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Singing the Lord's Song

The writer of Psalm 137 was singing the blues. This is a sad song, a melancholy tune from a man who was missing the good old days. His country had been defeated, and the survivors were rounded up and taken from their homes.

At the beginning of his song he says they sat down and wept by the river in Babylon, and there they hung their instruments in the trees. He may have been one of the temple musicians, the ones who played all the festive worship music. He didn’t see the need in hanging onto his lyre, because, as he put it, “How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land (v.4)?”

It wasn’t just that they were in a different place, but that they were no longer in the Promised Land. The symbol of God’s blessing was that His people would dwell in safety in their land, but God said if they chose to worship other gods, He would ensure they were defeated and kicked out of the land. Now that has happened, so our author wasn’t in the mood for signing. Picking up on this, his captors mocked him, sarcastically saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion (v.3)!”

This is a rare psalm in that there is no happy ending. Usually the prophets who prophesied disaster ended with a glimmer of hope, and most of the psalms of lament contain some kind of declaration about trust in the Lord. But not this sad song.

How can we sing the Lord’s songs in a foreign land? When all hope seems lost, we need to remember what happened next. This psalm is post-exilic, meaning it was written after the Jews were released from Babylon and allowed to go back home, exactly as God had said. Written about the same time was the book of Ezra, which contains these words:

“And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, ‘For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD (3:11).”

The psalm writer felt like he would never sing the Lord’s songs again, but he did, because the people returned and rebuilt the city and the temple. You might feel like you will never sing the Lord’s songs again, but you will, because God is good, and He is not finished writing your song.


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