Singing the Lord's song in a strange land

'By the rivers of Babylon, as we sat down, hey, hey, we wept…' Most of us know this song as the famous Boney M song. Those of us who know the song most probably grew up in the 80s during the song’s heyday. The song was very popular and reached platinum status. Few of the song's devotees knew of the lyrics' origin.

It is a sad song. The song describes a situation of despair and desolation. It relates to a story of captivity. How the wicked carried them away to a foreign land and then required a song. The audacity of the request is captured by the next phrase when they say, ‘But how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.’ Therefore, anyone who fought for freedom and was set against slavery loved the song. This song captured their heartache and despair. It captured the unfairness of their plight.

However, although the group Boney M made the song popular, it was not written by Boney M; it was merely a cover song for them. The song was written by a Reggae artist about ten years before Boney M made it popular. The writer of the song was not the original author of the lyrics. The lyrics were taken from a Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 137. Psalm 137 was written by the Jews in exile in Babylon. Let’s have a look at their story…

In 587 BC, the Babylonian army decimated Jerusalem. King Zedekiah was the King of Judea at that time. Many people were captured during the siege and carried off in exile to Babylon. Psalm 137 reveals the sufferings and sentiments of the people in the land of their captors. The Psalmist elaborated on how sad they were that they even hung their harps on the trees. They were asked by their captors to sing a song. They demanded songs of joy! You can feel the anger, frustration, and sadness in the words. They asked the question in verse 4, ‘How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land.’

Jeremiah, the prophet, lived during those years of war with Babylon. Many of his friends and family have probably already been exiled to Babylon. Jeremiah finds himself in a difficult position. He was tasked with telling his fellow Jews that the Babylonians would win. He stood in opposition to the rest of the prophets who tried to convince Jews that they still had a chance of victory. Jeremiah encouraged those who were in Jerusalem to hand themselves over to their captors and not resist. He gave them a stern warning that resistance would get them killed, but by handing themselves over, they would live. The message was so radical and unpopular that Jeremiah was severely persecuted for it.

In Chapter 29, he sends a word of the Lord to those already in exile: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” From this statement, we can surmise that God allowed them to be captured. What a radical thought, but for many in Judah, it was not a surprise. God had been sending them message after message about their need to repent, and now judgment was finally there in the form of the Babylonians. There were many, though, that firstly did not heed the message of repentance and, secondly, ignored the warning to not resist. As a result, many died…

Amid all this tragedy, God sends this message in chapter 29. It truly is a message of hope to those that trust the Lord. The Lord starts by saying, I carried you into exile. So, God allowed the tragedy that befell them. This was not a random act of malevolence. Will the people listen? God encouraged the people to settle in the land and prosper. He promised them that after 70 years, they would return to their home country. In verse 11, we find the most famous of verses: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is truly fascinating. God did not give them the promise during good times. He gave this encouraging word right in the middle of their greatest trial. He asked them to trust Him. This could not have been easy for them. As we saw in Psalm 137, this was a time of terrible sadness and despondency. Let’s not try to make this time of suffering trivial because we know the end of the story. They found themselves in a foreign land with foreign customs and pagan gods. The trip to Babylon was surely not a pleasure cruise, and they did not receive a hero’s welcome as they were marched into Babylon.

Let’s face it; we all have times of trials that rob us of our joy. We all face days when we find ourselves in a position of defeat and try as we might, we cannot seem to get ourselves out of the situation. All our prayers and positive thinking feel empty and useless. We ask the Lord to please explain, but He remains silent… or does He?

The Bible encourages us numerous times to trust the Lord. We are reminded that the Lord directs our steps Psalm 37:23. Paul writes in Romans 8 that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord. Jeremiah 29 promises that God has got good plans for us.

Let us remind ourselves today that the Lord is still in control even though we don’t understand why we are going through this specific challenge. Never forget that God has good plans for us, not plans to harm us but plans to give us hope.

The Lord promised hope to the exiles in Babylon, but He also expected something from them. He expected them to stop struggling. He wanted their trust and their obedience. It could not be easy to trust the Lord in this difficult place where they found themselves, but that is what God wanted from them.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” May this be an encouragement today. Even though your situation may seem dire, God is still in control, and one day you will be able to look back and understand why you had to endure the trial. Trust and believe!!

There is one more thing that I would like to draw your attention to. At the beginning of this article, we discussed the song ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’ by Boney M. There is a fascinating verse that is part of the song. It is a refrain that is repeated a couple of times. ‘Let the words of our mouth, And the meditation of our heart, Be acceptable in thy sight, here tonight.’ This verse is a quote from Psalm 19:14. May we remember during the times of trials to guard our thoughts and our hearts. Let’s not sin in what we say and what we think and then blame it on our circumstances. God is sovereign over all, and He always deserves our reverence and respect, not just when it is going well. The writer of Proverbs said that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Let's choose to speak life even in our darkest hour,

God bless!