the poor peasants part in sorrow with every measure of precious seed cast into the ground. It is like taking bread out of the mouths of their children; and in such times many bitter tears are actually shed over it. The distress is frequently so great that government is obliged to furnish seed, or none would be sown. Ibrahim Pasha did this more than once within my remembrance, copying the example, perhaps, of his great predecessor in Egypt when the seven years famine was ended.
The thoughts of this psalm may likewise have been suggested by the extreme danger which frequently attends the farmer in his ploughing and sowing. The calamity which fell upon the husbandmen of Job when the oxen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword (Job 1:14-15), is often repeated in our day. To understand this you must remember what I have just told you about the situation of the arable lands in the open country; and here again we meet that verbal accuracy: the sower "goes forth" that is, from the village. The people of Ibel and Khiem, in Merj' Aiyun, for example, have their best grain growing fields down in the 'Ard Hfileh, six or eight miles from their homes, and just that much nearer the lawless border of the desert. When the country is disturbed, or the government weak, they cannot sow these lands except at the risk of their lives. Indeed, they always go forth in large companies, and completely armed, ready to drop the plough and seize the musket at a moment's warning; and yet, with all this care, many sad and fatal calamities overtake the men who must thus sow in tears. And still another origin may be found for the thoughts of the psalm in the extreme difficulty of the work itself in many places. The soil is rocky, impracticable, overgrown with sharp thorns; and it costs much painful toil to break up and gather out the rock, cut and burn the briars, and to subdue the stubborn soil, especially with their feeble oxen and insignificant ploughs. Join all these together, and the sentiment is very forcibly brought out, that he who labours hard, in cold and rain, in fear and danger, in poverty and in want, casting his precious seed into the ground, will surely come again, at harvest time, with rejoicing, and bearing his sheaves with him. W.M. Thomson.
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shalt reap in joy, etc. This promise is conveyed under images borrowed from the instructive scenes of agriculture. In the sweat of his brow the husbandman tills his land, and casts the seed into the ground, where for a time it lies dead and buried. A dark and dreary winter succeeds, and all seems to be lost; but at the return of spring universal nature revives, and the once desolate fields are covered with corn which, when matured by the sun's heat, the cheerful reapers cut down, and it is brought home with triumphant shouts of joy. Here, O disciple of Jesus, behold an emblem of lily present labour and thy future reward! Thou "sowest", perhaps, in "tears"; thou doest thy duty amidst persecution, and affliction, sickness, pain, and sorrow; you labour in the Church, and no account is made of thy labours, no profit seems likely to arise from them. Say, thou must thyself drop into the dust of death, and all the storms of that winter must pass over thee, until thy form shall be perished, and thou shalt see corruption. Yet the day is coming when thou shalt "reap in joy", and plentiful shall be thy harvest. For thus thy blessed Master "went forth weeping", a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, "bearing precious seed" and sowing it around him, till at length his own body was buried, like a grain of wheat, in the furrow of the grave. But he arose, and is now in heaven, from whence he shall "doubtless come again with rejoicing", with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, "bringing his sheaves with him". Then shall every man receive the fruit of his works, and have praise of God. George Horne (1730-1792), in "A Commentary on the Psalms."
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. They sow in faith;and God will bless that seed: it shall grow up to heaven, for it is sown in the side of Jesus Christ who is in heaven. "He that believeth on God", this is the seed; "shall have everlasting life" (Joh 5:24); this is the harvest. Qui credit quod non videt, videbit quod credit, he that believes what he doth not see; this is the seed: shall one day see what he hath believed; this is the harvest.
They sow in obedience:this is also a blessed seed, that will not fail to prosper Wheresoever it is cast. "If ye keep my commandments"; this is the seed: "ye shall abide in my love" (Joh 15:10); this is the harvest. (Ro 6:22), "Ye are become servants to God, and have your fruit unto holiness"; this is the sowing: "and the end everlasting life"; this is the reaping. Obedientia in tetris, regnabit in coelis, he that serves God on earth, and sows the seed of obedience, shall in heaven reap the harvest of a kingdom.
They sow in repentance;and this seed must needs grow up to blessedness...Many saints have now reaped their crop in heaven, that sowed their seed in tears. David, Mary Magdalene, Peter: as if they had made good the proverb, "No coming to heaven with dry eyes." Thus nature and God differ in their proceedings. To have a good crop on earth, we desire a fair seedtime; but here a wet time of sowing shall bring the best harvest in the barn of heaven. "Blessed are they that mourn"; this is the seeding: "for they shall be comforted" (Mt 5:4); this is the harvest.
They sow in renouncing the world, and adherence to Christ; and they reap a great harvest. "Behold", saith Peter to Christ, "we have forsaken all, and followed thee" (Mt 19:27); this is the seeding. "What shall we have therefore?" What? "You shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Mt 19:28-29); all that you have lost shall be centupled to you: "and you shall inherit everlasting life"; this is the harvest. "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, and reap in mercy": Ho 10:12.
They sow in charity. He that sows this seed shall be sure of a plentiful crop. "Whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only" a little refreshing"in the name of a disciple; verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward": Mt 10:42. But if he that giveth a little shall be thus recompensed, then "he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully": 2Co 9:6. Therefore sparse abroad with a full hand, like a seeds man in a broad field, without fear. Doth any think he shall lose by his charity? No worldling, when he sows his seed, thinks he shall lose his seed; he hopes for increase at harvest. Do you dare trust the ground and not God? Sure God is a better paymaster than the earth: grace doth give a larger recompense than nature. Below thou mayest receive forty grains for one; but in heaven, (by the promise of Christ,)a hundred fold: a "measure heapen, and shaken, and thrust together, and yet running over." "Blessed is he that considereth the poor"; this is the seeding: "the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble" (Ps 41:1); this is the harvest. Thomas Adams.
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears, etc. Observe two things here.
1. That the afflictions of God's people are as sowing in tears. 1. In sowing ye know there is great pains. The land must be first tilled and dressed; and there is pains in casting the seed into it; and then it takes a great dressing all the year, before it be set in the barnyard.
2. It requires great charges, too, and therefore it is called "precious seed." For ye know that seed corn is aye dearest. 3. There is also great hazard; for corn, after it is sown, is subject to many dangers. And so it is with the children of God in a good cause.
2. Then after the seed time follows the harvest, and that comes with joy. There be three degrees of the happiness of God's children, in reaping of fruits. 1. In the first fruits. Even when they are enduring anything for the Gospel of Christ, it carries contentment and fruit with it. 2. After the first fruits, then come sheaves to refresh the husbandman, and to assure him that the full harvest is coming. The Lord now and then gives testimony of a full deliverance to his own people, especially of the deliverance of Sion, and lets them taste of the sheaves which they have reaped. 3. And lastly, they get the full harvest; and that is gotten at the great and last day. Then we get peace without trouble, joy without grief, profit without loss, pleasure without pain; and then we have a full sight of the face of God. Alexander Henderson.
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Gospel tears are not lost; they are seeds of comfort: while the penitent doth pour out tears, God pours in joy. If thou wouldst be cheerful, saith Chrysostom, be sad. It was the end of Christ's anointing and coming into the world, that he might comfort them that mourn: Isa 61:3. Christ had the oil of gladness poured on him, as Chrysostom saith, that he might pour it on the mourner; well then might the apostle call it "a repentance not to be repented of": 2Co 7:10...Here is sweet fruit from a bitter stock: Christ caused the earthen vessels to be filled with water, and then turned the water into wine: Joh 2:9. So when the eye, that earthen vessel, hath been filled with water brim full, then Christ will turn the water of tears into the wine of joy. Holy mourning, saith St. Basil, is the seed out of which the flower of eternal joy doth grow. Thomas Watson (-1690?), in "The Beatitudes."
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap. We must take notice of the reapers: "They shall reap." Which they? They that did sow; they shall, and none but they shall. They shall; and good reason they should, because it was they that did sow. And though some that have sown in tears do complain of the lateness or thinness of the harvest, that they have not reaped in joy, as is here promised; know that some grounds are later than others, and in some years tile harvest falleth later than in others, and that God, who is the Lord of the harvest, in his good time will ripen thy joy, and thou shalt reap it: and in the meantime, if we try it narrowly, we shall find the cause in ourselves, both of the lateness of our joy, because we were too late in sowing our tears; and of the thinness of our joy, because we did sow our tears too thin. And if after our sowing of tears we find no harvest of joy at all, we may be well assured that either our seed was not good, or else some of the mischances are come upon them, which came upon the seed that came to no good in the thirteenth of Matthew. Walter Balcanqual, in "a Sermon preached at St. Marice Spittle",
1623.
Ver. 5. They that sow in tears, etc. I saw in seedtime a husbandman at plough in a very rainy day. Asking him the reason why he would not rather leave off than labour in such foul weather, his answer was returned me in their country rhythm:
"Sow beans in the mud,
And they'll come up like a wood."
This could not but remind me of David's expression, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy", etc. Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), in "Good Thoughts in Worse Times."
Ver. 5. Sow in tears. There are tears which are themselves the seed that we must sow; tears of sorrow for sin, our own and others; tears of sympathy with the afflicted church; and tears of tenderness in prayer and under the word. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 5. Shall reap in joy. This spiritual harvest comes not alike soon to all, no more than the other which is outward doth. But here the comfort, whoever hath a seed time of grace pass over his soul shall have his harvest time also of joy: this law God hath bound himself to as strongly as to the other, which "is not to cease while the earth remaineth" (Ge 8:22); yea, more strongly; for that was to the world in general, not to every country, town, or field in particular, for some of these may want a harvest, and yet God may keep his word: but God cannot perform his promise if any one particular saint should everlastingly go without his reaping time. And therefore you who think so basely of the gospel and the professors of it, because at present their peace and comfort are not come, should know that it is on the way to them, and comes to stay everlastingly with them; whereas your peace is going from you every moment, and is sure to leave you without any hope of returning to you again. Look not how the Christian begins, but ends. The Spirit of God by his convictions comes into the soul with some terrors, but it closes with peace and joy. As we say of the month of March, it enters like a lion, but goes out like a lamb. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace": Ps 37:37. William Gumall.
Ver. 5-6. In my little reading and small experience, I have found that corn sown in dear years and times of scarcity hath yielded much more increase than at other times; so that presently after much want, there hath followed great plenty of grain, even beyond expectation. Humphrey Hardwick, in a Sermon entitled "The Difficulty of Sion's Deliverance and Reformation", 1644.
Ver. 5-6. Mind we the undoubted certainty of our harvest verified by divers absolute positive asseverations in the text: "he shall reap"; "he shall come again"; "he shall bring his sheaves with him." Here's no item of contingency or possibility, but all absolute affirmations; and you know heaven and earth shall pass away, but a jot of God's word shall not fail. Nothing shall prevent the harvest of a labourer in Sion's vineyard. Humphrey Hardwick.
Ver. 5-6. In a fuller, deeper sense, the sower in tears is the Man of sorrows himself. Believers know him thus. He has accomplished, in the sore travail of his soul, the seed time of affliction which is to bear its satisfying harvest when he shall again appear as the reaper of his own reward. He will fill his bosom with sheaves in that day of joy. The garner of his gladness will be filled to overflowing. By how much his affliction surpassed the natural measure of human grief, when he underwent for our sakes the dread realities of death and judgment; by so much shall the fulness of his pure delight as the eternal blesser of his people excel their joy (yet what a measure, too, is there!) whose sum of blessedness is to be for ever with the Lord. Arthur Pridham, in "Notes and Reflections on the Psalms", 1869.
Ver. 5. The Christian Husbandman.
1. Illustrate the metaphor. The husbandman has a great variety of work before him; every season and every day brings its proper business. So the Christian has duties in the closet, in the family, in the church, in the world, etc., etc.
2. Whence it is that many Christians sow in tears.
a) It may be owing to the badness of the soil.
b) The inclemency of the season.
c) The malice and opposition of enemies.
d) Past disappointments.
3. What connection there is between sowing in tears and reaping in joy.
a) A joyful harvest, by God's blessing, is the natural consequence of a dripping seed time.
b) God, who cannot lie, hath promised it.
4. When this joyful harvest may be expected. It must not be expected in our wintry world, for there is not sun enough to ripen it. Heaven is the Christian's summer. When you come to reap the fruits of your present trials, you will bless God, who made you sow in tears. Improvement.
a) How greatly are they to blame who in this busy time stand all the day idle!
b) How greatly have Christians the advantage of the rest of the world!
c) Let the hope and prospect of this joyful harvest support us under all the glooms and distresses of this vale of tears. Outline of a Sermon by Samuel Lavington, 1726-1807.
Ver. 5. Two pictures. The connecting "shall."
Ver. 5.
1. There must be sowing before reaping.
2. What men sow they will reap. If they sow precious seed, they will reap precious seed.
3. In proportion as they sow they will reap. "He that soweth sparingly", etc.
4. The sowing may be with sorrow, but the reaping will be with joy.
5. In proportion to the sorrow of sowing will be the joy of reaping. G. R.
Psalms 126:6*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psa_126:5
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
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Sowing and reaping
Painful work often finds pleasant reward. The way through the Red Sea and the howling wilderness leads to a fair and fruitful land flowing with milk and honey. Such is Gods law of compensation, always and everywhere working out its infallible result in the experience of His chosen people. Trace this principle--
I. In those whom God ordinarily employs in effecting the greatest good of others. Those who gain liberty for a nation, who achieve great things in art or literature, who are the leaders of great movements. They did none of these things, nor are such things ever done, without great personal self-sacrifice. They have had to sew in tears ere they, or any whom they sought to help, could reap in joy. Did Moses, or Joshua, or Gideon, or any of the old prophets sow without tears? or, having sowed in tears, did they fail in due time to realize the joy of harvest? Did not Athens poison her greatest philosopher and expatriate her grandest orator? Was not the most eloquent advocate of the Roman cause that ever raised his voice in the Roman Forum banished by the authority of a Roman senate, and beheaded by the perfidy of a Roman triumvirate? Did not the Copernican system of the universe long hang trembling on the lips of hated and persecuted men before it dared to stand forth and speak boldly to the world? and was it not afterward in the person of Galileo imprisoned, and in his books made to pass through the fire to Ignorance? Did the great discovery of Harvey cost him no pain or weariness? or were the works of Bacon, Newton and Shakspeare fully appreciated while they lived? And the artists who live for ever in their productions--the painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, who have filled the world with the triumphs of their genius--did they not toil, for the most part, in disappointment, and poverty, and sorrow, little esteemed during life, to be almost deified after death? The pioneer settlers of this new continent sowed the wilderness with their tears, and the heroes of American independence fattened her soil with their blood.
II. In the sphere of religion and morals. Whenever any great evil has been averted, or any signal triumph of truth and righteousness achieved, it has ever been at vast personal cost. See the Bible histories of all the heroes of the faith. Read St. Pauls account of his sufferings. And thus it was that Christianity, whose throne was a manger, whose diadem a thorn-wreath, whose victory the crucifixion of its Author, whoso triumphal pageant a funeral procession to a borrowed tomb, whose earliest champions a little band of despised and persecuted fishermen, is now filling the earth with its voices of jubilee, and peopling paradise with the subjects of its redemption. What painful sowing was there in the dark and dismal catacombs of Rome, in the gardens of Nero, and the Flavian amphitheatre. But the blood of the martyrs has ever been the seed of the Church. In the days of the great Reformation the life of Martin Luther was a perpetual conflict with error, but it filled all Continental Europe with Gods blessed evangel, and on the same ground Dollinger and his noble compeers have lately renewed the good fight of faith. But look we higher. Who are these arrayed in white robes, with palms, and lutes, and starry diadems, and whence came they? These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne, etc. They are all witnesses that the seed which your fathers scattered fell not all upon the rooks, among the thorns, and by the desert wayside. And this is your consolation--that however hard the toil, and however unpromising the seed-time, and however tardy the advent of the genial spring, an unweeping eye shall wash the field, and a celestial dew shall water the soil, and a creative power shall quicken the germ, and in due time the whitening grain shall summon the reapers sickle, and the harvest of joy shall have come. (J. Cross, D. D.)
The connection between present duties and future reward
I. Some of the occasions on which we are called to go forth weeping.
1. Over our religious profession. There are many struggles between light and darkness; many battles between sin and holiness: nature and grace are at enmity one with another, and must be so till this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality.
2. In the discharge of our duty.
3. When under the marked displeasure of God.
II. The precious seed which we are expected to bear.
1. The seed of cheerful self-denial.
2. The seed of patient perseverance.
3. The seed of perfect submission to the will of God.
4. The seed of genuine holiness.
III. The happy results experienced. Even here we taste the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of Divine love, and we become partakers of that happiness which the world cannot give, and which it is not in the power of the world to take away. But however much we may gather here, and whatever be the satisfaction which we experience from the blessedness of the harvest of Christianity in this world, the day of judgment will be the great harvest when we shall reap the labours of all our sowing. (W. Yate.)
Spiritual husbandry
Consider the text in its application to--
I. The Jews as a nation (Deu_32:3; Jer_21:9; Lev_26:41-42). When they are thus brought to sow in tears, they shall undoubtedly reap in joy. This seems to be the favourite theme of the prophets, especially of Isaiah (Isa_60:1; Isa_35:10). This is the event which the Jews themselves ardently long for; it is that for which they earnestly pray on the day of atonement; O our Father and our King, discover Thy glorious majesty to us speedily; arise, and be exalted to the eyes of all living, and gather our dispersions from among the heathen, and assemble us that are scattered from the extreme parts of the earth, and conduct us to Zion Thy city with songs, and unto Jerusalem, the city of Thy sanctuary, with everlasting joy.
II. Ourselves individually. Sorrow and suffering are the result of sin; and sin is interwoven with our very nature. But the Christian has not done with sorrow and tears, although through faith, which is of the operation of the Spirit of God, he has been led to trust in that Saviour who died for him, and the burden of transgression has been rolled from his oppressed spirit. Could the veil which now separates us from futurity be drawn aside, and those regions of everlasting happiness and sorrow which strike so faintly on the imagination be presented fully to our eyes, it would occasion, I doubt not, a sudden and strange revolution in our estimation of things. Many are the distresses, for which we now weep in suffering or in sympathy, that would awaken us to songs of thanksgiving; many the dispensations which now seem dreary and inexplicable, that would fill our adoring hearts with thanksgiving and joy.
III. The missionarys labour and reward. As the poor missionary stands on the boundary of the vast wilderness, or goes forth to its culture bearing the precious seed, he must needs weep to think how little of the territory he can occupy. But though he weeps, yet shall he rejoice. As surely as the grain sown in the earth shall vegetate and bring forth fruit in its proper season, so surely may we expect the principles of the Gospel to spring forth in rich luxuriance, proving incorruptible seed, and yielding fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold. (W. Carter, B. A.)
Sorrowful labour
I. We are often called to labour in which we have little joy.
1. The call to labour, for instance, may continue when those whom we hoped to gladden with our diligence and fidelity are gone.
2. All earnest labourers are liable to fits of despondency; Christian labourers certainly not less than others. Overwork, perhaps, is followed by reaction, or the too eager hope is disappointed because we see not any results for all our doing. We think that our fellow-labourers are not as earnest as we, that we alone are bearing the burden and heat of the day. Then there comes up the question, what is the use of all our toil?
3. We may be called to work in which we feel but little special interest; work which is to us perpetual self-denial. Our hopes may all tend to one sphere of effort; duty may sternly compel us to another.
4. We have often to work amidst ungracious men, with no hope at all that our labour shall be successful. There are other and happier labourers in other and more promising fields; why should we be hero toiling to no avail?
II. God rewards us according to our fidelity, and not according to our gladness.
1. Christ has never said, according to your gladness be it unto you; not even according to your hopefulness be it unto you; but according to your faith. And faiths triumph is seen in that it can live and labour when the light of joy is quenched; that it can call off the hopes that hover round an earthly brightness, and bear them up through darkness to the throne of the Invisible.
2. Our confusion of the reality of faith with the eagerness of feeling, our making so much of the cheerfulness of work instead of the work itself, shows that we are expecting the increase of ourselves rather than from God. The work is done; it leaves our hands, henceforth it is in His. The seed is sown; His seed is under His own care. He gives the dew of His benediction, the fruitful force is that of the ever-working Spirit. Not for nothing is it that Gods great ceaseless call to us is to do the work which He has given us; for, indeed, this is all we can do. We can be faithful to His call of duty, He is faithful to His promise.
III. Our text speaks not only of sheaves for the sowing, but also of rejoicing for the tears. The very tears are a seed that shall have a joyful springing; the sorrow shall return again in joy. The sorrowful sowing is a testimony for God, and this shall bear its fruit in icy. There is a striking contrast between the taunt of those who carried the Jews away captive, Sing us one of the songs of Zion; and this saying among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The patient labour of the exiles, the quiet toil of those who could not sing, won the heart of their oppressors. They were glad when the captives were restored, and sent them away with kindly gifts. Israels patience was the patience of faith; and Israels faith was a witness to the fidelity of Israels God. The patience and faithful effort of sad but trusting souls, Christian faith abiding unshaken though joy has gone out of the life; here is a lesson which cannot fail of impressiveness. It reaches to the unbelieving, and constrains them to thought concerning the Gospel; it cheers the heart and strengthens the faith of all believers. Each new revelation of Gods grace that comes on us as a surprise reproves us that we did not always rejoice as those who might be sure that all Gods ways are love. But it is blessed to feel ourselves reproved that our God may be exalted; we welcome the humbling lesson about ourselves which makes us more fully know how good He is. The joyful reaping that follows a tearful sowing prepares us for new trials of our faith. There may come again to you a time of tears, a time of sorrowing toil; but you know whose hand will at length wipe away all tears; you know that there is no seed-time but will at length yield its rejoicing sheaves. (A. Mackennal, D. D.)
Weeping and reaping:
I. An inspired provers. A proverb is often helpful; an inspired proverb ought to be to us an inspiration. Write it down at the head of all your difficulties and in the midst of all your struggles; it is one of Gods own pithy sayings, a maxim He Himself has made--They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
II. A personal experience. It is as though one shouted of his success, and announced Jehovahs triumph. By this he would record his gratitude, and encourage his hearers. If the moss in the desert could stimulate the fainting traveller, if a flower outside the prison wall could speak comfortably to the prisoner in his dreary dungeon, if a solitary star shining through the blackness of the night could bring hope and guidance to the storm-tossed mariner, may I not believe that this experience of David, or whosoever the psalmist may have been, long years ago, will be as a ministering angel to such as are tempted to think that the seed is wasted, that the harvest can never be, that their hopes are dashed to the ground to rise no more for ever?
III. A prevailing principle.
1. In everyday life. Scientists and inventors have toiled, and moiled, and thought, and struggled for many a long year. They have, for the most part, received little help from others. One or two perhaps espoused their cause and helped them through, but the rest either jeered and sneered, or else looked on complacently as if to say, We shall see what we shall see, but we do not think it will come to very much. It was a sowing season; aye, and if we had been behind the scenes we should have seen that it was a weeping-time as well. Some of these sowers died in obscurity. Many of them did not live to see their talent and their skill appreciated, but there was a harvest-time for all that, or if it has not yet arrived it is yet to be. On the other hand many of them did reap the reward of their talents; the proverb held good in most instances. So with philanthropists, and merchants, and discoverers; so indeed with all of every class. There are exceptions, of course, to this rule, but the exceptions proved the rule. Sometimes another reaps where one has sown, but for the most part the maxim holds good. Those who are honest, and earnest, and self-denying in their toil, those who wait awhile shall live to see success, and to reap reward,
2. In spiritual matters.
(1) Was it not just so in the matter of our conversion? Oh, for more sorrow of a godly sort! Oh, for more of the repentance that needs not to be repented of! May the tears flow till Jesus dries our eyes!
(2) The same is true of the matter of backsliding and restoration. If you have wandered, come back, but come with streaming eyes and wounded spirit, come with firm resolve that, God helping you, you will never do the like again.
(3) Apply the same truth to Christian service.
4. And to suffering.
IV. The proverb, the experience, the principle is also a precious promise. We have here--they make my eyes to shine with gladness--two of Gods shalls. These are absolute affirmations from the lips of Jehovah, who speaks, and it stands fast. (T. Spurgeon.)
Seed-time and harvest: -
I. The sower.
1. He recognizes a field of labour.
2. He employs his activities in the field.
3. He often toils with few co-operatives.
4. He mourns over his arduous work.
II. The seed-time.
1. It only lasts for a limited period.
2. It is often marked by adverse influences.
3. In anticipation of the seed-time the necessary seed must be secured.
III. The harvest.
1. It is certain.
2. It may be sometimes late.
3. It is sometimes bountiful.
4. It is compensating. (H. Peach, B. A.)
The agriculturist a picture of the Christian reformer
I. In the nature of his operation. The work of each is--
1. Necessary. The Creator does not do for the creature that which He has given the creature power to do for itself. The life of the world depends upon the work of the agriculturist. The work of the Christian reformer is equally necessary. If ignorance, error, and wrong are to be replaced by knowledge, truth, and right--if righteousness is to spring out of the earth--the Christian reformer must work.
2. Righteous.
3. Divine.
4. Productive of wonderful results.
II. In the mode of his operation.
1. Both have to disseminate a divine thing. The seed of the one is like the doctrine of the other; both are charged with life, and both are capable of indefinite expansion; both require suitable soil for their germination and development; both are perfect in themselves.
2. Both have to work in faith.
3. Both have to work under trial. The agriculturist sometimes goeth forth weeping. This was often the ease with those oriental farmers who lived in neighbourhoods infested with those wandering herdsmen who neither so.wed nor reaped themselves, but obtained what they required by plundering the cultivators of the soil. Such farmers, therefore, often carried their seed from their houses with anxiety and fear, and very often they found it necessary to have armed men to protect them in their operation. The Christian reformer has trials in his work How much distress does he experience, not only from the opposition of the world, but from the apathy, narrowness, and inconsistency of its professors!
III. In the issues of his work.
1. The manner of their return. They shall come with all the fruits of their labour. The pious parent, the Sabbath-school teacher, the missionary, the minister,--all shall return with the fruit of their labours. It shall be found then that none ever laboured in vain.
2. The certainty of their return. The traveller who goes abroad in search of undiscovered lands, like Franklin, may return no more; the merchant who goes to foreign markets in quest of gain may return no more; the hero who goes out to chastise a foreign foe, like Raglan, may return no more; but the true Christian reformer shall return. His harvest must come. Yes; when the battles of the world shall be over; when the markets of the world shall be closed; when the governments of the world shall be dissolved; when the Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world; when the purpose of mercy shall be fully realized; then, doubtless, the men of every age and clime, who have wept, and toiled, and prayed for the spiritual cultivation of the world, shall return. (Homilist)
Sowing in tears: -
I. Sowing as compared with reaping is a very laborious process. The land must be cleared, the soil broken up, the stones and rubbish removed, etc. That which is reaped in a few hours has cost him in the sowing many long weeks of toil. It is so in the spiritual life. The hard labour is at the beginning. The fallow ground and the stubble are to be broken up. The agony is at the gate that opens into the narrow way of a religious life. All after experiences are comparatively facile and pliant.
II. Sowing as compared with reaping is a lonely work. The reapers go in bands with shout and song; but the sower goes alone. And so in those spiritual processes connected with the new birth, each heart knoweth its own bitterness. Over those inner furrows of the soul goes no sower but the mans own conscience in the sight of his God.
III. Sowing as compared with reaping is in an untoward season. The sower must be out in the rough winds of March, under the dark, leaden sky, and upon the cold, clammy earth. It is so in spiritual things. The harvest is in revival periods of warmth and enthusiasm, but the sowing must be in times when the church is cold and everything looks discouraging and gloomy.
IV. Sowing as compared with reaping is a self-denying work. The farmer takes from his granary corn which he needs for his present supply, and scatters it that it may fall into the ground and die. The initial processes of religion involve self-denial. Man must be grown up. Many selfish aims and ambitions fall into the ground and die, that out of them may spring a higher and nobler life--the life that we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. (T. D. Witherspoon, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.