Thoughts

Because of their turning from God and worshipping false gods, God has brought judgement on those who lived in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Babylon has come in and utterly destroyed Jerusalem, killed many men, women and children, and taken captive those who were not murdered.

This psalm is a lament. We do not know when it was written. Some think that it was written after the return from Babylon, some think that it is some years into the exile, while still in captivity in Babylon.

What is certain is that in the midst of the exile, the writer remembered how good it was in Jerusalem, and what the reason was for their exile. They missed Jerusalem and they were sorrowful that they had sinned in such a way that God had allowed them to be in this place.

And they asked God to judge Babylon for the terribly cruel treatment they had received. 

Beloved, we must never assume that just because God doesn't bring immediate judgement, that God is not paying attention or doesn't care when we sin. And we must not take His grace lightly or for granted. Yes, we are living in a different age than the children of Israel were. But God is still God, and sin is still sin. If we are believers, if we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and our Lord, we are not in danger of losing our salvation when we sin, but God the Father loves us enough to discipline us if necessary. He does not care about our happiness or our comfort nearly as much as he cares about the condition of our heart. He has the right to do what He must to bring us to repentance and a return to the path He wants us on. 

I pray that He will always correct me. As David wrote in the last two verses of our reading today, chapter 139, verses 23 and 24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Today's Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 137-139 ESV

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Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents

By Rod Dreher / Sentinel

Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism---but Dreher says it's happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 pages, hardcover from Sentinel.