1 When the people of God were released from their captivity they were overjoyed, astounded at God’s mercy and grace to them. Why does the Psalmist refer to Zion? Why not Judah, Jerusalem, Israel? Charles Spurgeon observes that Zion was a hill on the north side of Jerusalem, the place where the Temple of God stood, that the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob ( Psa. There were many other times of captivity for the people of God – four hundred years of Egyptian bondage, perennial trouble with the Philistines, wicked kings during the time of the Judges – but whatever time it was, the return from captivity brought great rejoicing. This is not necessarily referring to the return from Babylonian captivity. The Psalmist begins, ‘When Yahweh brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream.’ In other words, their release caused them to rejoice exceedingly. Okay, what must we do to see this happen? Psalm 126 is a ‘Song of Ascent,’ a song sung by God’s covenant people as they joyfully made their way up to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. When I speak to pastors and elders of many churches, asking them specifically how many professions of faith they had last year, how many people have they directly shared Jesus with in the last six months, the answers are often pretty discouraging. Some other church will gain that distinction, and you will see major decline. Sooner or later your church will no longer be the cool place to be. The culture is decidedly one of maintenance ministry. The seeds of death are already sown in your church. If your church is primarily growing by having babies or by receiving disgruntled Christians from other churches, then you are kidding yourself. ![]() We all know of churches that fifty or one hundred years ago were hotbeds of evangelistic fervour but now have dwindled to next to nothing or have sold their church buildings to Hindus or Muslims. I say this even if you have several hundreds or thousands of members and are presently a vibrant, fast growing church. If your church does not evangelize, then it will surely perish. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting (Psa.
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