“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1 ESV).
The Jewish captives composed this melancholy song while exiled in Babylon. Having lost their homes in Judah and seeing their holy city Jerusalem with its Temple destroyed, they gathered somewhere on the shores of the Euphrates, and wept. Surely they mourned as homesick children torn away from their mother. Yet, even more so because of their sin which brought the Lord’s discipline. Their bodies were exiled to Babylon, but their hearts were continually set on Zion.
The Jews were exiled in Babylon for 70 years and the first generation surely longed for their true home. But I wonder, did the later generation born in Babylon feel the same longings? Having never seen Jerusalem, did Babylon feel like home to them?
I grew up hearing hymns about heaven being sung by my grandparents and parents. My maternal grandfather’s favorite hymn was “I’ll Meet You In The Morning,” a song that always brought tears to his eyes. Consider the words of this first verse:
“I’ll meet you in the morning by the bright riverside
When all sorrow has drifted away
I’ll be standin’ at the portals when the gates open wide
At the close of life’s long weary day.”
I wonder why we don’t sing songs about heaven the way the previous generation did? Have we become so comfortable in Babylon that we have forgotten Zion?
PRAYER: Lord, help us to set our eyes on You today, pulling our affections off of this world and putting them on You. For You are the object of our love and worship. There is weeping in this world, but not without hope. For You have given us hope in Your Son, Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord. He is our home, our Jerusalem. And we set our hearts continually on Him. In His name we pray, amen.