Don't lose your Song

Don’t Lose Your Song!

Pastor Mark K. Sanders

Psalms 137

This book of the Psalms was written by an anonymous author. This author happened to be one of the captives that were take from Jerusalem to Babylon under the siege of Nebachchadezzar. 

In 605 B.C. Neb. Became king of Babylon and in September of that year he swept through Palestine and surrounded Jerusalem.  To demonstrate his dominance, he took the vessels from the temple; he took the wisest men and the most beautiful women to Babylon as captives.  Nebuchchadnezzar. Was feared throughout the world and systematically pulled downed nations.

Zedekiah, King of Judah was taken captive.  His sons were beheaded before his eyes and his eyes were plucked out and he was carried into Babylon where he was left to rot in prison until is death.

Neb’s system was to

• Destroy the religions
• Seize the intellectuals, the mighty and those that were skillful in areas of science, business, and mystics
• Harvest the best people of that nation
• To change their name’s in order for them to assimilate to Babylonian culture

The captives endured a grueling 500 mile trek from Jerusalem to Babylon and they were encamped on the Euphrates River.

The Edomites were related to the Israelites; both nations were descendents of Isaac.  There was a bitter hatred between the two nations.  The Edomites did not come to help them when they were besieged by the Babylonian army.  In fact they rejoiced when Jerusalem was destroyed.

What do you do when the people you love make allegiances with your enemies?

By The Willow Tree

They sat and wept when they remembered Zion.

Zion is the place where they met God. 

• The presence of God is a place that we must fight to stay in.  Zion typifies the place where worship is conducted.

Their captors wanted to see what was going to come out of their mouths in the time of trouble.

The problem was that they were so distant from God at the time of their captivity that they forgot how to sing the Lord’s song.

What makes a person hang up their harp?

• Doubt
• Despair
• Discouragement
• Fear
• Anger
• Loss

The Fuel of praise is when you begin to remember and making a decision to never forget what God had done, to never forget what God is doing, and to never forget what He shall do.

We must remember that God will avenge His children

Isaiah 49:13-16