1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
The Psalm begins with a depressing picture. God’s people are weeping in a foreign land. They are asked to sing one of their worship songs from back home, one of the songs they used to praise God with. But why do the Babylonians want to hear their song? They want to mock them, to torment them (verse 3), to remind them that they are not home anymore. But God’s people don’t feel in the mood for singing ‘songs of joy’. They have hung up their instruments and lament their current status.
But credit to the Psalmist, he doesn’t mope around, blindly hoping for change. He prays. He prays that he would not forget how to sing praises to God and, more than that, he prays that he wouldn’t forget where his home is (verse 5). He prays that his focus would always remain fixed on Jerusalem.
This remind me of Colossians 3:1-3:
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your a life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
We are called to set our minds of heaven. We, like the exiles, can be tempted to lament our status and mope around in this fallen world. But we need to be reminded that this is not our home. We are citizens of heaven where all wrongs will be made right and joy will fill our hearts.
The psalm ends with a prophesy that Babylon will be ‘doomed to destruction’ (verse 8). The psalmist knows that God will make everything right and will not stand for evil and injustice. He remembers God’s faithfulness and doesn’t lose hope. We rejoice knowing that Jesus has already defeated evil and death and we long for the day when he comes again to make everything right. When we are mocked by the world and feel far from home, we can sing songs of joy because of what Jesus has done and will do!
Now enjoy this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta42xU2UXLA
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