Read: Psalm 137:1-16 NIV – By the rivers of Babylon we sat and – Bible Gateway
“How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:4 NIV
Photo by Green Liu on Unsplash
Psalm 137 known as ‘The Song of the Exiles’ is a psalm about the people of Judah during the Babylonian captivity. Judah was overrun by the nation Babylon and taken captive due to their continual sins against the Lord God. It was during these years of living in a foreign land they realized what was lost and left behind, being able to worship God at the temple in Jerusalem. Their captors mocked them by asking them to sing songs of worship, by saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ They knew it wasn’t possible for they were in a place among the ungodly who had no regards for worshipping God.
There are many Christians today who find themselves in the same place. They long to recapture the true worship of God they experience when they first knew Him. But those true worship experiences are not possible because they are living in a foreign land. A wall has built over the years in front of their heart’s door separating them from the joy of being with the church family worshiping God. This wall has been erected by wrong choices and unconfessed sin which holds them in captivity.
Perhaps this describes you this day. Are there choices you have made that put you in captivity and separated you from God and His people? Do you have the feeling you are not where you should be even though your desires put you where you are and with people who now mock those who sing a song of worship to the Lord? You do not need to stay there. Ask the Lord to change your desires and forgive you. He will break down the wall you have built and welcome you back. You can then sing the songs of the Lord with your church family and not be held captive in a foreign land.
