diff --git a/code/common/message-queue/src/main/java/nu/marginalia/mq/persistence/MqPersistence.java b/code/common/message-queue/src/main/java/nu/marginalia/mq/persistence/MqPersistence.java
index 402d03f1..4f2cc564 100644
--- a/code/common/message-queue/src/main/java/nu/marginalia/mq/persistence/MqPersistence.java
+++ b/code/common/message-queue/src/main/java/nu/marginalia/mq/persistence/MqPersistence.java
@@ -308,8 +308,8 @@ public class MqPersistence {
                 messages.add(msg);
             }
 
-            Lists.reverse(messages);
-            return messages;
+            // We want the last N messages in ascending order
+            return Lists.reverse(messages);
         }
 
     }