Yesterday in class, the teacher read these verses...
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 captive 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?
(
Psalm 137:1-4).
The children of Israel were sitting by the river, crying about their plight...once again they were in bondage. They took the harps that had been used by the Levites for worship and set them aside to be used at a time when they were no longer in a strange land.
The unique thing about it was that they didn't throw them away, and say, "We will never sing again!!" They didn't hide them away...out of sight, out of mind.
No, they hung them on the willow trees, in plain view, where they could remember the days gone by...the days of freedom and victory. They remembered where they came from and what led them to bondage, vowing in their broken hearts and spirits that if they ever came to another season of victory, they would take down the harps and once again sing the songs of Zion.
The teacher yesterday spoke about the power of a song and what it can mean in
our lives.
Music is such a powerful force. It can bring us to tears and laughter...it can revive memories and even lead to romance.
Some of us use music for entertainment...when I'm driving or housecleaning, it is a great thing to have around.
The playing of gospel music can bring peace and solitude in the home.
While all of the above is not necessarily wrong, that is not what music was created for. It was made for worship and praise, and this should be our primary goal.
However, when the storms and tests of life come...when we feel that we have made mistakes or erred in judgment, we don't often feel like singing.
We become overtaken with remorse over mistakes or weary with the weight of the problem. Some may even feel that the errs of the past prevent them from worship, thinking they must go through this process or that to restoration.
Not so!!
It is the enemy of our soul that says we cannot run again. It is he who desires to keep his raggedy foot on our neck who says that we cannot sing the praises of God again.
And so we keep the harps of worship and praise hanging where we can see them. We remember the days of victory, but fear we can never get back to where we once were...we cannot regain what we lost.
Well, today I am admonishing you to take the harp down from the willow. Lift your voice and heart in song unto the Master of your soul.
It does not matter if you are in a strange land...the problem may not be resoved. You may still have flashbacks of past mistakes...take the harp down anyway!!
Why?! Because we are perfect?! No...because it is He who has made you...you are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Because of this, we enter into His gates with singing...we are grateful unto Him, for the Lord is good, and if that is not reason enough to sing in praise, nothing will move us!!
The Lord is
good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.
I am inviting you to pick up your harp of worship and praise Him for the victory
yet to come...it matters not if we can see victory...worship and praise this day, for the victory is nigh thee,
even in thy mouth!!
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