Psalm 126:3 NKJV
3
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
The Echo of Redemption: Our Great Gladness
My Notes
Scripture Focus: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.” — Psalm 126:3 (NKJV)
When God restores a soul, it creates a ripple effect that starts in the heavens, moves through the community, and settles deep within the heart of the redeemed. In Psalm 126, we see a beautiful progression: first, the surrounding nations observe God’s work and say, “The Lord has done great things for them” (v. 2). Then, the believers catch that echo and confirm it with their own testimony: “The Lord has done great things for us.”
There is a profound difference between observing a miracle and being the subject of one. A surrounding world may look at a person turned from sin and marvel at their newfound calmness, peace, and integrity. They see the “great things” from the outside. But the believer looks from the inside out. They know the depth of the darkness they were pulled from; they know the weight of the chains that were broken. To the observer, it is a notable change; to the redeemed, it is a miracle of grace.
Why does the Psalmist call these “great things”? It is because the work of redemption is great in every dimension:
- Great Wisdom: It is the masterpiece of God’s counsel.
- Great Love: It is the ultimate expression of the Father’s heart.
- Great Price: It was purchased not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
- Great Savior: It was accomplished by the One who is both God and Man.
This redemption is not a generic historical event; it is a personal inheritance. As the apostle Paul wrote, He is the One who “loved me and gave Himself for me.” When we realize that the Creator of the ends of the earth has focused His saving power on us individually, our silence becomes impossible.
There is so little true happiness in this world that when we possess the joy of the Lord, we must not hide it. None are so happy as those newly returned from captivity. Whether you have been rescued from a life of outward rebellion or the inward prison of despair and legalism, your gladness is a light meant to shine. If we were to remain silent about such great things, the very stones would cry out. Our gladness is the most natural response to a God who does nothing halfway.
Prayer
Abba, Father, I stand in awe of the great things You have done for me. Thank You for the wisdom that planned my redemption, the love that pursued me, and the price Jesus paid to set me free. My heart is glad because You have turned my captivity into a song of praise. Help me never to hide this light, but to live with a calmness and joy that points a watching world back to You. Let my life be a settled conclusion that You are good, and Your mercy endures forever. I thank You and ask for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- Public Testimony: The world notices the change God makes in a believer, but the believer understands the depth of that change most clearly.
- The Scope of Grace: God’s “great things” are not reserved for a select few; the propitiation of Christ extends to all who call upon His name across every nation.
- Personal Application: The comfort of the Gospel is found in the word “us” and the word “me.” Redemption is a gift intended for your personal benefit.
- A Duty of Joy: Gladness is not just a feeling; it is a testimony. Sharing the reason for our joy confirms God’s work to a watching world.
Cross-References (NKJV)
- 1 John 2:2 — “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
- Galatians 2:20 — “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
- Psalm 16:11 — “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
- Luke 15:7 — “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
Meditation Questions
- The “Whereof”: List three specific “great things” the Lord has done for you recently. How do these reflect His wisdom or love?
- The Turning Point: Reflect on your own “return from captivity.” How has your perspective on peace and calmness changed since the Lord intervened in your life?
- The Outward Light: Is there someone in your life who has noticed a change in you? How can you use your “gladness” as an opening to share what the Lord has done?
Proverb for Today
“But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.” Proverbs 1:33 NASB1995.
Closing
If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” Acts 11:17-18 NKJV
Bill
Posted on 1/1/2026 by Bill Stephens
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Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 126:3 celebrates the “great things” God has done—a redemption of immense wisdom, love, and cost. While observers marvel at the outward change in a believer, the redeemed experience a deeper, personal wonder. This grace is not for a few, but for all nations through Christ. Such profound deliverance demands a bold testimony; we must not hide our light, but joyfully avow that God has personally turned our captivity into praise.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” They did not deny the statement which reflected so much glory upon Jehovah: with exultation, they admitted and repeated the statement of Jehovah’s notable dealings with them. To themselves, they appropriated the joyful assertion; they said, “The Lord hath done great things for us,” and they declared their gladness at the fact. It is a poor modesty which is ashamed to own its joys in the Lord. Call it rather a robbery of God. There is so little of happiness abroad that if we possess a full share of it we ought not to hide our light under a bushel, but let it shine on all that are in the house. Let us avow our joy, and the reason of it, stating the “whereof” as well as the fact. None are so happy as those who are newly turned and returned from captivity; none can more promptly and satisfactorily give a reason for the gladness that is in them, the Lord himself has blessed us, blessed us greatly, blessed us individually, blessed assuredly; and because of this, we sing unto his name.
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Enduring Word
The LORD has done great things for us: The singer heard what the nations said, agreed with it, emphasized it with repetition, and personalized it. It became the declaration of what God had done for us. (Guzik)
i. “Their [reluctant] acknowledgment is caught up triumphantly by the singer. He, as it were, thanks the Gentiles for teaching him that word.” (Maclaren)
ii. Boice suggested four occasions where many experience great joy and the sense that God has done great things in their Christian life:
· The joy of salvation.
· The joy of spiritual victory.
· The joy of Christian fellowship.
· The joy of a new work for God.
And we are glad: There is a joyful peace in the declaration. This is not a worked-up, hyped-up enthusiasm. This was the confident joy in what God had done, simply to declare we are glad. (Guzik)
i. “This is a mere burst of ecstatic joy. O how happy are we!” (Clarke)
ii. “There is a world of restrained feeling, all the more impressive for the simplicity of the expression, in that quiet ‘We became glad.’ When the heathen attested the reality of the deliverance, Israel became calmly conscious of it.” (Maclaren)
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Albert Barnes
The Lord hath done great things for us – All that the people around us say is true. We see it; we feel it; we acknowledge it. Those to whom this pertained would see it more clearly than those who had merely observed it. A surrounding world may see in the conversion of a man, in his being turned from sin, in the influence of religion upon him, in his comfort, calmness, and peace, that “the Lord has done great things” for him; but he himself, while he responds most fully to what they say, will see this more clearly than they do. There is more in his redemption, his conversion, his peace and joy, than they do or can perceive, and with emphasis, he himself will say, “The Lord has done great things for me.”
Whereof we are glad – It fills our souls with joy. If this is understood of the returning Hebrews – coming back from the captivity in Babylon – all must see how appropriate is the language is; if it be applied to a sinner returning to God, it is no less suitable, for there is nothing that so fills the mind with joy as a true conversion to God.
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John Gill
The Lord hath done great things for us,…. These words are generally supposed to be the words of the Jews, taking up those of the Gentiles, and confirming them; acknowledging that the Lord had done great things for them indeed; which, had they not owned, they would have been exceeding ungrateful; had they been silent concerning them, the stones would have cried out, and the very Heathens condemned them. But I see not why they may not be thought to be the words of those among the Heathens continued; declaring that the great things done were not for the Jews only, but for them also; as the great redemption by Christ is of persons out of every tongue, people, and nation; for he is the propitiation, not for the Jews only, but for the sins of the whole world; and having this in view, thus they express themselves. The work of redemption is a great thing of itself; the produce of great wisdom; the effect of great love; procured at a great price, for great sinners, by a great Savior; and is not only a deliverance from sin, Satan, and the law; but contains many great and glorious blessings in it, as justification, remission of sins, adoption, and eternal life;
[whereof] we are glad; that those great things are done without us, finished by the Redeemer himself; that they are so great and glorious, so rich and plenteous, so full and free, and suitable to us; and done for us sinners of the Gentiles, so unworthy of them, who are by nature children of wrath as others.
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Matthew Henry
The acknowledgments which they themselves made of it, v. 3. The heathen were but spectators, and spoke of it only as a matter of news; they had no part nor lot in the matter; but the people of God spoke of it as sharers in it,
(1.) With application: “He has done great things for us, things that we are interested in and have an advantage by.” Thus, it is comfortable speaking of the redemption Christ has wrought out as wrought out for us. Who loved me, and gave himself for me.
(2.) With affection: “Whereof we are glad. The heathen are amazed at it, and some of them are angry, but we are glad.” While Israel went a whoring from their God, joy was forbidden them (Hos. 9:1); but now that the iniquity of Jacob was purged by the captivity, and their sin taken away, now God makes them to rejoice. It is the repenting reforming people that are, and shall be, the rejoicing people. Observe here,
[1.] God’s appearances for his people are to be looked upon as great things.
[2.] God is to be eyed as the author of all the great things done for the church.
[3.] It is good to observe how the church’s deliverances are for us, that we may rejoice in them.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“The LORD hath done great things for us,” etc. This verse is the marrow of the whole psalm, occasioned by the return of God’s people out of Babel’s captivity into their own country. Their deliverance was so great and incredible that when God brought it to pass, they were as men in a dream, thinking it rather a dream, and a vain imagination, than a real truth.
1. Because it was so great a deliverance from so great and lasting a bondage, it seemed too good to be true.
2. It was sudden and unexpected, when they little thought or hoped for it…
3. All things seemed desperate, nothing more unlikely, or impossible rather.
4. The manner was so admirable (without the counsel, help, or strength of man: nay, it was beyond and against all human means); that they doubt whether these things be not the dreams of men that are awake.
—Thomas Taylor (1576-1632), in “A Mappe of Rome“
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