A Season To Remember

Subject: A Season to Remember

Text: Psalm 137:1-6 “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a (strange) pagan land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.”

Introduction: Memories strengthen our sense of identity and purpose and bond our relationships. Happy memories are an important ingredient in present happiness. When we are young, everything is new. We are doing so many things for the first time that we form very strong memories. Memories are important!

The words of our text are the words of a nation of people who have been vanquished by the armies of the Babylonian empire. Their beloved and holy city Jerusalem has been sacked and set aflame. The beautiful temple that was built by King Solomon has been desecrated and left in ruins. And the once proud nation of Israel has been placed in chains and marched away as slaves into a strange and foreign land. The very people who were known throughout the world for their beautiful temple, sacred rituals, songs of worship to the God, Jehovah, have been reduced to listening to the taunts and ridicules of their captors. The Babylonians had listened carefully to Israel’s songs of praise as they studied their enemy. They heard them as they sang one of the psalms of David. They listened as the Israelites sang: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”

The Babylonians remembered Israel’s rich history and in celebration of their great victory over Israel, they mocked the people of God with a cruel request. “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” And the people of God replied with a question; a question that I believe was directed more to themselves than to their captors: “How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” Babylon was indeed a strange land! We know that death comes to all in this world, but when the young die, it’s strange! It is a strange land when loved ones die unexpectedly. It is a strange land when sorrow comes in the prime of life. It is a strange land when you trying to whole on to joy and one another while your hearts are filled with grief. Yet be assured that God will not abandon us because we are in a strange land.

Psalms 137 gives a sad account of the people of God who had lost many loved ones killed in battle, their homes, their temple, and their homeland were in ruins. This is one of the lowest points in Israel’s rich history. I would like to suggest to you that there is a message of hope hidden in the text and a challenge for to keep moving forward through our present sorrows believing that this too will pass. The psalmist said: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song.” The psalmist records the question: “How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? Babylon was indeed a strange land. The word Babel, which the root of Babylon means confusion. These Jews find themselves confused, in unfamiliar territory. They were depressed, dismay and dysfunctional. Life has a way of carrying us all to Babylon at one time or another. Death has a way of landing all of us in the middle of a strange land. Even in Babylon, in a strange land, there are some things that we must do, if we are going to get up. First, we are encouraged to Remember Zion! Remember your past joys! Where does the beginning of the holiday season find you? It is a strange land when you are in hospital by a sick bed or experiencing the first holiday without a loved one or just struggling to adjust to the present climate of hatred and mistrust. During times like these we must choose to remember Zion, the joy of the whole earth.