Psalm 137
The Babylonian Exile. Two days ago, my first comments on Psalm 136 talked about the Lord’s hand in Israel’s deliverance, perseverance and conquest/victory, mostly in Moses’ days. I first chatted about deliverance (redirection) two days ago, then conquest/victory (success) yesterday. Although today’s Psalm 137 speaks passionately about revenge, truly that Babylonian captivity is also a tale of perseverance. The Israelites were taken from their homeland as captives and held in Babylon for 70 years. During that time they maintained their faith in the One True God, effectively setting up synagogue worship in the absence of the Temple.
So, the question for us is how we persevere during hard times. That is, how do we seek the Lord and His mercy when things aren’t going well for us? My personal “Babylonian Exile” was a five-year period at USDA, non-academic time between TAMU and EKU. It was a depressing time for me, for us, but Carol and I continued to seek the Lord, and He remained faithful. I’ll save the details for a time when we’re together. But for now it would be good for all of us to relive those down times and look for God’s hand, for His faithfulness to us during those times, in spite of our own sense of disappointment or defeat. I can assure you, He was there for you!!
Good reminder! God’s deliverance comes. We wait, trusting that his hand is on us, and everything that comes our way. Wait. Trust. Wait. Believe. Wait. He is coming…
You commented on a good point, Fred, about being faithful. Persevering through hard times requires faith. And when I’m angry and frustrated, I’ll turn to Hebrews 11:1 which defines faith. This gets me out of the “funk” I’m in and allows me to refocus on God (and not me!). Thanks for the insight.