Go with Going, Come with Coming

Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seeds for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

(Psalm 126:5-6)

In the economy of God, those who sow shall invariably reap:

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sow to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

We may sow in tears, as Isaac did in a time of famine, but that will not hinder the harvest or the joy: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him” (Genesis 26:12).

So Jesus answered them and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house of brothers or sisters of father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

Jesus wept, and Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:35-44). That is sowing in tears and reaping in joy.

Notice that, in this psalm, there is a purposefulness and consistency in sowing. It is he who “continually goes forth” sowing who will come back rejoicing in the harvest. The Hebrew for “continually goes forth” is the same verb repeated twice. It is an idiomatic device used for emphasizing a point. We might read it this way: He who “goes with going.” There is a single-mindedness to this kind of sowing. Tears do not impede it; adversity cannot hold it back.

This kind of sowing brings dramatic results. For he who “continually goes forth” sowing shall “doubtless come again” with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves (his harvest) with him. He shall “doubtless come again.” This is the same Hebrew idiom again, for the verb for come is used twice in succession. He who goes with going with seed to sow, shall come with coming, rejoicing in the harvest. There is no question about it; it is assured from the beginning.

Jesus talked about faith as a seed, about the Word of God as a seed, and about the kingdom of God as a seed. Our job is to continually go sowing them and all our resources. When we get serious about planting seed with great purposefulness and faith, even in the midst of adversity, then it is quite certain that we will come back with a rich harvest that will have us shouting with joy.

When we go with going, we shall come with coming. When we sow in tears, we shall reap in joy.