NKJV 365 / How Can We Sing in a Far-Off Place?

NKJV 365 Day Reading Plan

Day 158 of 365 How Can We Sing in a Far-Off Place? Psalm 137 sums up a question that perplexed the exiles in Babylon and all Jews who were becoming dispersed throughout the ancient world: How can we worship and serve the Lord in a foreign land? Cut off from their homeland, the Jews were far from the magnificent temple that was the heart of their spiritual geography. They had no king to guide them, no high priest to offer sacrifices, no ark of the covenant to assure them of God's presence. No wonder Judah's people sat down and wept by the rivers of Babylon (Ps. 137:1). Taunted by their captors to sing songs of Zion, they could think of nothing but their beloved Jerusalem laid waste (137:3). They sang a vengeful lament calling for curses on the Babylonians who had destroyed the holy city (137:8) and on the Edomites who celebrated the city's fall (137:7). Nevertheless, despite the sorrow and anger conveyed in this psalm, several positive results came of the Jews' dispersion. Lacking a temple, they invented the synagogue. They collected their writings, eventually forming the canon of the Old Testament. And because they were forced to learn new languages and adapt to foreign cultures, they translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, the common language of Christ's. Many good things came from the Lord because His people were forced to "sing the Lord's song in a foreign land." Taken from The Modern Life Study Bible Psalms 137:1-9 NASB 1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2 Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. 3 For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." 4 How can we sing the L ord ' s song In a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7 Remember, O L ord , against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, "Raze it, raze it To its very foundation." 8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. 9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones