Greetings Dear Reader,
The song I ponder is from Godspell but the origin of the
words is the Psalms. It would be
inappropriate to consider the song in-depth without honoring the verses from
which it came. Here is the text, not in
my favorite translation of it but the one most suitable for common consumption. There is no change in meaning between the
translations but I prefer my Psalms in King James English where many do not.
Psalm 137: 1 - 6 (NASB)
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
and wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows
in the midst of it, we hung our lyres.
For there our captors demanded of us songs, and our
tormentors mirth, saying, “sing us one of the songs of Zion.” How can we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land? If I forget you,
O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue
cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you If I do not exalt
Jerusalem above my chief joy.
The background of this song is the time during which the
people of Israel were held captive in Babylon.
Jerusalem lay barren and razed.
The temple is in ruin. The worships
songs were no longer sung as their worship was forbidden. Then, they were asked to sing the Lord’s
songs in a place not sanctified to him.
The Psalm is primarily attributed to Jeremiah the prophet in both Rabbinical
literature and the Septuagint. The Psalm
is also dedicated to David.
What catches my focus is the pain it must have caused people of
faith to be required to sing songs of the Lord in a place where worshiping him
was forbidden. I will draw a contemporary parallel to that a bit further down
the path. I seem memes that mock my
faith too often. It does not anger
me. It hurts. A nation that has “in God we trust” on its
currency only uses his name as an expletive.
I realize that everyone does not share my faith and I do not dismiss or
hate anyone who disagrees with me. I
only wish that we still had the character to respect each other.
I often feel that I sing the Lord’s songs and try to write
his stories in a strange land. I also do
not want to forget that every place belongs to the Father and that I can,
therefore, feel at home with him in any place.
I also wish, Dear Reader, to never forget what once was and will be
again.
I do not mean Jerusalem.
I wish that city only peace. I
consider rather the day when Mount Zion will again be the city of the Great
King. I long for it to be today, now,
this instant. I also long for all things
to be good again as when they were new.
This longing is not the whole answer to my current song loop, but it is
a piece of it. I weep at times for the
state of our world and the many things we have lost along the way. Then I am reminded that it will not always be
thus. I will reach the city or the King
will come for me. We will not have to
believe. We will see. This is not the answer but it is part of what
will get me there. Shall we keep walking
Dear Reader? Here is a song to see us a
bit further down the road.
Waters
of Babylon – Don McClean
By the waters,
The waters,
Of Babylon.
We lay down and wept,
And wept, For thee Zion.
We remember thee
Remember thee
Remember thee
Zion.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
Support Page on
Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels on Amazon
Web Page: www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
This BLOG: http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment