I don't know why but everytime I read Psalm 137, I get the most haunting of feelings and I start to cry. I think deep down in the core of my being, it brings back memories of times when the captor has carried me away and my sorrow is deep and regretful. When the verses speak about Jerusalem, that is a reference to where our salvation lies, I think. I have not deeply studied this from a scholarly standpoint, only asked of the Holy Spirit that He teach me what He wants me to know from the passage.
Today, after the tears, I was reminded of another passage in the old testament where God promises His people that He will give them back the years the locusts have eaten. I know that when we are sincerely sorry for our failures that God can and will redeem those days, weeks, months or years when the captor has deceived us. I think redeem means to buy them back and that is exactly what He did through the death of Jesus on the cross.
Ps 137:1-6
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill]. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Joel 2:25-27
25'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other.
If today is a day of haunting remembrances for you, I pray that you will prayerfully read this scripture and then take heart that God is on your side, He is not against you, He is for you!
God says that when we repent of our sins, he casts them into the sea of forgetfulness and as far as the east is from the west. So, it is not His will that we keep going back and feeling guilty, however, the new testament says that 'the person who hath been forgiven much, loveth much.' I think for me at least, that I need to be reminded of what great things God has done for me, how much He has forgiven me for, and the depth of gratitude that I should continually exhibit towards Him. That is what this scripture does for me each month.
This scripture explains it a little better. Luke 7:47
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Look for a post soon about the alabaster jar. What a beautiful portrayal of gratitude and love is the picture of this woman at the feet of Jesus.
Lord, please accept my gratitude today.
Today, after the tears, I was reminded of another passage in the old testament where God promises His people that He will give them back the years the locusts have eaten. I know that when we are sincerely sorry for our failures that God can and will redeem those days, weeks, months or years when the captor has deceived us. I think redeem means to buy them back and that is exactly what He did through the death of Jesus on the cross.
Ps 137:1-6
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill]. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Joel 2:25-27
25'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other.
If today is a day of haunting remembrances for you, I pray that you will prayerfully read this scripture and then take heart that God is on your side, He is not against you, He is for you!
God says that when we repent of our sins, he casts them into the sea of forgetfulness and as far as the east is from the west. So, it is not His will that we keep going back and feeling guilty, however, the new testament says that 'the person who hath been forgiven much, loveth much.' I think for me at least, that I need to be reminded of what great things God has done for me, how much He has forgiven me for, and the depth of gratitude that I should continually exhibit towards Him. That is what this scripture does for me each month.
This scripture explains it a little better. Luke 7:47
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Look for a post soon about the alabaster jar. What a beautiful portrayal of gratitude and love is the picture of this woman at the feet of Jesus.
Lord, please accept my gratitude today.
