By the Rivers of BabylonSýnishorn

Rivers of Tears

Psalm 137 is known widely thanks to the Rastafari song popularised by Boney M. The Psalm which the Jewish Rabbis traditionally attribute to the prophet Jeremiah is a beautiful expression of faith in devastating crisis. Israel had fallen to the mighty Babylonian Empire and God’s covenant people were exiled from the promised land which God had gifted them. They found themselves aliens in a foreign land serving their conquerors. Far from home, in the city of Babylon, the people of God cry to God. Sitting on the banks of the Euphrates River and its many rivulets and canals, the children of Israel remember Zion. They remember a time of joy and peace within the walls of the sacred City of David. They reminisce of past days when the temple incense and offerings rose to the heavens, the markets brimmed with activity, and the children played happily in the streets. Such happy memories only bring tears to their eyes. The captives sit down as mourners at a funeral home and weep rivers of water for they understand how great was their fall from grace. 

The exile from Zion and the Babylonian captivity was a deeply theological issue that caused distress in the hearts of God’s people. Zion was more than a city. It was the symbol of God’s presence among His people. Without the holy city of Jerusalem, the temple, and the regular sacrifices, the people felt God had abandoned them. They were now isolated in a strange land with all their hopes reduced to futility. They were dejected and felt the empty darkness shrouding them. Israel had been unfaithful to God by sinning against Him! Therefore, God as promised in His holy covenant, uprooted His elect people from the land and scattered them (Deuteronomy 28:63-64). Their iniquities had brought a separation between them and God (Isaiah 59:2). Under the weight of the heavy hand of God’s judgment, the only right response is to return to God by weeping. The God who afflicts His people is also the God who said: Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you (I Peter 5:6-7). True lamentation is always an exercise of faith for it is to seek God’s grace in our state of total brokenness. May we never hesitate to weep, for our Lord sees all our tears.