Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: "Apostle Tom" <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:35:01 -0500
To: pressingon@hotmail.com
Subject: Morning Manna (July 30); BP: Ps. 137; RBTTY: Rom. 2; Ps. 51-53
July 30 “On Singing In A Strange Land”
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
Psalm 137:4
When Heaven’s in our heart, we’ll soon find its music in our mouth.
“Where ‘ya headed, Pilgrim?”
Years ago that was one of John Wayne’s favorite questions when meeting
a stranger along the trail. Sometimes the passerby would give a specific
destination; other times he’d smile and say something like “Don’t know”. .
.“No place in particular”. . . or “Wherever the trail leads me.”
If this favorite of cowboys was around today and asked folks that, he’d
probably still get similar answers. Everyone’s headed “somewhere;” the
question is “Do they know where they’re headed?” and “Will they know it when
they get there?”
It’s apparent that today’s psalm, written by an unnamed author, was
composed during the nation of Judah’s Babylonian captivity. The ancient
city of Babylon, which is located some 50 miles south of modern-day Baghdad
in Iraq, was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The leading
citizens of Judah were carried into captivity in 587 B.C. after Jerusalem
was destroyed by the invaders’ army. And, throughout the Old Testament,
this city—which was erected by Nimrod after the Flood (Gen. 11:4)—was known
as the epitome of paganism and idolatry (Jer. 51:44; Dan. 4:30).
Thus, we can empathize with the writer and his compatriots as they “sat
down by the rivers in Babylon and wept while remembering their home in Zion”
(v.1). Likewise, we can almost hear the mournful, dissonant sounds that
sprang from the harps’ strings as they hanged in the weeping willows (v.2).
No doubt those unharmonious chords reflected the discord and discontent in
their own lives as they lived under such oppressive conditions “in a strange
land.”
And, if that wasn’t bad enough, their captors “demanded for them to
sing a song and to behave merrily” (v.3a). Again, even now, we can hear the
crack of their whips and the caustic tone in their voices as they cried,
“Sing! Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (v.3b).
No wonder they asked, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange
land?”
Oh, dear Pilgrim, are there times when you feel the same way they
did—i.e., so weary from the burdens of the day or heavy-heartedness that
singing is the last thing on your mind? Even now, has praising given way to
pining and you find it hard to even smile, much less sing?
If so, it’s important for us to remember who we are in this world:
“Strangers and Pilgrims” (Heb. 11:13). And, we must remember that we must
not wait until we “feel like it” to sing songs of thanksgiving and praise to
our Lord. It may be “This World Is Not My Home” or “Heaven Came Down” or
some other song; however, with the Holy Spirit’s help we can break forth in
song, even as Paul and Silas did in jail that night at midnight (Acts
16:25). Why not break forth into one even now?
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