LIVING FOR GOD
Opening Prayer
When in your day-to-day life do you find it hardest to live for the glory of God? Talk to God about these issues
Read Psalm 137
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What are some things about our culture that rub your spirit the wrong way?In 1 Corinthians, Paul answers the question, “How can we live for God in a pagan society?” Here we see the Israelites asking the same question.
Clearly some Jews did manage to “sing the Lord’s songs in a foreign land”; the Bible records the stories of Daniel, Nehemiah and Esther, among others. In these stories we see individuals wrestling with the issues of living within a particular culture but being distinctively God’s people, just as we have to do today.
That said, how do we reconcile verse 9 with a psalm inspired by a loving, merciful God? Perhaps the psalmist is crying out for God to fulfill his purposes to judge all evil. Certainly, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11), much less the weak and defenseless (Psa. 82:3,4).
How horrified are we when we see sin in the world? How distinct are we as children of God in our world? How committed are we to seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness?
Apply
How can you be a shining light in the middle of our sin-stricken world?
Closing prayer
“Restore, O Lord, the honor of Your name… And in Your an-ger, Lord, remember mercy” (Graham Kendrick).
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