I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 126, Psalm 126, that can be found in the Pew Bibles on page 613, Psalm 126. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Well, it's New Year's. And what is New Year's all about? On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ, the incarnation. At Thanksgiving, we celebrate a time of being thankful to the Lord for all that he's done. On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. But what about New Year's? What is New Year's all about? Well, I'm of the opinion that New Year's is a time of reflection, a time to reflect upon the things of the past and the things of the future. You see, it's typical of an old year's service to look back on the previous year with appreciation for all that the Lord has done. Well, it's typical of a New Year's service to look forward, to look forward to the year to come and to do so with a kind of anticipation, a kind of trust and assurance that the Lord will indeed be with us. Well, this morning I want to do both. I want to look back and I want to look forward. And so with that in mind, I thought this psalm, Psalm 126, would be a good psalm and passage for us to consider. Psalm 126 both looks back and forward, and the conclusion of this psalm is that the Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. And with that conclusion, as you can imagine, this psalm equips us to confidently appreciate the past while confidently moving into the future. Now, Psalm 126 is one of 15 songs of ascent, songs of going up. These songs begin, or psalms begin at Psalm 120, and they go on through Psalm 134. These were psalms that were sung during the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem, during the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And when you look at these psalms, they're pretty short and pretty easy to follow. Most of them have really one main theme or thrust to them. For example, Psalm 120 focuses on the deliverance of the Lord. Psalm 124 focuses on the help of the Lord. Psalm 124 is where we get the phrase, our help is in the name of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. There is a psalm of ascent that focuses on the mercy of God, one that focuses on the protection of God. And this particular psalm before us, as you probably heard and noted, focuses on the restoration of the Lord. Now, the word restoration simply means to return something to a former state. If you like classic cars, you know what it means to restore something. I had a friend in my 20s who bought a 1967 Chevy Camaro, and when he first bought that piece of junk, really, I was shocked that he spent any money on it. But in his mind, in his eyes, he saw this beautiful car that just needed to be restored. And so he spent the next six months, and I don't know how much money, restoring that car. And when it was done, it was nothing short of gorgeous. Well, that's what it means to restore something, to return it to its former condition. And that's what this psalm focuses on, the restorative work of the Lord. Now, this psalm, like many of the songs of ascent, is pretty simple. It's made up of two parts. One part that remembers the restoration of the Lord, and a second part that looks forward to a future restoration of the Lord. And so it fits nicely into what we do around New Year's. Like this psalm, we too look back to the past and consider what the Lord has done for us. But we also look forward with hope and expectation for what the Lord will do in the new year and although none of us knows what 2023 may bring one thing will be certain our God will be with us and he will continue to be faithful to us and so my prayer for us on this new year's morning is that through this psalm we might come to see that the Lord has indeed been faithful to us, faithful to his promises, and he will continue to be, and therefore he is worthy of all of our trust and faith. And so we look at this psalm this morning in two parts. First, the memory of the psalm, the memory of the psalmist, and second, the prayer of the psalmist, the prayer of the psalmist. The psalm begins with the psalmist remembering the restoration of the Lord. It says, when the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion. Our psalmist is remembering the restoration of the Lord. Now, although the text doesn't tell us exactly what this restoration that it is that's being referred to here, I think it's fairly easy to imagine what is being referred to here. It's the restoration of the people of God. It's Israel's restoration from exile in Babylon in fact that's what John Calvin agrees with and it's what a number of other translations kind of point out as well point out as well listen to the the way that the NASV renders verse 1 when it says when the Lord brought back the captives of Israel now this realization of what this restoration is being referred to here ought to lead us really to ask the question, why? Why is this restoration necessary? Well, if you remember, after the Lord delivered the people of Israel from Egypt, he fulfilled each and every one of his promises to his people. He brought them into the land. He defeated his enemies all around them. He gave the land to them, and he established them into that land. The Lord essentially established Israel as a nation that would represent him on the face of the earth. We've been hearing about that establishment, haven't we, in our work through the book of Joshua, and Reverend Gordon goes through that with us. Well, those fortunes were experienced throughout the history of Israel, but really best expressed during the reign of Solomon. To see a picture of these fortunes summarized, if you would, turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 4. 1 Kings chapter 4. If you're using the Pew Bible, that can easily be found on page 333. As you're turning there, what we're going to see is really a summary of the kind of fortune that Israel experienced at the time of Solomon. And listen to the language as I read this. How Solomon's rule is summarized. This is a kind of golden age for the people of Israel. 1 Kings 4, beginning at verse 20. Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. That's a direct fulfillment of Genesis 22. They ate and drank and were, what? Happy. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. Then go down to verse 24. For he had dominion over all the regions west of the Euphrates, from Tissa to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates, and he had peace on all sides around him. And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree all the days of solomon a beautiful picture glorious summary of peace prosperity happiness for the people at that time maybe you've heard before that the land was supposed to be a a type of garden of gethsemane where god or garden of eden where god would dwell among his people and there would be rich blessings associated with that but what happened what happened to those blessings. We know, don't we? Israel turned from the Lord. They committed spiritual adultery. They traded their blessings for curses. They traded the dwelling of the Lord God for that of idols. They even offered their own children as sacrifices to those idols. To put it simply, Israel turned away from God. And he used the nation of Babylon to come in and conquer the land, conquer israel and exile the survivors back into slavery contrary to first kings or the antithesis antithesis of first kings 4 can really be found in psalm 137 psalm 137 records the despair of israel during the exile it says this by the waters of babylon there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres, for there our captors required of us songs. And our tormentors mirth, saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? Psalm 137 stands in sharp contrast, doesn't it, to 1 Kings 4. Where there was joy, there is now despair. By the waters of Babylon, the people weep. Where there were songs of celebration, instruments playing, those instruments now hang unused. The very idea of even singing a song was used to torment the people. It was their captors who said, sing us a song of your holy city, Zion. Then the psalmist in 137 ends by saying, how can we? How can we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land? It's a sad picture. Bleak picture. Depressing situation for Israel. Now having this before our minds this morning helps us to see why in Psalm 126, the psalmist is overjoyed by the restoration of the Lord. And it's the restoration from this horrible situation of exile that causes the psalmist to say, when the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. The restoration of Israel was an unbelievable event. When the Lord brought the exiles back into the promised land, when the Lord again blessed them and began to provide for them, it was a jubilant time for them. Have you ever experienced anything like that? Have you ever experienced the gracious work of God in your life to such an effect that it seemed like a dream it seemed unbelievable too good to be true i'm sure we can all think of things that the lord has done for us maybe even this past year but we must all acknowledge that the truly unbelievable restoration is the gracious work of god for us in jesus christ see whatever kind of year we may have had whatever trials, disappointments, even praises, nothing compares to the restoration that we have received in Jesus Christ. The Lord has done unbelievable things for us in Christ. Salvation for sinners, salvation for undeserving sinners, salvation by his grace alone. Now when we again realize the wonders of God's work in our lives, how should we respond? Well, really, we should respond just as the psalmist describes here in verse 2. He says that the people responded with laughter, with shouts of joy. The restorative work of the Lord wasn't just unbelievable. It didn't just leave people speechless. They couldn't help but burst forth with laughter and joy. This was a great time a time of celebration this was a great homecoming for the people i don't know if you ever been homesick i was homesick my first semester in college and when i got home it was such a wonderful wonderful experience how much more wonderful do you think it would have been for the people of israel the people who were exiled out of their land the people who were taken into slavery. They were slaves. This restoration of the Lord was such a fantastic event that even the surrounding nations took notice. Verse 2 says, then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. The blessings of the Lord upon his people were obvious, obvious to all. Imagine with me, imagine our salvation having such an effect in our lives that our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, those who don't know the salvation in Jesus Christ couldn't help but say, wow, the Lord has done wonderful things for you. That happens at times, doesn't it? It certainly does. When the testimonies of our lives are seen and heard and even experienced by those around us, when the things that the Lord has done for us has had such an effect upon our lives, people can't help but sense it and then acknowledge it. They too will acknowledge God has been good. God is good. Now, all of this that the psalmist has said so far really leads to the one undeniable truth of this psalm. Verse 3, the Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. Now, again, I don't know where you are right now in your life. I don't know the kind of year that you may have had. I don't know your expectation for this coming year. But can you say that this morning? Can you say this morning with this psalm, the Lord has done great things for me. I am glad. As we begin a new year, can we look back on not just the past year, but even back throughout our lives and say the Lord has done great things. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that we can. I pray that we can remember that the Lord has indeed done wonderful things for us. Now maybe it's difficult for you to say that this morning. Maybe it's been a particularly difficult year for you. I can understand that. We can all understand that. Our lives are not easy. Our lives are not always filled with joy and laughter. There are times when our lives are filled with sorrow and grief. It was Jesus who said, in this world we will have trials and difficulties of all sorts. But friend, allow me to remind you that it was also Jesus who said, that take heart for he has overcome the world. Jesus has been given to grant us peace and comfort during those storms and trials of our life. He has been given to wipe away every tear from our eyes. He was given to right every wrong. He was given to forgive us of our sin and to restore to us the fellowship that we didn't have with God. Because of Jesus, friend, when life is difficult, we can still be a people of hope. We can still be a hopeful people because Christ has accomplished for us the greatest restoration of all time, our salvation. Psalm 126 was ultimately written to remind us that because of Christ, God will keep all his promises to his people. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He who gave his son will never abandon us. He didn't abandon Israel. He didn't leave them or forsake them. He brought them back into the land. He restored to them that land. And he won't forsake us either. He will bring us from a time of discouragement and despair to a time of hope. And he will again restore to us the joy of our salvation. The Psalms and this psalm included teach us that although there may be weeping in the evening, there will be joy in the morning. Friend, if the Lord was gracious enough to restore Israel, he will be gracious enough to continue his work with you. So continue to look to him, Trust in him. And so as we look back with this psalm, we do so as a people who also have hope, knowing and acknowledging that the Lord has indeed done wonderful things. Well, we not only look back this morning, but we also look forward. And that's where this psalm takes us next. It moves us from remembering God's restorative work to looking forward to his continual restorative work and blessing. The psalmist says in verse 4, restore our fortunes, O Lord. This is a prayer. The memory of the psalmist leads to the prayer of the psalmist. You see, if you're like me, memories can so easily lead you to be nostalgic. I'm a very nostalgic person. But don't allow the memories of what the lord has done to only lead to nostalgia allow them to guide you to prayer the psalmist prays restore our fortunes oh lord now this might initially seem like a peculiar thing for the psalmist to pray having just said the lord has done great things for us he now again asks the lord to do the same but i don't think it's all that peculiar when you really think about it because that's what the lord's blessings do for us when we remember all the blessings of the lord when we remember all that he provides when we remember that he sustains us that he saves us the remembering causes us to cry out for more to say lord continue to bless us lord continue to provide for us continue to sustain us is that not our prayer this morning is that not our prayer for this new year that's what the psalmist is doing here he's praying and in this prayer he's acknowledging his dependence upon the lord psalmist appreciation of the restoration of the lord causes him to realize how much the people of god need the lord we need him we depend upon him i had a conversation with one of you recently and you mentioned how this past year was the most difficult year of your life and yet through those difficulties through that difficult year the lord showed you how dependent you were upon him and you wouldn't trade those difficulties for that acknowledgement we're all dependent upon him just a few hours ago we entered a new year but whatever year we're in whatever day we find ourselves in we will always remain dependent upon the Lord our God we will always and constantly be in a state of dependence upon him there's no better illustration of dependence than a little infant child an infant child who every moment of their life is dependent upon their parent we're like that child before the Lord and the sooner that we acknowledge that the better we will be for it and when we realize our dependence will be like the psalmist who says more lord we need more of you and through our prayers of dependence we'll begin to see our time with the lord not as something that we have to do but something that we so greatly need see the psalmist speaks of the lord's restoring fortunes like streams of the Negev. The Negev was an area in the south, an area known to be dry and hot and barren in the summer months. But in the rainy season, when the Lord would bring down rain, streams would gather in that area and turn that dry, barren desert wilderness into lush pasture lands. It's a great illustration of God's people and our dependence upon him. When we stray from the Lord, we're spiritually dry, barren, like a desert, like a deer who pants for water, so our souls pant for the Lord, right? But with the spiritual sustenance of the Lord, he revives and restores us. So allow me to ask you this morning, are you spiritually dry this morning? Are you in need of the living sustenance of god's holy and perfect word because apart from the lord we are as this psalm says like the naked dry barren lifeless jesus when tested in the wilderness said man does not live by bread and water alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the lord we are dependent upon him aren't we we need him we need his word we need his promises we need his gospel proclaimed and preached to us and this happens when we come together as god's people in a time of worship in our time of prayer in our time of bible reading a time where we like little children crying out to our abba father for all that we need and he reminds us that he is gracious enough to continue to provide us with that need just as he has in the past just as he does in the present and he will continue to do so we can enter into this new year assured that the lord will be with us that he will continue to provide us with everything we need we are his children he our heavenly father jesus teaches us about the provisions of the lord when he says if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more your father who is in heaven. Now again, this doesn't mean that this coming year won't have its share of difficulties and trials. It may. As long as we live this side of eternity, we will have difficulties. That's just the reality of life. But notice what verse 5 and 6 speak of. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. This psalm is a very realistic psalm. It doesn't just speak of pie in the sky. It acknowledges that life is difficult. I think that's why this psalm here speaks of sowing and reaping. These are everyday tasks of life. They're tasks that pertain to work. They're tasks that pertain to provisions and basic needs. And they're tasks that are difficult, just like all of life is difficult. Our lives, too, this coming year may be difficult. We'll have to work, and that work may be difficult. We'll continue to have relationships, and relationships will be difficult. There'll be trials. Those will be difficult. And we may even be faced with death, the death of a loved one, And that will certainly be difficult. Here's the thing. As Christians, we don't go through those trials, those difficulties alone. And we don't go through them without hope. We go through them with the presence of our Heavenly Father who is worthy of our trust and our faith and who is present in our lives each and every moment. he will be there to sustain us he will be there to provide for us he will be there to protect us and to keep us and if he so chooses to even take us home to himself so that we too can say even today apart maybe from those trials he who goes out weeping will come home with shouts of joy. Really, what we have here in this psalm is a very realistic picture of the Christian life. A life that isn't immune to suffering and difficulty. But as we live this life, the Lord does promise to be with us. Do you believe that? Do you believe that, Christian? That your Lord promises to be with you in all situations at all times you see this psalm speaks of restoration but it doesn't speak of just restoration of people into a land nor does it merely speak of restoration of our peace and comfort this really speaks of the final restoration full restoration the hope of every Christian, of being with the Lord for all eternity. That's what this passage ultimately points to. When we consider the restoration of the Lord, we aren't just considering the things here on earth. We're considering that final restoration. And it's not passages like 1 Kings that remind us of what that full restoration will look like, but it's revelation 21 that reminds us listen to revelation 21 this is christian our full restoration and i saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god prepared as a bride adorned for her husband and i heard a loud voice on the throne saying behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. As we enter another year, we enter as a people who can look back to God's faithfulness. But we also enter this new year as a people who can look forward to God being faithful to all his promises and bringing us eventually home to himself. Let's pray. Father, we give you thanks and praise for your restorative work in our lives. A work that was so perfectly accomplished in Jesus Christ. But a work that is ongoing by the power and ministry of your Holy Spirit through your Word. Lord, as we enter a new year today, we pray and ask, Father, that you would show us the fruit of your restorative work. And that through that fruit, Lord, we would be a people who acknowledge all that you've done for us. And may we be glad. May we be a people who give you praise and thanks. And may we be a people who are equipped, not just today, not just tomorrow, but forever equipped with faith and trust in you. We pray this all in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you.