Last week, I read through Psalm 137 and it reminded me of the 70’s song “By the Rivers of Babylon” written and sung by the group, Melodians. Now I am not trying to date myself, however, I thought everyone would remember that pop song but alas, not so much. The song opens with the lyrics; “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept--when we remembered Zion.” The Reggae style of music is catchy and tends to stick with me all day long. To be honest, I know the words are taken directly from the Bible, but I have not really paid attention to the whole story behind the song. The lyrics of the song stop short of giving us the full measure of the despair and anger of the people of Israel as they were taken into captivity by the super powerful Babylonians. The words describe a lost nation, who were filled with a longing for the past and who saw no hope for the future. |