Lament

  "...they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’  

How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?"

(Psalm 137: 3b-4)

I have to admit that the Book of Lamentations is not one with which I am familiar (apart from knowing that it follows Jeremiah and allegedly written by that prophet).  I am familiar with just a few verses but have never had an interest in studying either the book or the tradition of lamenting.

Some will remember that ironically parts of Psalm 137 became a pop song sung by Boney M: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea we wept when we remembered Zion".  The pop version and its accompanying joyful video is based on a rastafarian combination of bits of two psalms.  But the clap-along and dance version is exactly the opposite of what Psalm 137 is all about.

The Psalm is closely associated with the exile experience suffered by the people of Jerusalem and Judea after they had been conquered by the Babylonians in the sixth century BC.  To assert their authority over a conquered nation it was common for the people of the losing side to be taken and dispersed among the territories of their conquerors. So the psalmist presents us with a group of exiled Jews away from their homeland and mockingly asked to sing some of their joyful songs of Zion - songs that reflected praise to God and enjoyment of his blessing.  But the musicians had hung up their harps and felt they could not sing.

What we do not know is whether they felt that the place and circumstances they were in rendered it inappropriate to sing the Lord's song, or whether they were so overwhelmed by misery that they couldn't sing a song of praise.  Perhaps both but more of the latter as they sat down and wept.  "How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?"

Psalm 137 is not unique among the Psalms in expressing sorrow and frustration; there are many other examples and trying to understand the mindset of the psalmists is a valuable exercise.  If you take some time to read and reflect on the whole Psalm you will get a pretty clear idea of how they were feeling about their circumstances.  They were not only sad, they were angry.  

Verses 4 to 6 is an expression of a determination about remembering what they had lost.  So strongly is this expressed that the psalmist wishes terrible physical consequences on himself if he forgets. Basically, the musician would rather suffer permanent disability and never be able to play and sing again if he forgets where he has come from.

But the remaining verses are violent, calling on God to punish those who have done this to them.  The last verse is particularly painful to read.  We need to remember that just because these words are contained in Scripture they are the revelation of natural human reactions and not a revelation of what God thinks and feels.  In fact we note that this attitude is in marked contrast to the prophetic words of Jeremiah where, in Jeremiah chapter 29, the prophet encourages them to accept their circumstances, settle down and be a blessing to their captors.

We could say that God wanted them to learn from their situation which had been brought about by their self confidence and failure to trust God and walk in his ways.  It is a kind of foreshadowing of the teaching of Jesus about turning the other cheek and going a second mile.  But the natural response was to feel the apparent injustice and to hit out.  But part of the experience of spiritual progress must include lamenting when things are not right.

Recently, certain events in one area of my life and ministry disturbed and distressed me.  An early response was to confront the injustice.  I raised a number of questions about the sad situation that had developed - all of which I felt and still feel were perfectly justified.   The situation causing the distress was not something happening to me but that was happening to both a person and an organisation that mean a great deal to me.  As time went by and as the pain and concern I had were not addressed, my initial anger turned into deep lament.  I had never felt this in such a deep way before.

The first response was to cry to God to come and do something about the situation and right the apparent wrong.  I reflected on what had been lost in the process and began to deeply mourn its loss.  I was angry about it and expressed this to the key people whose actions had brought about this situation, though I did not call on God for their destruction.  But then my lament began to deepen and change.  I began to consider what might have led to crisis.  I began to see how there had been various failures going back in time.  If only something had been done about it sooner.  I asked myself whether I could have done something to prevent this crisis coming.

Now I was not only lamenting what had happened, but also for everyone that had been involved and its sad consequences.  This was not diminishing aspects I still consider unjust, but it was a significant spiritual experience - a kind of shared pain for all caught up in the situation or suffering its consequences.  The phrase "lessons to be learned" began to be uttered by people close to the problem.  I too have lessons to be learned.

My period of lamentation seems not yet over.  Sunday was Pentecost and a cause for celebration and hope, but planning such a service and choosing appropriate hymns was more difficult than usual.  Sometimes, the situation we are in and the blessing we have lost make it hard to sing the Lord's song in this strange metaphorical land.  For the Jews it would be a long time before they were back in the land and a song of joy would peel out from the praise party walking the rebuilt wall of Jerusalem.  And even then there were tears as the people realised how far they had drifted from what could and should have been (see Nehemiah 8:9,10).

An inappropriate degree of self confidence and presumption brought about their downfall and was the real cause of their sorrow.  They needed to learn that no one can presume on God's providence and that humility unlocks the door to the blessings.  Where there is no humility there is likely to be humbling.  And when humbling has done its work songs can be sung again.

The story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem starts with him hearing of the poor state of Jerusalem and those living there.  He then sat down and wept.  What followed was persistent prayer, fresh vision, fresh courage and revival.  Could it be that we do not have sufficient cause to be joyful because we haven't learned to lament our comparative spiritual poverty?

Causes to be thankful

• Helpful and encouraging Sunrise trustees meeting recently with encouraging plans for the future;
• A safe return by my colleague, Monica, following her work over recent weeks in Africa.  We are glad that God kept her safe and blessed her ministry;
• At last we have a date for a prison choir concert and an opportunity for the choir to serve and bless others;
• Great school assembly;
• Good fellowship with many friends and colleagues;
• Safety in travelling, and health & strength;
• Most of all for God's faithfulness - undeserved.

Causes for Prayer

• I am travelling to Northern Ireland thus week where I will be attending the General Synod of the Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland from Tuesday and leaving to come home on Thursday afternoon;
• That I will walk close to God and make room to listen to him throughout each day;
• That the prison authorities will confirm the dates of the prison event this week (it's planned for the 25th June and notices have to go out).
• That in the midst of my lamentation that God will help all concerned to find special grace;
• For an elderly man with whom a casual conversation meant a great deal after he had left his wife very ill in hospital.  He was overwhelmed at what was little more than a few moments of care and seemed to think I might have been an angel!  Note to self: be more caring to strangers who might feel very lonely and need to know God loves them.
• Provision of sufficient funds to enable our ongoing ministry;
• Safety in travelling;
• Preparation for the weekend's ministry.

Thank you for your fellowship,

Barry