Not everything the Bible
talks about is an object of admira- tion for the reader. Perhaps God was saddened when these musi- cians asked for retribution instead of mercy. We can’t know. But what we do know is that the psalms are full of gritty lamentations express- ing unrefi ned but thoroughly hon- est grief, and I think it’s the hon- esty that matters more than the content of the petitions. T ere’s no denying that these are the words of a heart laid bare. T ey haven’t been edited for political correctness or doctored up with loſt y devotions. T ey reveal a sinner longing for God to make sense of disaster. Such grit invites us to come
before the throne of grace just as we are, declaring our feelings and desires just as we experience them. It’s better to express ugly truths than dishonest pieties. God can mend brokenness and refi ne imperfection, but God can’t work with what we choose to withhold.
Not the End of the Story.
T ose of us who have the whole story know that it doesn’t end there by the waters of Babylon. We know the Persians will eventu- ally conquer Babylon, and aſt er 70 years of captivity the Israelites will return to their homeland and re-
A Congregational Lamentation (Based on Psalm 137)
We fi nd ourselves in a foreign land, O God. Our city lies in ruins. T e world wants us to sing and dance and make merry. But our city lies in ruins. We’ve put away our instruments of praise. T is is a day for mourning instead. With anguished hearts, O God, we remember the days of your favor. We repent of our idolatrous ways. In your perfect way, in your own perfect time, let justice be done on our behalf.
Restore us to the joy of your salvation, for the sake of your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
build Jerusalem. We know, in fact, that this will fulfi ll God’s own plan from the beginning. God’s promise then is the same today: “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” (Jeremiah 29:11). In Christ, God extends that
promise to all of us. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, our stories don’t have to end by the waters of Babylon either. We, too, have the opportunity to be restored – to rebuild from the rubble, to once more know the joy of God’s favor. T ough in this world we fi nd plenty to sit and weep about, in Christ we discover new hope enabling us to reclaim
our harps from where we’ve hung them.
I think this is the Gospel in-
sight that properly situates Psalm 137 in our liturgies and in our lives. It reminds us that it’s okay to mourn the calamities God sees fi t for us to endure, to discard false religious masks and to prayerfully vent our frustrations rather than repress them. It even suggests we may occasionally need to hang up our harps and dissolve into tears. But unlike those exiled musicians who still longed for restoration, we can spend a season by the waters of Babylon without succumbing to despair. Because of the future God has promised us in Christ, we can know the joy of taking back our harps from where we’ve hung them, of once more leading God’s people in the “new song” of the Lamb (Revelation 5:9).
JOHNATHAN KANA earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Southwestern University
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(Georgetown, TX) and completed advanced degrees in biblical studies at Liberty Bible College & Seminary (Homosassa, FL). He currently volunteers as music director for Tenth Street United Methodist Church in Taylor, TX.
January-February 2014 • WorshipArts •
www.UMFellowship.org
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