We Wept When We Remembered Zion

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Psa 137:1 “By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.”

This verse may bring to mind a song that was popularized by Boney M titled “By the rivers of Babylon” it has the following lyrics:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion

There the wicked, Carried us away in captivity, Required from us a song

Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

This Psalm portrays the profound sadness of the Jews as they lived in exile in Babylon. On one occasion they sat down by the rivers of Babylon. So that sounds quite nice! And yet as they sat down, they just wept. They remembered what had happened to Zion, their home. Burnt. Destroyed. Loved ones killed. To make matters worse some of the Babylonians were now taunting them saying “Hey, why don’t you play us some of those joyful songs from your homeland?” But they wouldn’t. They couldn’t. They could only reply “How can we sing the Lord’s song while we dwell in a strange land and Jerusalem lies in ruins? Oh Jerusalem! May we never forget you!” Their hearts’ desire was to one day be back home. But for now they were stranded in Babylon.

Babylon here speaks of the world. Jerusalem or Zion speaks of our heavenly promised land. You can only be homesick for where your home is.