What does the psalmist mean when he says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with Him” (Ps. 126:5–6)?

The believer stands in astonishment, his heart is filled with heavenly joy, and he feels as if heaven has invaded his heart, or that he has ascended to heaven. Tears flow in his depths not to crush his joy or veil it, but to water it and feed it. Perhaps the heart itself is transformed into a joyful heaven, or a river of tears that irrigates the city of God within. The world’s laughter contradicts tears, but spiritual laughter harmonizes with spiritual tears, working together as though they were two sisters.

Our Christ, the source of true joy, leads us on the path of tears to His heavenly joy. Christ wept over Lazarus, as well as over Jerusalem, and also in the Garden of Gethsemane. He promised us, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16:20). This is the harvest of holy tears. The prophet Jeremiah says, “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night” (Jer. 9:1).

St. Gregory of Nazianzus says, “These tears are streams of water that bring joy to the city of God (Ps. 46:4).” He also says, “Let us sow in tears, that we may reap in joy (Ps. 126:5), let us show ourselves men of Nineveh, not of Sodom (Gen. 19:17, 23). Let us amend our wickedness, lest we be consumed with it; let us listen to the preaching of Jonah, lest we be overwhelmed by fire and brimstone.”⁵³⁰

St. Basil the Great says, “In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness’ (Ps. 29:6). Recall the time of the passion of the Lord, and you will find the meaning. For, in the evening, weeping overwhelmed the disciples of the Lord when they saw Him hanging on the cross; but, in the morning, gladness, when after the Resurrection they ran about with joy, giving each other the good tidings of the appearance of the Lord. Or, perhaps, even in general this time is called evening in which those who have wept blessedly will be consoled when morning comes. ‘Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ (Matt. 5:5), ‘Blessed are they who weep, for they shall laugh’ (Luke 6:21). They, therefore, who spend the days of their life, which is already at its consummation and declining toward its setting, in weeping for their sins, these will be glad in that true morning which is approaching. ‘They that sow in tears shall reap in joy’ (Ps. 126:5), of course, in the future.”⁵³¹

St. Augustine says, “This psalm speaks to those who are determined to proceed on their spiritual journey to God, who helps us in times of sorrow and grief. This world is undoubtedly the valley of tears, in which man sows while weeping. He supports you to remain steadfast in your faith. The seeds are the good deeds for which God created us to do (Eph. 2:10). He planned for us to perform them by the power of His Spirit in the midst of the troubles of this turbulent life. He who learns to do God’s work in this world — this valley of tears and labors

530 St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Select Orations of Gregory Nazianzen 16.14 (NPNF II/7:252).

531 St. Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms 14.4 (FOTC 46:219–220).

— rejoices like a hardworking sower who sows the seeds even in the death of winter. Can the cold wind or harsh weather prevent him from laboring? Absolutely not! Thus, it is fitting for us to look forward to the troubles of this life. Amusements are thrown in our way by the wicked, with the intent of turning us away from the good deeds that we are created to do. Hear what the psalmist says: ‘He who goes out weeping …’ In truth, he finds a reason to weep, just as everyone of us does. Nevertheless, we must walk, practicing the good works of God on our way. How miserable would we be if we were called to labor so hard, only to weep without receiving any fruits for our labor? How miserable would we be if there is no one to wipe away our tears? But we know that the Holy Spirit works so that we can continue to sow in the midst of our tears. Because the Spirit promises us through the psalmist that we shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. We will bear the fruit of our labor as an offering to Him.”⁵³²

He also says, “These tears nourish the seed of faith in our hearts.” He again says, “What shall we sow? Good works. Works of mercy are our seeds: of which seeds the Apostle says, ‘Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not’ (Gal. 6:9) … There is not a wider field on which you can sow than Christ, who has willed that we should sow in Himself. Your soil is the Church; sow as much as you can. But [what if] you have not enough to do this. Have you the will? As what you had would be nothing, if you had not a good will; so do not be despondent, because you have not, if you have a good will. For what do you sow? Mercy. And what will you reap? Peace. Did the Angels say, ‘Peace on earth unto rich men’? No, but, ‘Peace on earth unto men of a good will’ (Luke 2:14). Zacchaeus had a strong will, Zacchaeus had great charity (Luke 19:8).”⁵³³

St. Augustine sees in the parable of the Good Samaritan — who symbolizes Christ, being a good guardian — a realistic portrait of the believer who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, “who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead” (Luke 10:30). The Good Samaritan had compassion on him, took him to an inn (probably in Jerusalem), and took care of him. St. Augustine asks us not to be disturbed should we happen to go down and fall among thieves, for our Christ will carry us and take us up to His holy Church. In our ascension with Him, we will forget all about our wounds and our souls will rejoice, praise, give thanks, and grow spiritually until we rest in the heavenly inn: “Let us not fail amid those troubles to sow our seed. Although we sow in tears, yet shall we reap in joy … If we have descended, and have been wounded; let us ascend [with the Good Samaritan], let us sing, and make progress, in order that we may arrive [in Jerusalem].”⁵³⁴

St. John Chrysostom says, “We need firstly to toil and strive, and only then to seek rest. After all, you find this happening everywhere, even in things of this life. For this reason, the

532 St. Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on Psalm 2.

533 St. Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Book of Psalms 126.8 (NPNF I/8:605) amended.

534 St. Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Book of Psalms 126.11 (NPNF I/8:606).

psalmist focuses on these things: sowing and harvesting. Just as the sower needs to expend effort, sweat and tears … so too the person practicing virtue. Nothing is so unsuited to a person as negligence. Hence, God made this way narrow and constrained — not only the practice of virtue, but even in the things of this life, which He made laborious, and in fact, even more so. I mean, the sower, the builder, the traveler, the carpenter, the artisan — every person who has a mind to gain some profit must labor and exert effort. As seeds need rain, so we need tears; and as the land has need of ploughing and digging, so too the soul needs tribulations in place of the hoe that tills the earth, to clear it of obnoxious weeds, and to soften its hardness … Soil that is not worked with diligence produces nothing healthy.”⁵³⁵

St. Isaac the Syrian says, “Temporary suffering for the sake of the truth is not to be compared with the delight preserved for those who perform labours of excellence [cf. Rom. 8:18]. As the weeping of the time of sowing is followed by the joys of harvest, so are the labours for the sake of God followed by joy. The bread earned with sweat, delights the workman; labours for the sake of righteousness, the heart that has received the knowledge of Christ.”⁵³⁶

St. Didymus the Blind says, “When you, therefore, see a soul that is well tilled, that sows with tears and is ready to reap with shouts of joy [Ps. 126:5], then this tilled field has a king, the Logos, who leads, rules, and reigns.”⁵³⁷

St. Ambrose says, “Indeed, God’s grace shone on Joseph, even in his boyhood. For he had a dream that when he was binding sheaves with his brothers — so it appeared to him in the vision — his sheaf rose up and stood straight, while the sheaves of his brothers turned and bowed down to his sheaf (Gen. 37:5–8). Now in this the resurrection of the Lord Jesus that was to come was revealed. When they saw Him at Jerusalem, the eleven disciples and all the saints bowed down; when they rise, they will bow down bearing the fruits of their good works, just as it is written, ‘Coming they shall come with joyfulness carrying their sheaves’ (Ps. 126:6). Although his brothers disparaged the reliability of the dream out of their envy, still they expressed his interpretation of it in their own words when they replied, ‘Are you to be our king? Are you to rule over us?’ (Gen. 37:8). For that vision indicated the King who was to come, and before Him all flesh of humankind would bow down with bended knees [cf. Phil. 2:10].”⁵³⁸

Caesarius of Arles says:

535 St. John Chrysostom, On Psalm 126 .

536 St. Isaac of Nineveh, Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh , trans., A. J. Wensinck (Amsterdam: Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, 1923) 4 (41): p. 29.

537 St. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Ecclesiastes 145.2 (ACCOS 9:243).

538 St. Ambrose of Milan, 2 :191).

“Let no one deceive himself, brethren; there is no time to laugh in this world. I know, indeed, that every man wants to rejoice, but men do not all look for joy in the place where it should be sought.”⁵³⁹

“Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing: Perhaps someone may say: It is disgraceful to weep, it is hard to endure sadness. If whoever among you says this had eyes of the heart, you would know what great beauty arises from that ugliness. For sadness and tears for sins are just like dung in the fields. Now if you carefully pay attention to this, they seem to produce ugliness, but are shown to bring forth much fruit. Therefore, we ought to notice diligently that our tears are not shed over an earthly loss, but in longing for eternal life.”⁵⁴⁰

“As we consider the condition of our frailty, the abundance of temptations, the creeping in of sins, the opposition of passions, the destructive force of unlawful desires which are always raging against good thoughts, let us ever grieve and groan. Then we may merit to rejoice without end at the time of joy, repose, happiness, and eternal life which will come later.”⁵⁴¹