Psalms 126 - Introduction

The restoration of Israel from exile in Babylon was a marvel so astonishing that it could hardly be credited. It was the occasion for the most joyous thanksgiving, and even the heathen recognised the greatness of Jehovah's favour to His people (Psalms 126:1-3). But the sequel had been disappointing; and the restored community had need to pray that Jehovah would carry on and complete the work which He had begun. Faith however could not doubt that seed sown in tears would produce a joyful harvest (Psalms 126:4-6).

All that can be said with certainty as regards the date of the Psalm is that it belongs to the post-exilic period. It may have been written in the midst of the troubles which hindered the rebuilding of the Temple in the first twenty years after the Return. But more probably it belongs, like the preceding Psalms, to the early part of the Ezra-Nehemiah period, when the sense of failure and disappointment had sunk more deeply into the heart of the people, and the contrast between the glowing promises of the prophets and the actual condition of the weak community in Palestine had become a permanent trial of faith, while at the same time the dawn of happier days appeared to be at hand. The impression produced by Psalms 126:1 is that the jubilant rejoicing of the Restoration lies in a somewhat remote past. The use of the first person plural in Psalms 126:1 is no objection to this view. It does not necessarily imply that the Psalmist and his contemporaries took part in the First Return. Their vivid sense of the continuity of national life would enable Israel of the time of Ezra readily to identify itself with Israel of the time of Zerubbabel.

The elegiac rhythm of the Psalm is well marked.

The general thought of the Psalm resembles that of Psalms 85, with which it should be compared and contrasted.