Psalm 137:1-4 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 required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
Because no land is strange to the Lord, and wherever you go, it’s still His song. We all know the popular song ‘By the Rivers of Babylon, based on these words. But the Israelites self pity was hollow, since it was their disobedience that caused their downfall. And don’t look so smug, because we’re no different today. Friends, we do things we know are wrong, then wallow in self pity and cry, ‘woe is me’ when we suffer the consequences. But the old clichés been saying it for ages: ‘However yuh make yuh bed, is just so you going to lie in it; When yuh doh hear, yuh feel.’ It’s nothing new; actions equals consequences. And at some stage, one catches up to the other. That’s what happened to the Israelites, and is happening to us today. We’re paying for our sinful disobedience with all the trouble that’s overtaking our world. Bruh Dave says the Israelites hung their harps on the willow trees by the river when their captors asked them to make merry and sing one of their old songs. But how could they sing the Lord’s song in a strange land eh? I say easily. In the first place it’s the only songs you know, and your captor is asking you to sing it. If you don’t, that could lead to even harsher times, remember consequences and actions. And no land is strange to the Lord. He made the earth and all therein, so wherever you sing His song, it’s His land. Then again, it’s one of the few things in this world that’s really yours, cause it’s buried deep within your soul. No one can take it away unless you allow them to. Like your physical body, it goes wherever you go. It’s the only hope of solace that you always have with you. Now if the Israelites were smart, that’s when they would have burst out in song, praising and worshipping their God. Singing their song would surely have brought a few converts, because that’s how the Lord works, and also made them feel better spiritually and physically too, since there’s nothing that uplifts the human spirit like giving thanks and praise to the Most High in song. A good example is our forefathers, who were shipped like cattle from Africa to the New World as slaves. They knew nothing about Christianity, it was their master’s faith, but they ended up practising it more sincerely than their masters. It’s the Negro Spirituals, based on the Lord’s promises in the Bible that they sang continuously in the cotton and sugar plantations in a strange land that gave them the strength and faith to keep on keeping on, in the sure, certain hope that one day their children would be born free. And eventually it happened, the physical shackles were removed, although the mental ones are still kept in place, subliminally. Friends, whatever your circumstances, free or bond, in your own country, or taken ‘aforeign’, the Word of the Lord, His Song, can never be taken away from you. It may be muted, as the early Christians and New World slaves were forced to practice their faith in secret, but never, never removed from your soul, your spirit, unless you allow it. And when times get hard, that’s when you need to sing and praise Him the most. Much LOVE!…remember…only in death…can the song of the Lord…be truly quelled…
Because no land is strange to the Lord, and wherever you go, it’s still His song. We all know the popular song ‘By the Rivers of Babylon, based on these words. But the Israelites self pity was hollow, since it was their disobedience that caused their downfall. And don’t look so smug, because we’re no different today. Friends, we do things we know are wrong, then wallow in self pity and cry, ‘woe is me’ when we suffer the consequences. But the old clichés been saying it for ages: ‘However yuh make yuh bed, is just so you going to lie in it; When yuh doh hear, yuh feel.’ It’s nothing new; actions equals consequences. And at some stage, one catches up to the other. That’s what happened to the Israelites, and is happening to us today. We’re paying for our sinful disobedience with all the trouble that’s overtaking our world. Bruh Dave says the Israelites hung their harps on the willow trees by the river when their captors asked them to make merry and sing one of their old songs. But how could they sing the Lord’s song in a strange land eh? I say easily. In the first place it’s the only songs you know, and your captor is asking you to sing it. If you don’t, that could lead to even harsher times, remember consequences and actions. And no land is strange to the Lord. He made the earth and all therein, so wherever you sing His song, it’s His land. Then again, it’s one of the few things in this world that’s really yours, cause it’s buried deep within your soul. No one can take it away unless you allow them to. Like your physical body, it goes wherever you go. It’s the only hope of solace that you always have with you. Now if the Israelites were smart, that’s when they would have burst out in song, praising and worshipping their God. Singing their song would surely have brought a few converts, because that’s how the Lord works, and also made them feel better spiritually and physically too, since there’s nothing that uplifts the human spirit like giving thanks and praise to the Most High in song. A good example is our forefathers, who were shipped like cattle from Africa to the New World as slaves. They knew nothing about Christianity, it was their master’s faith, but they ended up practising it more sincerely than their masters. It’s the Negro Spirituals, based on the Lord’s promises in the Bible that they sang continuously in the cotton and sugar plantations in a strange land that gave them the strength and faith to keep on keeping on, in the sure, certain hope that one day their children would be born free. And eventually it happened, the physical shackles were removed, although the mental ones are still kept in place, subliminally. Friends, whatever your circumstances, free or bond, in your own country, or taken ‘aforeign’, the Word of the Lord, His Song, can never be taken away from you. It may be muted, as the early Christians and New World slaves were forced to practice their faith in secret, but never, never removed from your soul, your spirit, unless you allow it. And when times get hard, that’s when you need to sing and praise Him the most. Much LOVE!…remember…only in death…can the song of the Lord…be truly quelled…
SCRIP-BITS 