Thy Strong Word - Psalm 137. Keep praying saints: How can I sing when in grief?

Rev. Steven Theiss, vacancy pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells, MO joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Psalm 137.

The Israelites sat by the river in Babylon in grief. They were in captivity and were asked to sing. How often are we able to sing when in despair? The time we like to sing is for times of joy, not while in angst. The Israelites wrote this psalm remembering the “good old days”, hoping to never forget their motherland, and praying harm to the wicked who brought them out. God allows them to lament and allows us to do the same, even when our words are not holy toward others. He then reminds us of His promises that we have in Christ and the promised land of eternity. “Lord God, help us in our grief. Give us words to be strengthened and grant us peace to move forward by Your grace in Christ. Amen”

Thy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.

Psalm 137

How Shall We Sing the Lord‘s Song?

137 By the waters of Babylon,
    there we sat down and wept,
    when we remembered Zion.
²On the willows^[a] there
    we hung up our lyres.
³For there our captors
    required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How shall we sing the Lord‘s song
    in a foreign land?
⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
⁶Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

⁷Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
    the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
    down to its foundations!”
⁸O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
    blessed shall he be who repays you
    with what you have done to us!
⁹Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
    and dashes them against the rock!

Footnotes

Psalm 137:2 Or poplars

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org

Rev. Brady Finnern

Rev. Brady Finnern, host of Thy Strong Word. is an expert in all things Minnesota, including hiking the great mountains of the 5th flattest state in the Union and making his own maple syrup. Although chow mein, fried ice cream, and Peanut Persian donuts with maple frosting are at the top of his foodie list, his prized possessions include his gas station refillable fountain soda cup (which, he says, the savings will pay for college for his 4 kids). Pastor Finnern's Divine Call is as President of the LCMS Minnesota North District, and in addition he also enjoys traveling, coaching track, and movie nights with his wife and kids that may or may not include Shawshank Redemption or any of the Thriller movies. When he's not singing his favorite hymns or listening to his favorite metal music, you might find him working out or taking naps. (Probably naps.)