Psalm 137

sorry we didn't get together yesterday it was the last day of dbs we always have this big huge thing going on i'll tell you more about that in a second but uh thank you so much for joining me tonight this is where every day we get together we get into god's word and we grow in our lord and our love for the lord together and this year 2021 we'll make it through all of the wisdom literature well i'm sorry we didn't get together yesterday i was intending on it but i didn't have any time we were at our last day of vbs and we have this big program at the end and so there's lots of logistics lots of things going on didn't get home until late so i figured tonight we would get into god's word together so we are at psalm 137 why don't we go ahead and we'll pray and we'll get into god's word lord we thank you for this day we thank you for your word we thank you for the blessing it is to get to sit at your feet and to hear even hard songs lord but songs that are true of even our hearts at times we pray these things in jesus name amen all right here we go psalm 137 by the rivers of babylon there we sat down yea we wept when we remembered zion we hung our hearts upon the willows in the midst of it for there those who cried who carried us away captive asked us for a song and those who plundered us requested myrrh saying sing us one of the songs of zion how shall we sing the lord's song in a foreign land if i forget you o jerusalem let my right hand forget its skill if i do not remember you let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if i do i not exalt jerusalem above my chief joy remember o lord against the sons of edom the day of jerusalem who said raise it raise it to its very foundation o daughter of babylon who are destroyed happy the one who repays you as you have served us happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks it's a hard song just be honest with it let's just face it that is a hard psalm especially the last verse especially the last verse notice what this psalm comes after we missed devotions together yesterday but don't forget what psalm 136 is about for his mercy endures forever for his mercy endures forever for his mercy endures forever we read that together let's see 26 times on thursday because god has sovereign he's the one who does all things and then in the very next psalm we didn't even flip a page we're in the exile see not all life is puppy dogs and kittens and rainbows and butterflies not everything's a birthday party not everything's the last day of vbs some some days are hard pain is real persecution is real suffering is real and here we find that by the rivers of babylon the people have been taken out of jerusalem remember that nebuchadnezzar had come and he had destroyed jerusalem he had completely annihilated the city he had surrounded with his troops i mean it was a bloodbath and he had ripped the people out of their land right he had put them in fetters he had chained them up and he had taken them away to a foreign land and there the people are mocking them now play as one of your songs i go go ahead come on come on pick up your harp play as one of those songs that you play at the temple right and they're treating them with scorn what are the songs of zion what are those psalms of jerusalem we've been reading them in the psalms these were the words that they would have sung with joy i was glad to hear them saying to the lord's house let us go and they're saying yeah go ahead sing about going up to the lord's house now why don't you and and they're saying how can we pick up our harps no we can't we're sitting by the euphrates and we've there's a tree and we've hung up our harps we can't sing our souls are sorrowful and they're heavy and in that point of sorrow distress despair what's the only thing that they can look to but to god's justice remember o lord against the sons of edom the day of jerusalem who said raise it raise it to its very foundation o daughter of babylon who are to be destroyed happy the one who repays you as you have saved us happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks that's hard happy the ones who takes and dashes your little ones against the rocks that's hard but they're crying out for true justice they're crying out to the god who knows the wrong that has been done to them as they've seen their children murdered as they've seen people i mean the stories in the prophets and in the chronicles are so graphic that i mean people are literally cannibalizing their own children to survive and here they cry out god have justice remember this day remember those who wanted your kingdom to come and we have a hard time with this theologically right emotionally because we sit here and we go well jesus told us to love our enemies how can how can we like a psalm like this how can we sing a psalm like this let me tell you every single time you pray the lord's prayer father your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven if you've ever prayed for the downfall of a tyrant if you have ever prayed that the enemies of god might be destroyed we're finding ourselves in that same place aren't we crying out for the justice of god we know that when jesus christ returns he's not just coming and going to give blanket salvation and love to everyone but jesus christ the king of kings the lord of lords is coming and his robe is going to be dipped in blood his sword will be wet with the blood of his enemies we know that when jesus christ returns he will make all things right perfect justice will be meted out whoever does not trust in jesus christ and more than that jesus knows what it's like to be mocked by his enemies jesus knew what it was what it was like to be mocked by the roman centurions jesus knew what it was like to be mocked by the gentiles and by those jews who hated god and his anointed one brothers and sisters we we have those who are family in the faith who are imprisoned tonight who are suffering persecution tonight may they remember that the mercy of the lord endures forever and may they find comfort in god's justice knowing that the book of romans is true vengeance is mine i will repay says the lord jesus christ will return judgment will come we were objects of his wrath but by grace he has saved us let's pray and father we thank you so much for the grace you have shown us in jesus christ we thank you for giving us a righteous and perfect high priest and king lord we pray knowing that we were once those enemies mocking you and we should have been dashed against the rocks but father you have taken us and not no longer considered us your enemies but have made us your family your children we pray that we might trust in you