Day 8: Psalms 126

“we were like men who dreamed”

Are you asking why it seemed like a dream to the psalmist in Psalms 126?  The unbelievable miracle that happened in the past was when God caused the Israelites who were living in captivity in Babylon to return to the land of Judah.  When thinking about this great act of salvation by God, the Israelites, including the psalmist, who had been captives and returned to the land of Judah, found it incredibly hard to believe.  When they were living in captivity in Babylon, they earnestly sought and pleaded for God's salvation in the midst of sorrow and tears (Ps. 126:5-6).  Due to the delayed response in their prayers, they experienced discouragement, despair, and hopelessness.

However, at that time, a dramatic act of God's salvation occurred, and they were liberated from captivity, becoming free people.  The psalmist, reflecting on such a past miraculous salvation by God, confessed, "we were like men who dreamed."  He immersed himself in the laughter and joy that filled the moment, thinking back to the memory of when they all praised together in the joy of that salvation that God bestowed upon them (v. 3).