He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
Parallel Translations
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He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
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He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
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Though he goeth on his way weeping that beareth the measure of seed, he shall come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Psalms 126:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Galatians 6:7-8 Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- Isaiah 9:2-3 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death. You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.
- Psalms 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Isaiah 61:3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.
- Job 11:13-17 “If you set your heart aright, stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away. Don’t let unrighteousness dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without spot; Yes, you will be steadfast, and will not fear: for you will forget your misery. You will remember it like waters that have passed away. Life will be clearer than the noonday. Though there is darkness, it will be as the morning.
- Revelation 7:15-17 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
- Jeremiah 50:4-5 “In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping, and will seek Yahweh their God. They will inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’
- Luke 15:18-24 I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’ “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat, and celebrate; for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
- Acts 16:29-34 He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house. He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household. He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, seed which was scarce and dear: meaning,…
That is, seed which was scarce and dear: meaning, that they which trusted in God’s promise to return, had their desire.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing…
Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].
Ver. 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth] Heb. he that going goeth, &c., which Luther interprets of temptations continued, and mutually succeeding one another; taking their turns upon a poor soul.
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And weepeth] Going and weeping, and asking the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, Jer 50:4-5. Some faces appear most orientally beautiful when most stamped with sorrow.
Bearing precious seed] Such as are hope and faith in the truth of God’s promises. Some render it seed of acquisition, such as the poor seeds man hath got, prece et precio, by praying and paying dear for it. Some, bearing a seed basket, or seed-lop, canistrum (Leo Judae Bucer).
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing] Only he must have patience, Jas 5:7.
Bringing his sheaves with him] Or, after so me, their handfuls, even gripes of gladness, as Philpot the martyr rendereth it. Then shall Abraham, the good mower, saith another, bind us up into sheaves as pure corn; and fill his bosom full with us; carrying us into the Lord’s barn, to make a joyful harvest in heaven.
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 He that goeth forth; the husbandman that goeth out…
He that goeth forth; the husbandman that goeth out into his field, and walketh hither and thither to scatter his seed, as the manner is.
Weepeth, for fear of the loss of his seed, and of a bad harvest.
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Precious seed; seed-corn when it is scarce and dear. Or, the basket of seed as it is rendered in our margin, as also by the Chaldee paraphrast, and some ethers.
Shall doubtless come, Heb. coming shall come; which manner of expression may note either the certainty of the thing, or the frequency and customariness of it. This verse is only an amplification of the former.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing…
Verse 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed] The metaphor seems to be this: A poor farmer has had a very bad harvest: a very scanty portion of grain and food has been gathered from the earth. The seed time is now come, and is very unpromising. Out of the famine a little seed has been saved to be sown, in hopes of another crop; but the badness of the present season almost precludes the entertainment of hope. But he must sow, or else despair and perish. He carries his all, his precious seed, with him in his seed basket; and with a sorrowful heart commits it to the furrow, watering it in effect with his tears, and earnestly imploring the blessing of God upon it. God hears; the season becomes mild; he beholds successively the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear. The appointed weeks of harvest come, and the grain is very productive. He fills his arms, his carriages, with the sheaves and shocks; and returns to his large expecting family in triumph, praising God for the wonders he has wrought. So shall it be with this handful of returning Israelites. They also are to be sown-scattered all over the land; the blessing of God shall be upon them, and their faith and numbers shall be abundantly increased. The return here referred to, Isaiah describes in very natural language: "And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord," Isa 66:20.
ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH PSALM
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The parts of this Psalm are three: -
I. An expression of joy for their strange deliverance from captivity.
II. A prayer for the return of the remaining part.
III. A moral collected by the psalmist from it.
1. The psalmist celebrates their return, and amplifies it three ways: -
1. From the cause, Jehovah. Cyrus gave a commission for it; but it was the Lord who disposed his heart so to do: "When the Lord turned," c.
2. From the manner of it. It was strange and wonderful they could scarcely believe it.
3. From the joy at it, inward and external. 1. Their "mouths were filled with laughter." 2. Their "tongue with singing." A thankful tongue expressed the feelings of a thankful heart.
That God did this for them he proves by two evidences: -
1. The heathen: "Then said they among the heathen." They saw that they were permitted to return by virtue of a royal edict; that the very king who gave the commission was named by a prophet; that they had rich gifts given them, the vessels of gold and silver restored, c. Who could do all these things but GOD?
2. The Jews. It is true, said the Jews, what you acknowledge. 1. "The Lord hath done great things for us." Beyond our merit, beyond our hope. 2. "Whereof we are glad," for we are freed from a galling yoke.
II. But there were some Jews left behind, for whom they pray.
1. "Turn their captivity also." Put it in their hearts to join their brethren. Several, no doubt, stayed behind, because they had married strange wives, c.
2. "Turn it as the streams in the south." Or, as some read it, streams of water on a parched land. Judea has been lying waste we need many hands to cultivate it. When all join together in this work the land will become fruitful, like the parched ground when powerful rivulets are sent through it in all directions.
III. The benefit of this will be great for although it may cost us much hard labour and distress in the beginning, yet the maxim will hold good - "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Which the psalmist amplifies in the next verse.
1. "He that goeth forth and weepeth." The poor husbandman, for the reasons given above and in the notes, bearing precious seed - seed bought with a high price, which augments his grief, being so poor.
2. "He shall doubtless come again" - in harvest with joy, having a plentiful crop; for every grain sown at least one full-fed ear of corn, with at the lowest thirty-fold. Some maxims are to be gathered from the whole: Penitential sorrow shall be followed by the joy of pardoning mercy; he that bears the cross shall wear the crown; and, trials and difficulties shall be followed by peace and prosperity.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He that goeth forth and weepeth - He that…
He that goeth forth and weepeth - He that goes forth weeping - still an allusion to the farmer. He is seen moving slowly and sadly over the plowed ground, burdened with his task, an in tears.
Bearing precious seed - Margin, “seed-basket.” Literally, “bearing the drawing out of seed;” perhaps the seed as drawn out of his bag; or, as scattered or sown regularly in furrows, so that it seems to be drawn out in regular lines over the fields.
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Shall doubtless come again - Shall come to this sown field again in the time of harvest. He will visit it with other feelings than those which he now has.
With rejoicing ... - Then his tears will be turned to joy. Then the rich harvest will wave before him. Then he will thrust in his sickle and reap. Then he will gather the golden grain, and the wain will groan under the burden, and the sheaves will be carried forth with songs of joy. He will be abundantly rewarded for all his toil; he will see the fruit of his labors; he will be filled with joy. The design of this illustration was, undoubtedly, to cheer the hearts of the exiles in their long and dangerous journey to their native land; it has, however, a wider and more universal application, as being suited to encourage all in their endeavors to secure their own salvation, and to do good in the world - for the effort is often attended with sacrifice, toil, and tears. The joy of heaven will be more than a compensation for all this. The following remarks by Dr. Thomson (Land and the Book, vol. i., pp. 118, 119) will furnish an illustration of the meaning of this passage: “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 plowing and sowing.
The calamity which fell upon the farmers of Job when the oxen were plowing, and the donkeys 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 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 Huleh, 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 plow and seize the musket at a moment’s warning; and yet, with all this care, many sad and fatal calamities overtake the people 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 rocks, cut and burn the briers, and to subdue the stubborn soil, especially with their feeble oxen and insignificant plows. Join all these together, and the sentiment is very forcibly brought out, that he who labors hard, in cold and in rain, in fear and danger, in poverty and in want, casting his precious seed in the ground, will surely come again, at harvest-time, with rejoicing, and bearing his sheaves with him.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. Though one goeth weeping on his way, when…
6. Though one goeth weeping on his way, when he carrieth forth the seed to sow,
He shall surely come with shouts of joy, when he carrieth home his sheaves.
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The subject in both clauses may most naturally though not necessarily be taken to be the same: at any rate the thought that “one soweth and another reapeth” (Joh_4:36; Joh_4:38) is not prominent here.
precious seed] This has been explained to mean ‘costly’ on account of the scarcity of corn, with reference to the bad seasons from which the community suffered after the Return (Hag_1:10 f.; Psa_85:12); but the rendering cannot be maintained. The cognate verb in Amo_9:13 means to ‘draw out’ or ‘trail’ the seed: and the substantive here means the seed which is trailed or cast into the ground, seed for sowing.
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 (6) The original is very expressive, by the idiom…
(6) The original is very expressive, by the idiom of infinitive combined with finite verb.
“He shall walk, and walk and weep,
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Bearing the handful of seed:
He shall come, and come with singing,
Bearing his sheaves,”
where we must certainly see an extension and not a mere repetition of the former figure, for the very form of the expression suggests the long patient labour of the sower, and the reward which patience and perseverance always bring—a harvest in proportion to the toil and trouble of seed-time. The words of the prophet Haggai (Hag_1:10-11; Hag_2:19), contemporary with the Return, should be compared. The word rendered “precious” in the Authorised Version may be correctly represented by “handful.” Its meaning is “drawing;” and from Amo_9:13 (see margin) we see that the sower was called “the drawer of seed,” no doubt from the hand being repeatedly drawn out for the cast from the bag or basket containing the seed. Others render “seed-basket” here. The contrast so beautifully painted in this verse was certainly realised when “the priests and Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of the house of God with joy” (Ezr_6:16; comp. Ezr_6:22; Neh_12:42).
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 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed;…
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed; literally, going he goes and weeping; i.e. weeping every step as he goes the draught of seed," i.e. the seed which he has drawn forth from his bag, and is about to scatter on the earth. Thus it is that he "goes forth." How differently does he return! He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him; literally, coming he comes with a cry of joy, bearing with him his sheaves. He obtains in the end an ample return for all his labors.
The rejoicing reaper.
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Consider
I WHAT HE WAS FORMERLY. That is told us in the first half of the text.
1. He was one who went forth to sow. He went forth, he was an active worker. In spiritual husbandry this is what is needed. There are many who will talk, some who will pray, but not all these really go to the work. If only the much talk and many prayers could be as they ought to be, and will be if they are sincere, translated into work, active, strenuous work, what a change would come over the Church and the world also! But would we be rejoicing reapers, we must be really workers.
2. The burden of the Lord is upon him. This is the meaning of the word "and weepeth." How perpetually in the prophetic Scriptures we meet with this expression, "the burden." It tells of some message which the Lord had given the prophet to declare concerning some place, some person, some nation. It was a burden to the prophet; he felt its solemn weight and responsibility. And he who shall be a rejoicing reaper in the Lord"s harvest-field is one to whom his sacred toil has been the burden of the Lord to him. This burden is made up of a deep sense of his own insufficiency for the work; of the urgent need for the work to be done; of the shortness of time which remains for this work to be done; and of the heavy responsibility resting upon him to be faithful in the work. (2Co_5:11) There may or may not be tears upon his face, but there certainly will be in his heart. Often will he weep there. These are the men who do the Lord"s work, and win men in throngs for him.
3. He bears precious seed. The seed is the Word of God: that is settled for us by our Lord himself. (Luk_8:5, 11 1Pe_1:23) And it is as seed, because it has transforming power. The corn of wheat, when sown, lays hold on the elements of the soil around it, and transmutes them into its own substance, changes them into its own image and likeness. So does the Word of God in the heart of man. And it is "precious seed" because of what it is in itself. Who can calculate its value? And because he who sows it has found its value for himself; he has had experimental knowledge of its preciousness. Now, this seed he scatters in the furrows, as he has been bidden of the Lord to do; and he does it in the confident belief that God will bless his work, and the harvest shall follow. Such is he who becomes the rejoicing reaper.
II WHAT HE NOW IS. We see him coming "again with rejoicing," etc.
1. Coming again. That is, coming back from the field homewards. So shall the faithful servant of God, as he wends his homeward way, be seen, not with downcast, disappointed look, but with rejoicing, because of the good success of his toil. Such men, ere they reach home, find their way lit up with the sunset glow, the eventide light, which the harvest joy brings to them.
2. With rejoicing." How many are the springs of that joy!-that he has been himself saved; that he has been allowed to engage in the work; that he has been kept faithful and persevering in the work; that he has been made successful in the work; that he is now going home to his Lord to enter into his joy for ever. Oh, joy unspeakable and full of glory!
3. Bringing his sheaves with him." (Cf. Rev_14:13, "Their works do follow them. Some of the corn has got home before the reaper, but there is much he brings with him, and yet more that will follow.
III THE SURE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO. "Doubtless." There is no contingency, no mere "perhaps;" his "labor is not in vain in the Lord." Faithful toil shall not fail of reward. God will see to this; he ever has, he ever will. S.C.
The law of giving in order to gain.
"Though he goeth on his way weeping, bearing forth the seed, he shall come again with joy, bringing the sheaves with him." Our Lord declared the same principle when he said, "He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall save it unto life eternal." You can never secure any kind of harvest of anything, save by giving your seed-corn away. The miser keeps his gold, and he has what he keeps, and no more. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
I GIVING IN ORDER TO GAIN IS THE LAW OF ENTERPRISE. Here we treat it on its purely human and business side. Nothing could be done in trade and commerce if men were not willing to "risk," as we say to give away what they have. The man with the one talent would not give it away in some business enterprise, and so he had no harvest for his master, when he returned. Human enterprise is closely kin to faith; or, we may say, has in it a strong element of faith; business would be paralyzed if men could not give themselves, and what they have, away to each other in mutual trust. But there is always the inspiration of anticipation. It is always giving in order to get, based upon the natural order of things as established by prolonged experience.
II GIVING IN ORDER TO GAIN IS THE LAW OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE. Here we treat the law in its higher and Divine relations. And we observe:
1. That it is a law divinely established. It is no accident; it is no resultant of experiences; it is no mere possibility. It is definitely fixed by God, who requires the seed-sowing, and promises the harvest. Because it is the Divine law, the harvest is assured.
2. That it is a law experimentally proved. Not experimentally based. Surrender for Christ"s sake always is a seed-sowing that is followed by a harvest. Those who give up all for Christ"s sake have a hundredfold more in this life, and in the time to come, life eternal.
3. That it is a law sublimely illustrated in God himself, who gave his Son in view of the harvest of humanity. Give away your seed, even with tears, you will come some day from the harvest-field, carrying your sheaves. 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. 6. He. The general assurance is applied to…
Ver. 6. He. The general assurance is applied to each one in particular. That which is spoken in the previous verse in the plural "they", is here repeated in the singular"he." He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. He leaves his couch to go forth into the frosty air and tread the heavy soil; and as he goes he weeps because of past failures, or because the ground is so sterile, or the weather so unseasonable, or his corn so scarce, and his enemies so plentiful and so eager to rob him of his reward. He drops a seed and a tear, a seed and a tear, and so goes on his way. In his basket he has seed which is precious to him, for he has little of it, and it is his hope for the next year. Each grain leaves his hand with anxious prayer that it may not be lost: he thinks little of himself, but much of his seed, and he eagerly asks, "Will it prosper? shall I receive a reward for my labour?" Yes, good husbandman, doubtless you will gather sheaves from your sowing. Because the Lord has written doubtless, take heed that you do not doubt. No reason for doubt can remain after the Lord has spoken. You will return to this fieldnot to sow, but to reap; not to weep, but to rejoice; and after awhile you will go home again with nimbler step than today, though with a heavier load, for you shall have sheaves to bear with you. Your handful shall be so greatly multiplied that many sheaves shall spring from it; and you shall have the pleasure of reaping them and bringing them home to the place from which you went out weeping.
This is a figurative description of that which was literally described in the first three verses. It is the turning of the worker's captivity, when, instead of seed buried beneath black earth, he sees the waving crops inviting him to a golden harvest.
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It is somewhat singular to find this promise of fruitfulness in close contact with ret urn from captivity; and yet it is so in our own experience, for when our own soul is revived the souls of others are blessed by our labours. If any of us, having been once lonesome and lingering captives, have now returned home, and have become longing and labouring sowers, may the Lord, who has already delivered us, soon transform us into glad hearted reapers, and to him shall be praise for ever and ever. Amen.
Ver. 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, etc. This is very expressive of a gospel minister's life; he goeth forth with the everlasting gospel which he preaches; he sows it as precious seed in the church of God; he waters it with tears and prayers; the Lord's blessing accompanies it; the Lord crowns his labours with success; he has seals to his ministry; and at the last day he shall doubtless come again with joy from the grave of death bringing his sheaves with him; and will, in the new Jerusalem state, be addressed by his Lord with, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Samuel Eyles Pierce (1746-1829?), in "The Book of Psalms, an Epitome of the Old Testament Scripture."
Ver. 6. He may go forth, he may go forth, and weep, bearing (his) load of seed. He shall come, he shall come with singing, bearing sheaves. The emphatic combination of the finite tense with the infinitive is altogether foreign from our idiom, and very imperfectly represented, in the ancient and some modern versions, by the active participle (venientes venient, coming they shall come), which conveys neither the peculiar form nor the precise sense of the Hebrew phrase. The best approximation to the force of the original is Luther's repetition of the finite tense, he shall come, he shall come, because in all such cases the infinitive is really defined or determined by the term which follows, and in sense, though not in form, assimilated to it. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Ver. 6.
"Though he go, though he go, and be weeping,
While bearing some handfuls of seed;
He shall come, he shall come with bright singing,
While bearing his plentiful sheaves."
Ben Tehillim, in "The Book of Psalms, in English Blank Verse",
1883.
Ver. 6. Goeth forth. The church must not only keep this seed in the store house, for such as come to enquire for it; but must send her sowers forth to cast it among those who are ignorant of its value, or too indifferent to ask it at her hands. She must not sit weeping because men will not apply to her, but must go forth and bear the precious seed to the unwilling, the careless, the prejudiced, and the profligate. Edwin Sidney, in "The Pulpit", 1840.
Ver. 6. Weeping must not hinder sowing: when we suffer ill we must be doing well. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 6. Precious seed. Seed corn is always dearest; and when other corn is dear, then it is very dear; yet though never so dear, the husbandman resolves that he must have it; and he will deprive his own belly, and his wife and children of it, and will sow it, going out "weeping" with it. There is also great hazard; for corn, after it is sown, is subject to many dangers. And so is it, indeed, with the children of God in a good cause. Ye must resolve to undergo hazards also, in life, lands, movables, or whatsoever else ye have in this world: rather hazard all these before either religion be in hazard, or your own souls. Alexander Henderson.
Ver. 6. Precious seed. Aben Ezra, by the words rendered precious seed, or, as they may be, a draught of seed, understands the vessel in which the sower carries his seed, the seed basket, from whence he draws and takes out the seed, and scatters it; see Am 9:13: so the Targum, "bearing a tray of sowing corn." John Gill.
Ver. 6. Precious seed. Faith is called "precious seed": quod tatum est charurn est. Seed was accounted precious when all countries came unto Egypt to buy corn of Joseph, and truly faith must needs be precious, seeing that when Christ comes he shall hardly "find faith upon the earth": Lu 18:8. The necessity of faith is such, that therefore it must need be precious; for as the material seed is the only instrumental means to preserve the life of man; for all the spices, honey, myrrh, nuts, and almonds, gold and silver, that were in Canaan, were not sufficient for Jacob and his children's sustenance; but they were forced to repair unto Egypt for corn, that they might live and not die; even so, without faith the soul is starved; it is the food of it; for, "the just man liveth by his faith": Ga 3:11. John Hume.
Ver. 6. Sheaves. The psalm which begins with "dream" and ends with "sheaves" invites us to think of Joseph; Joseph, "in whom", according to S. Ambrose's beautiful application, "there was revealed the future resurrection of the Lord Jesus, to whom both his eleven disciples did obeisance when they saw him gone into Galilee, and to whom all the saints shall on their resurrection do obeisance, bringing forth the fruit of good works, as it is written, "He shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." H. T. Armfield.
Ver. 6. In the two parts of this verse we may behold a threefold antithesis or opposition; in the progress,
1. A sojourning: "He that now goeth on his way."
2. A sorrowing: "weeping."
3. A sowing: "and beareth forth good seed." In the regress there are three opposites unto these.
1. Returning: "He shall doubtless come again."
2. A Rejoicing: "with joy."
3. A Reaping: "and bring his sheaves with him." John Hume.
Ver. 6. "Doubtless." Or the reasons why our labour cannot be in vain in the Lord.
Ver. 6. Bringing his sheaves with him. The faithful sower's return to his Lord. Successful, knowing it, personally honoured, abundantly recompensed.
Ver. 6. See "Spurgeon's Sermons" No. 867: "Tearful Sowing and Joyful Reaping."
Ver. 6.
1. The sorrowful sower.
a) His activity"he goeth forth."
b) His humility"and weepeth."
c) His fidelity"bearing precious seed."
2. The joyful reaper.
a) His certain harvest time"shall doubtless come again."
b) His abundant joy"with rejoicing."
c) His rich rewards"bringing his sheaves with him." W. H. J. P.
The Jews' deliverance out of Babylon, and the mystery of our Redemption: Plainely demonstrated in ten Sermons upon the 126. Psalme. ...Preached in Yorkshire, By John Hume, Minister of the Word ... London...1628 4to.
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 He that goeth forth and weepeth.
Psa_126:6
He that goeth forth and weepeth.
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Tearful sowing and joyful reaping
All life is a sowing. Some sow to the lusts of the flesh. A chosen company sow to the spirit. These often sow in sadness, for such sowing involves self-denial and struggling against the flesh. But their reaping will compensate them. Now this holds good in regard to the whole spiritual life, but it applies also to individual incidents in that life. To prayers offered amid tears. To the daughters of affliction, the sons of pain. But we take the text in regard to every Christain worker.
I. Describe his service. It is said of him, he goeth forth. What does this mean? This, that he goeth forth from God. God has sent him. It is a sin beyond all others to take up the ministry as a mere profession. And this going forth is from the place of prayer. Our truest strength lies in prayer. But the word tells of the whither as well as the whence. And this going forth is away from the world, without the camp, aye, and beyond the range of ordinary Christian labour. He that goeth forth, not he that sits at home, shall win the reward. And weepeth. What means this word? As the former word told of the mode of service, so this tells of the man himself. A man who cannot weep, inwardly if not internally, cannot preach. He must be sensitive, tender-hearted, a man in earnest. Some one asks, Why does he weep? Because he feels his own insufficiency, because of the hardness of mens hearts, because he is often disappointed. Blossoms come not to be fruit, or fruit half ripe drops from the tree. Next, we read, he beareth precious seed. This an especial point of success. There is no soul-winning by untruthful preaching. The Gospel, and that only, will serve. Tell it out as those who know it is precious, not flippantly, or as though we were retailing a mere story from the Arabian Nights. And as those who know that the truth is a seed. Do not speak of it and forget it, or think of it as a stone that will never spring up. Believe there is life in it, and something will come of it.
II. The workers success. He shall come again to his God whence he set out, come in thanksgiving and praise. With rejoicing, yes, even in his very tears, but mainly in his success. Many have asked whether every earnest labourer may expect to have this. I have always inclined to the belief that such is the rule, though there may be exceptions. It seems to me that if I never won souls I would sigh till I did. I would break my heart Over them if I could not break their hearts. I cannot comprehend any one trying to win souls and being satisfied without results. With sheaves. As an old expositor says, he comes with the wains behind him, with the wagons at his heels. They are his sheaves, for though all souls belong to Christ, they yet belong to the worker. God puts it so, bringing his sheaves with him.
III. The golden link of doubtless. The promise of God says so. The analogy of nature assures you of it. God mocks not the husbandman. And Christ assures you of this. Think, too, of those who have already proved it. See the triumphs of missions. Therefore be up and doing. You who are not saved, I ask you not to sin, but to come to Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The sower and his harvest: -
I. The qualities and requirements of the successful sower.
1. He goeth forth. This shows a set purpose, a fixed and definite design. It also suggests that the work is done at some personal cost, some self-denial.
2. He weepeth. The burden of souls is laid upon him. A trifler must fail; this thorough earnestness is essential to success.
3. He bears precious seed. The seed is the living word for a lost world; truth for souls wandering in fatal error; the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. It is precious, because it is the gift of Gods love by Jesus Christ; because of the price paid for it; because of its fruit, peace, love, joy in the Holy Ghost. How does he bear it? Best of all forms, the only perfect mode is in the heart; so that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth may speak.
II. The character of the harvest promised.
1. It is abundant. For seeds in the hand there shall be sheaves on the shoulders.
2. It is gladdening. The sower goes forth weeping; he returns rejoicing.
3. It is sure. (J. McTurk.)
Sowing and reaping
I. The seed.
1. Its origin is Divine.
2. Its vitality.
3. Its value. Precious.
(1) Because it is a Divine gift.
(2) Because it meets human necessity.
(3) Because of its blessed, practical results.
(4) Because it is adapted to all classes.
(5) Because it has no equal, and nothing can take its place.
II. The sower.
1. His energy--goeth forth. He does not waste his precious time in berating other sowers, or in telling what wonders he is going to do in the future; nor does he allow his zeal to evaporate in sentiment or song. But he goeth forth. We have a sufficient number of word-critics and analyzers; we want more men who would rather scatter the seed than argue about its constituent elements.
2. His emotion--weepeth. Why?
(1) Felt responsibility.
(2) Discouragements in the way. Poverty, ignorance, drunkenness, sensuality, a disposition to cling to sins and force their way to perdition.
(3) Lack of appreciation and sympathy.
(4) Meagre results of former sowing.
(5) Inability to reach the masses, who need us most.
3. His errand--Bearing precious seed. The bread of life for a perishing, famine-stricken world. The God-sent sower is a man of one work and one kind of seed. He is not a drawing-room evangelist; he goeth forth. He is not a man of business, he is not a politician, he is not a scientist. He is a worker for God, a sower of the seed. He preaches Christ, not himself; Gods thoughts, not his own.
III. The success.
1. Certain.
2. Inspiring.
3. Remunerative.
4. Individual ownership. Their sheaves.
5. Palpable results. Bringing. Then to sow is to reap. (T. Kelly, D. D.)
The home and foreign fields compared
Some think the mission cause is less popular now than formerly. This opinion may be true to some extent. There may not now be the excitement which, we are told, prevailed at first. For this several reasons may be assigned. The novelty has passed away. Other institutions have sprung up to divide public interest. But the chief reason no doubt is, that experience is bringing out the real nature of the work undertaken as it was never brought out before. Does not very much of the disappointment and complaint which we sometimes hear expressed at the result of mission work arise from wrong expectations?
I. As to the soil, what a contrast this presents to that at home.
1. Look at its extent. Those who know nature and mankind only in small countries like our own cannot conceive the proportions they assume in the worlds great continents. There is not a greater difference between the hills which we call mountains, and the streams which we dignify as rivers, and those elsewhere, than there is between humanity here and humanity there. It may be thought at least the moral greatness is with us. As to superior civilization, much of this is prejudice, which a wider acquaintance with the world dissipates. I confess that the only indisputable point of superiority in us, as far as I know, is in the possession of a pure and true religion. Take this away, and we should be no better than the rest. But as to material size and numbers, we are comparatively insignificant. Place a man on a peak of the Alps or Himalayas, and what an overwhelming astonishment comes over him. A like feeling is experienced by one who finds himself moving among the worlds great populations. In this country we have thirty millions to deal with--thirty millions to save, one by one. But you might divide China alone into twelve such countries, with twelve times thirty millions. You might cut up India into six such countries, with six times thirty millions. The mind is lost even amid such numbers; but what would it be in measuring entire continents? The number of mission-converts is often compared with the total population of the world. But it would be fairer to make the comparison with the number actually brought under Christian influence. Missions, though universal in spirit and aim, are not so in fact. Compare the ground gained with that actually attempted, and the disproportion will appear less.
2. Contrast, again, the nature of the two fields. In this respect the conditions are as opposite as they can be. At home Christian agencies are more nearly adequate to the work to be done. It is true there is much religious destitution. But what sort of destitution? Not so much destitution of ministers and sanctuaries as of the religion which would make more ministers and sanctuaries necessary. Must there not be more religious success and growth before more of these outward products of religion will be seen? But Christian churches are not all. Our whole country is professedly Christian, and has been a thousand years. A thousand years of history are in our favour. Our doctrines are the doctrines generally received. Besides a powerful Christian literature, the general literature of our country is Christian in spirit. The stamp of the Bible is on our national character. All this is an incalculable gain to the cause of truth. The way of the preacher is made easy. Directly you go into a heathen country, this state of things is reversed. When we speak of the wickedness and spiritual apathy of heathen lands, we may seem to mention nothing special. Are these unknown at home? Bad as the state of morality may be here, we assure you there is worse than your worst. Heathenism makes the same sins blacker. If there is so much wickedness where so many checks are at work, what must there be where most of these checks are unknown, and religion herself becomes the patron of vice? Converse with the priests, read the lives of the deities, observe the images of impurity and cruelty--lust hard by hate--which surround you in worship. As to the practical effects of idolatry, its very nature is degrading. In judging of mission work, then, many forget that abroad we meet with all the old hindrances, and others still more formidable.
II. Let us look also at the sowers. In this respect we may think there is no room for difference. The same agencies will suit either field. Let us see. What is the state of things at home? First, the language is the preachers own. He has not to plunge into the difficulties of a new tongue and literature. Again, the machinery is provided to his hand. In both respects how different abroad! In many parts a difficult language, imposing long and hard toil, blocks the very threshold. The labourer may be full of zeal. His soul, like Pauls, may be stirred by what he sees. But he is dumb. For long he is a child learning to speak. Take the other point. Suppose you have a system of agencies formed and at work. Many could most efficiently keep it going who would not be equal to originating it. It is evident that on both grounds the mission-field requires special gifts--mental adaptation, a spirit of enterprise, skill to create and organize. There must be these special qualifications-for the special work which lies before us in other lands. Even the best labourers must often lament their insufficiency. They often feel the terrible disadvantage at which they labour. Every seed as it falls into the earth is wet with tears wrung from earnest, anxious souls. The sun goes down on a life of faithful toil, and little impression is made on the waste, few ears are gathered. What a contrast between the present beginnings and future destiny of the Gospel! The Church goes forth weeping; she returns with sheaves rejoicing. Now wrong has the majority; the triumph seems to be with error; faith struggles for mastery in one place, for existence in another. All this will be reversed. Instead of sowers weeping, you will hear shouts of reapers rejoicing--shouts which ring louder and sweeter for the years of working and waiting which have gone before. Instead of a few bright patches of fruitfulness, enough to keep faith alive, the worlds wide field shall stand thick with sheaves--sheaves of souls dearly ransomed and hardly won. Meanwhile what is our duty? To sow on. Let not weeping hinder sowing. Sow money, sow sympathy and prayer, sow lives of earnest work for Christ. (J. S. Banks.)
The hope of the spiritual sower
If it takes six months for nature to restore to the farmer his reward, how much do you think is needed before this world is made to rejoice and blossom like the rose? We must be patient, we must be generous, we must be far-seeing; and we must remember that all the money that is sunk in schoolrooms and sunk in good teaching, all the money that seems occasionally to be flung away--I do not mean anything foolish--in this field of education, will be bearing fruit when we are dead. And upon the thoroughness of the education in England during the years to come will depend our prosperity and our position amongst the nations of the earth. We ought to be thankful for our army and navy, but in the future nations are to depend less upon armed men and more upon intelligence. Or if you take the ease of social reform in any of its departments, why, it is over fifty years since men began to work at the temperance cause, and sometimes it does not seem to have advanced greatly. But it is advancing, and habits of temperance and self-restraint are spreading amongst the people. We may not in our days see a sober and thrifty nation; but some day, when this land is delivered from the curse of drunkenness and the improvidence which follows it, people will rise up and bless the sowers in the sleet of past days. And, if that be true of education and morality, what will you say to religion--to recast a single soul in the character of Jesus Christ? To recast a whole race will take centuries; but it is going to be done l He that works for a speedy return works for a passing return; he who works for eternal ends must work deeply and wait patiently. He may die before the vessel comes into harbour, but he is going with the tide that is to carry her into harbour. The throne of God is established in righteousness and not in unrighteousness. Did not Christ, living and dying, triumph over this world? It is with such that this man allies himself, whom you may think so foolish and short-sighted. He places himself beside the throne of light; he places himself beside the throne of Jesus Christ. If he is beaten, he is beaten, when every one of us is beaten, and the whole human race is beaten, and nothing remains but ruin and chaos. If there be order, he wins; if there be righteousness, he is going to come out conqueror. Well, you say, I like to see a little. Well, then, my friend, will you remember that your life is not the whole life of the Kingdom of God. And although the class you are going to teach this afternoon in that back street is just a little bit of heaven begun, as well as you can begin it, it is not the whole kingdom of heaven. What do you think of the prophets now, and especially the prophets who prophesied the Messiah in heathen Babylon and decadent Jerusalem, and who died and never saw the promise, and never saw the prophecy fulfilled? And now, behold, we have seen everything they said come true, and generation after generation has blessed them for their words. Courage yourselves with the Psalms, with Amos, with Hosea, and the second of Isaiah! What do you say of the prophets? They gave up all they possessed and went out and preached the Gospel. And some preached in heathen cities, some in Europe, some Asia, and we do not know where some of them preached. And they died. So far as we know most of them were martyrs. (John Watson, D. D.)
Harvest joys:
We are just in the middle of harvest. We are reaping; we are bringing our sheaves home: and we, too, reap with joy, more or less; we bring our sheaves home with rejoicing. There are many good reasons for this. The harvest, you all know and feel, is the end and crown of the year,--the end, not in the same way in which winter is the end of the year, as closing its eyes, and laying it in its grave, but as being its consummation and fulfilment. It is the end for which the seasons roll round in their busy course. It is the end for which the earth opens her womb, and pours out her fatness. It is the end for which the sun looks down with his fostering fatherly smiles upon the earth, and cherishes her day by day more and more, according as she can bear it. Moreover, here, too, there is need of tears: there is need that the bosom of the earth should be torn up by the ploughshare. She likewise must go forth on her yearly way weeping, when she bears her precious seed; or she will never come again rejoicing, bringing her full sheaves with her. God has blessed the work of your hands: He has given you a good harvest: it will bring you in much profit. Let it be your care then that the poor shall also be partakers in the blessings, which Gods bounty has poured out for them as well as for you. When any prosperity betides a household, it is right and fitting that all the members of the household, from the highest to the lowest, should partake in that prosperity, that all should be invited to a fellowship in the same rejoicing. So may the servants in a household be encouraged to feel that they are united to their masters by some other bond than the iron chain of necessity,--that there is something in their faithful services beyond the worth of money, and which no money can repay,--that they are moral beings, with hearts and souls, with consciences and affections,--that they are to show this in their conduct, and that their masters also are to show their conviction of this in all their dealings with them. In this manner does it behove you to show your thankful conviction that the harvest is indeed a blessing, and not to thwart Gods gracious purpose, that it should be a blessing, not to you alone, but to all men, of every class and condition. For this is what renders it truly precious. The earth rejoices because she is made Gods minister to pour forth her treasures for the support of mankind. And this is a further reason why you also may lawfully rejoice in the harvest. Joy for any outward good that befalls ourselves is narrow and selfish and barren. But joy for any good we may be enabled to do to others is of a right kind. It is a joy which has the purifying spirit of love in it, a joy such as the angels feel when they are sent on Gods errands of mercy. This is the great privilege granted to you whose calling is to till the ground. You are employed by God as His ministers for the good of your brethren. It is through your means that the race of man is sustained and enabled to live from year to year. It is at your hands that God gives us our daily bread. For this thought, moreover, should be always present to your minds; that that which you do, you do not of yourselves and by yourselves, through any strength of your own arm, or any wit of your own head, but only through the power of God, as His servants and ministers. When we look at the harvest as the gift of God, then it becomes a ground of pure and unmixed rejoicing. As he who is truly suffering from want and distress is thankful if you give him a small alms, and is the more thankful if your alms be large, so, if we are really convinced that the harvest is the gift of Gods bounty, then, even if the harvest be a scanty one, we still rejoice and are thankful to God, from whom we had no right to claim or expect anything richer; and if the harvest be abundant, we are the more exceeding thankful. Indeed this, you will ever find, is one among the many benefits which arise from the habit of looking at all the events and dispensations of this world as the appointment and ordinance of God. You will be confident that, whatever their immediate appearance may be, they are good, and are designed for good. You will be delivered from all repining on account of them. What, ever they may be, you will be thankful for them. If the dispensation be grievous, you will discern something that required to be chastened and corrected: and for that chastening and correction you will be thankful to Him whose chastening is a sure proof of His love. If, on the other hand, the dispensation be such as even the natural heart welcomes with delight, your rejoicing on that account of it will be doubled, when you look on it as a token of your heavenly Fathers bounty. (J. C. Hare, M. A.)
The certain reward of good works
Our text, taken in its largest significance, is to be classed with those passages which speak of the reward of good works, and use that reward as a motive to their performance. There can be nothing clearer from the Bible than that though man can expect nothing for his works, so that his best actions, if tried by their own merit, would produce only wrath; he will, nevertheless, be judged by his works, and receive a recompense, of which these works will determine the extent. It is impossible that man should gain any reward, if you connect with reward the notion of merit; but it is quite possible that while that which is bestowed is of grace and not of debt, yet there may be a rigid proportion maintained between his actions and his condition, so that his final allotment will be dependent on his works, as though those works could establish a right to some portion of happiness. And when this principle has been settled--the principle that though We cannot merit from God our actions will decide our condition--we may speak of good works as to be hereafter rewarded, because they shall as actually regulate our portion as though that portion were a recompense in the strictest sense of the term. If, then, it be lawful to speak of reward, we may certainly speak of the husbandman who goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, as coming again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. It will frequently happen that we have no means of ascertaining that any beneficial results have been produced by our most earnest and disinterested labours; and it is quite possible that no such results have yet followed, and that they never will follow. The minister may have toiled in vain; the parent may have striven in vain; the philanthropist may have been generous in vain. Not only may it be true that none of these parties can discern any fruit of their exertions and sacrifices; it may be further true that no fruit whatsoever has been yielded; so that minister, and parent, and philanthropist have apparently spent their strength for nought. And yet, even in this extreme case, you can only suppose that the retributions of eternity will abundantly prove the statements of our text. The precious seed has been sown; the man perhaps weeping as he sowed it, and our decision must be, if we shut out the appointments of the future, that it is utterly lost, and will never, in any fruit, return to its original proprietor. But, if you bring those appointments of the future into the account, you presently discover the falseness of such a decision. You show that God has kept an exact register of our every effort to promote His glory and the welfare of our fellow-men, and that whatever may have been the success of that effort, it will receive a recompense proportioned to its zeal and sincerity. There must be no such thing as the giving up in despair, because hitherto we seem to have been toiling in vain. We cannot tell that it has been in vain. We know that the remark is often made that the children of religious parents turn out worse than those of worldly; but we have no faith in the historical accuracy of this remark. Now and then there will be striking and melancholy cases; and these cases the more noted because occurring in families upon which many eyes have been fixed, are taken as establishing a general rule, and that a rule which concludes against the worth of religious education. But we are persuaded that the sum total of the evidence from fact is immeasurably the other way; and we have no hesitation in appealing to this evidence as corroborating the gracious description of our text. It will sometimes happen that the parents efforts are frustrated, so that neither during his life, nor after his death, is the prodigal child reclaimed from his wanderings. But ordinarily you have the spectacle of the old age of a father and a mother cheered by the piety of their offspring. If the sons and the daughters have been carefully trained in the way they should go, then adherence to it will be generally amongst those rich consolations which God ministers in their last days to parents. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Better plant than build
If a man builds, Nature straightway sets to work to undo his building. Rust eats into the iron and decay into the wood, and little by little time ravages and destroys. But if a man plants, Nature proceeds to complete his unfinished work. He sows a seed, and behold wheat; he plants a cutting, and behold a tree. Such is the difference between working alone and working with God. He who sows truth in human hearts works with God. The seed drops into the heart; lies there; is long hidden; sprouts; pushes forth the blade and ear, and finally the full corn. Not at once, often only after long delay; but it fails not. Heaven and earth shall pass away; all things material decay. But My words shall not pass away; truth is imperishable. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)
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Psa_127:1-5
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.