Psalm 137

 Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept 

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung our harps.  

For there our captors asked us for songs.

Our tormentors demanded songs of joy. 

They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

HOW CAN WE SING SONGS OF THE LORD WHILE IN A FOREIGN LAND?

I sat with my Bible this morning and this Psalm showed up as I opened it.  I use the Bible app, so I’m not exactly sure how that happened.  But it struck me forcibly. The world of the Israelites, when they were slaves in Babylon, was not so very different from our world today.  I thought about that and put myself in this picture.  The words rang multiple bells.  As we read these phrases stand out to me.

“We remembered Zion.”  Today, we may remember the times God spoke to our hearts, the times when, unasked and unrecognized, His Holy Spirit comforted us every day and when our worries were only short lived. We remember a world, a life, filled with less ugliness, and less “in your face” disobedience to His will and His word.

We may remember a world that was less bombastic – a world that didn’t seem to be screaming at the top of its lungs,” Hear me!  Look at me! Imitate me!  Worship me!”

“We hung our harps.”  Maybe today we stopped the music of speaking His words, the beautiful music that came from the talent given to us by God.  We hung up our harps, out of reach.  We stopped, and when the culture asked us to write a song for them, we did not!

We are being asked to "sing a song of joy."  The world wants our joy, but in a strange voice.  “Sing a song of joy.” they say. They want God to bless their own song, not His song.  

How can we sing of The Lord while living in a foreign land?  We are citizens of God’s eternal kingdom, every other land is a foreign land, no matter how pleasant it might seem.  So yes, today we must sing the songs of our LORD in this world, in this foreign land.

How can we?  That’s the question.
We must and we can, but the song must be God’s song from God’s heart, from God’s word.  We can, only if we remember Zion.  If we remember God in His Glory.  If we remember God with His might and His strength, we can sing His song.

Psalm 137

They say 

sing a song in our presence and stay.

Sing joy from your hearts and then play evil’s song
in a wonderful, beautiful way.

Sing - praise to the sins of today.

“Sing a song filled with Joy” they will say

“Sing the song you sang loud on that day

when you were there near His presence

when you lived in His Kingdom.

Sing a song and bring blessings our way.”

But we hung up our harps we might say.

‘cause this world is so empty and grey 

that the song from our hearts could never be sung 

in a world that has traveled this way.

But there must be a way
to remember to sing

if God’s kingdom we claim,

if we honor His name

to sing in our joy, with the courage He’ll bring.

If we remember Zion’s beauty 

and know our welcome there,

if we see the picture of the sins
that we no longer bear - 

our greed, our envy, hate and pride

the dreadful things we could not hide,

then

we’ll sing the song of welcome 

to the sinner by our side

and

we’ll help them see a God
who loves each person there. 

Let’s pick up our harps and sing 

to God our Almighty King.

We’ll sing of THE TRUTH AND LOVE – 

who is

JESUS, sent from above.

We’ll play the tunes the angels wrote 

on clouds that God designed.

We’ll sing of Jesus Christ, the Precious Lamb, 

Savior Divine,

Reflection

 

I woke up this morning – staggered into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Sometimes that's enough to ruin someone’s day!  It was for me.  What I saw was hair standing on end, puffy eyes, new wrinkles where I had engaged with the pillow all night, and a semblance of my 84-year-old self.

What I saw was a reflection, a likeness, a replica of the person standing in front of the mirror.  Oh my goodness!  There was work to be done!

Nothing could change the me I saw in that mirror
 into the me I wish I'd seen.

But at least there was something I could do to help. (That’s what a hairbrush, a washcloth, cold water, face cream and of course a toothbrush were for.)

This got me to thinking about reflections.  Mirror Images – replicas – likenesses – resemblance – representation.  They all speak of basically the same thing.

So as we normally do, let’s look at a couple of scriptures.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 John 2:6 (NIV) Whoever says he abides in him (Jesus) 
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Walking the way that Jesus walked?  When we read Jesus’ words, we find that He made it perfectly clear what our walk should be like. 

The sermon that Jesus gave on the mountain to His disciples (Matthew 5-7) begins with Jesus describing people as He sees them.  He calls them all blessed - those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, are humble, merciful, and hunger to be righteous, and then some who are pure in heart and peacemakers.  

Then Jesus goes into the importance of the law (the teachings of God that were taught through the ages.)

Next, He elaborates on some of the commands that His people have tried to keep over the centuries.  He shows us that those commands are only helpful if we understand the bottom line – that obedience that must come from our hearts and minds, not just a thoughtless action.

Jesus is really showing us how to live as imitators of Himself.  He spends a lot of time discussing the reason people do the things they see as good. Those actions, giving to the poor and praying, etc. mean nothing when they are done to glorify ourselves.

As the sermon progresses, He speaks of reactions when you are hurt, of favoritism in your interactions. And then He speaks of the love and care His Father has for all His children.

Jesus sums it all up with the directive to build our lives on His teachings.  Build your house on THE ROCK!

Those three chapters in Matthew are enough to begin seeing whether our lives reflect the face, the walk, and the heart of our Savior.

I look into my mirror Lord,
and there looks back at me
a tarnished broken piece of art
that’s not what it should be.

If I could see
Your mirrored face
within that glass 
I’d see

all beauty strength and goodness
shining,
blazing 
back at me.

My Father, help me as I strive
to reflect your face today,
to be a mirror of Yourself
as I try to walk your way.

May kindness, love and patience shine 
in the glass that other’s view.

And my Father, God, I humbly pray 
that when I rise and greet the day 
I will reflect my Savior’s face
in ways that honor You.