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Thursday, 29 December 2016
Psalm 126 - God has filled our mouths with laughter

Psalm 126:1-2 "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'" NKJV

The first Hebrew word in verse 1 is B'Shuv - B is a prefix meaning "in", so what is Shuv? This word appears in the Hebrew Scriptures over 1,000 times. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translators have translated this word over 200 different ways. It is a word with which we should be familiar. It can mean repent, turn, return, bring back, turn aside, turn around and many more. This word is used twice in the Hebrew (different forms).

So the Hebrew could be better translated in verse 1: "In the return (repentance) the Lord made Zion return (come back and rest) like we were dreaming (seeing a vision)."

In verse 2, our mouth (Pe) is filled with laughter (Sachoq - similar to Isaac's name, Yitzchaq). In the second phrase, our tongue (Lashon) sings (Rina). Rina is not ordinary singing (ordinary singing is Shir) this is shouting-for-joy type of singing. Verse 2 concludes with "They said among the gentiles ..." The next word according to the Hebrew syntax (word order), "Great" followed by "(the) Lord to make (or did) with these."

So, what do we make of this verse? How does it apply to us as we as make the ascent while counting our blessings? Let's see; to be brought back to the Lord through repentance in a vision with our mouths filled with laughter and our tongues shouting for joy so that the whole world says, "Wow! Look what the Lord has done for them!" Pretty excellent way to spend eternity. It should help enhance our excitement as we climb.

Posted By Rabbi Michael Weiner, 11:00am Comment Comments: 0