Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

I HANGING OUR LYRES ON THE WILLOWS - 1-3 Remembering Zion II MY HIGHEST JOY - 4-6 Remembering Jerusalem III HAPPY IS THE ONE - 7-9 Remembering their Enemies I HANGING OUR LYRES ON THE WILLOWS - 1-3 Remembering Zion

“Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. [Zion] (1)

The Jews were by the many small rivers in Babylon experiencing the loneliness of their exile. They wept as they remembered the worship and joy of the magnificent Tabernacle in Jerusalem that was now hopelessly ruined. This verse describes ‘ … the canals that crisscrossed the alluvial land of the lower Eu- phrates and Tigris (rivers). We should think of the ‘river Chebar’ among others.’ 2 One of the exiles sitting beside the river was the prophet, Ezekiel. God opened his eyes to see the great throne of worship and Jesus, the Son of Man. “On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened to me, and I saw visions of God.” (Ezk. 1:1) He saw the glory of God and the four living beings standing above the mysterious wheels ‘covered with eyes’ (Ezk. 1:18) symbolizing the mobility of his presence. “Above the surface over their heads was what looked like a throne made of blue sapphire. And high above this throne was a fig- ure whose appearance was like that of a man.”(Ezk. 1:26) Although the Jews were filled with sorrow at the destruction of the earthly temple, the heavenly throne was still intact and able to appear wherever a person was willing to seek and worship the Lord. As Jesus went into the waters of baptism in his thirtieth year, the heavens opened to his worship- ful and obedient heart: “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.’” (Mt. 3:16, 17) If we find ourselves weeping by the river of despair, we must remember God’s throne and Spirit is constantly available to those who will look towards heaven. “We put away our lyres, hanging them on the branches of the willow trees. For there our captors de- manded a song of us. Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn: ‘Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem. [Zion] (2, 3) Although this psalm may represent all of the Israelites who played instruments it specifically in- cluded the musical tribe of Levi who were gifted to play and sing in the worship of Yahweh. They hung their harps on the graceful willow that collects the dew on the tips of its slender leaves creating the illu- sion of tears. ‘The willow and viburnum, those trees which are associated with flowing water in hot low- lying districts, are indigenous in the richly watered lowlands of Babylonia.’ 3 They were musicians without a purpose, ministers without a ministry. The Babylonians were cruel and proud and loved to mock the gods of the people they had conquered. King Belshazzar ridiculed the sacred vessels of Jerusalem’s Temple and was drinking from them when God judged his kingdom. Daniel prophesied to him: “For you have defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concu- bines have been drinking wine form them while praising gods of gold, bronze, iron…” (Dan. 5:23) Now the Babylonians torture their captives with requests to hear the joyful songs of the great God of Zion. They are called tormentors, ‘raving one, a bloodthirsty man or a tyrant, …one who causes the cry of woe or a tormentor…’ 4 In addition to physical affliction, the Jews were experiencing the spiritual pain of re- membering their delightful ministry of song and worship in the Tabernacle.

II

MY HIGHEST JOY - 4-6 Remembering Jerusalem

“But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to re- member you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my highest joy.” (4-6)

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