Living between the first and second advents of Christ, caught between the already and the not yet, as His people, ours is an assured hope, wrapped up and summarized in the words of Christ: “It is finished.” And yet it’s a hope that contains an honest recognition of the present realities of the corrosion and decay ushered into the world by a single act of defiance against the rights of our Creator, transmitted and carried down through successive generations, even us, even me. It recognizes that the “not yet” aspect of our daily lives is all too real.

Thus the Psalms are filled to the brim with prayers of lament at our present condition, the effects of the fall on God’s created order, the pain and awkwardness of being a fallen human, subjected to the curse, and indeed the pain we inflict on others from hearts bent on destruction, ultimately bent against God Himself. “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)

Psalm 126 captures this already/not yet tension in such beauty and this song by Bifrost Arts, written in light of it, has become one of my favorites. The writer of the Psalm presses forward in this assured hope, despite the tears, to rest in the joy that is ours presently through faith, surpassing all understanding, and will one day perfectly be ours by sight.

We press forward with assured hope that Christ entered our world as one of us, won the victory against sin, death and hell for all time, has counted us righteous, that His kingdom has broken through to renew all things, and indeed all things will be subjected to His rule when He appears bodily. What a hope! Looking forward to singing and playing this song on Sunday.