A Song of Rejoicing All Because Of You

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

February 16, 2023

A Song of Rejoicing All Because Of You

By the rivers of Babylon—

    there we sat down and there we wept

    when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

    we hung up our harps.

Psalm 137:1-2 (NRSV)

In 586 B.C., Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the Jews were taken into exile. Psalm 137 is a remembrance that the Babylonians taunted the Jews by demanding they sing songs of praise for their Temple and Jerusalem, both of which had been burned and destroyed. The psalmist records that the Jews could not sing, and instead wept and hung their harps in the poplar (willow) trees. Although the psalmist says they could not sing to a Temple and city that no longer existed, they vowed never to forget Jerusalem. The Jews also petitioned their God to destroy their captors. The closing line of this psalm is quite harsh, even repugnant to us. However, it is metaphor and not meant to be taken literally. Their petition is that the destruction of their captors will extend through the next generation.

We all experience times where we do not feel like singing praises to God. However, unlike the Jews who had no choice but to endure their captivity and hope God would someday redeem them, we can rejoice that God has already redeemed us. Our captors, that is our separation from God by sin and death, have been defeated by Jesus. This is why we can gather at funerals or memorial services and sing some of the greatest hymns of our faith: How Great Thou Art, Hymn of Promise, For All the Saints, and Amazing Grace.

The victory of Jesus over sin and death is not theoretical or philosophical; it is absolute fact! As I am writing this, I remember receiving news several years ago that a young woman, injured in an automobile accident while on the way to a Christian concert, had died. During the week after the accident while she clung to life in an ICU, almost ten thousand people joined a Facebook page devoted to prayers for her. Certainly, the morning she died her family and friends were devastated with sadness and grief. However, a few days later they gathered at her funeral service and sang joyful songs of praise. How could they?

My Takeaway: Because,

"The eternal self existent God,

the God who is three in one,

He who dwells in the center of your being

is a powerful, valiant warrior.

He has come to set you free,

to keep you safe and to bring you victory.

He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy

and takes pleasure in your presence.

He has engraved a place for himself in you and there

He quietly rests in His love and affection for you.

He cannot contain Himself of the thought of you

and with the greatest of joy

spins around wildly in anticipation over you

and has placed you above all other creations

and in the highest place in His priorities.

In fact He shouts and sings in triumph,

joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart

in a song of rejoicing.

All because of you. "

Zephaniah 3:17

Paraphrase by Dennis Jernigan

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.