DREAMS – Pt 3

Psalm 126:1-3 “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

In last week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS we looked at the first point in our study which was the DETERMINING of the dream. God does give each of us dreams and we must determine what God wants us to do.

This week we go one step further in our challenge to pursue what God wants out of our life.


II. THE DISPLAY OF THE DREAM

Look at verse 2, “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.”

Notice the phrase, “turned again the captivity of Zion.” The city of Jerusalem had been saved. It was a miraculous victory as God destroyed the Assyrian army in one night while they were in their sleep.

As he remembered and retraced how God had come to the rescue of His people, the Psalmist gets excited. Notice how he draws strength from his memory of this past blessing.

A. There Was MERRIMENT

Notice the response of the Psalmist when he thought about the great power that God displayed in the deliverance of the city of Jerusalem. Notice the phrase “then was our mouth filled with laughter.”

Have you ever gotten so excited about something that you began to giggle? I have! I remember when our Christian school in Kansas City went to play in the basketball finals at Maranatha Baptist College. In the semi-finals the regulation game ended in a tie. The overtime came down to the last second and Brek Cockrell took a half-court shot when the buzzer went off. The ball touched nothing but net and we went wild. We were laughing and giggling. We were excited about what had happened.

Can you imagine how much more merriment was going on at the miracle that God performed for His people.

The deliverance of the city of Jerusalem did not necessarily help those outside the walls of the city, but it did encourage them to trust God in their own lives. As a point of application, that means that you and I should put our dreams on display so that others can be blessed and challenged when God works.

The body of Christ has the unique opportunity to encourage and help each other fulfill the purpose of God for their lives. This is one of the reasons I like small groups in the church, whether be it Sunday school classes or groups that are divided at other times of the week. In these small groups you have the opportunity to testify of what God is doing in each life. What an encouragement we can be to each other.

B. There Was MUSIC

Notice verse 2 again, especially the phrase “and our tongue with singing.” The concept of singing originated as a method of praising God. The sad thing is that in my lifetime singing has been demoted to blasphemy in many cases. Some popular music today contains the basest of words and thoughts.

When a godly dream is fulfilled and displayed for everybody to see, a natural spirit of praise flows from the heart and resonates into singing.

The Psalmist declared in Psalm 40:10, “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.”

I used to work with a man who always had a song on his heart. If he wasn’t singing, he was whistling. He was the kind of man you liked to be around. He had a song in his heart and he wasn’t ashamed to let it out.

C. There Was A MESSAGE

Look at the last part of verse 2 and verse 3, “. . . then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”


(1) It Was A Message Of GREATNESS

We need to remember that God and man see greatness in different ways. That is natural, because man always sees things differently than does God. Man’s eyesight is limited here on earth. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13: 12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; . . “

Man only sees it after the fact; God sees the inner greatness that was present all the time. One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is found in the 6th chapter of II Kings. The prophet Elisha was being hunted by the king of Syria. When he was located the army of Syria came by night and surrounded the city where Elisha was. Early the next morning the servants of God’s man went outside and saw the enemy surrounding them. He ran back to Elisha, told him of the circumstance, and wanted to know what they were going to do. Elisha calmly said there were more for them than there were against them. Of course the servant of Elisha was looking with man’s eyes. And then Elisha called upon God in II Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed and said LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Of course the greatness of God was displayed as God came to the rescue of His servant.

That’s the message you and I have. God always works in miraculous ways. The fulfillment and display of godly dreams is a testimony of the great love and compassion that God has to His people. The lost world could not deny that God had delivered His people. The people of God are great only because of their relationship with Him. After the wonderful victory, the heathen all around Judah could see God’s care of His people.

(2) It Was A Message Of GLADNESS

There is always a song on the heart of God’s people when God’s power is demonstrated. What has God done for you lately? Do you have a heart of gratitude and gladness?

That’s my view; how about you?