" By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem ; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed, happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

While this psalm, as may be plainly seen, applies primarily to a godly Jewish remnant in the days of the Babylonish captivity, yet it seems to be equally clear that it has a deep and very solemn meaning for ourselves, both as individuals, and as members of the true Church of God. It has lessons for these days in which, as all godly Christians must own, that which professes to be the Church has sadly departed from the truth and is, in great measure, under the control and influence of the world in its varied forms, as pictured in Babylon.

In ver. 1, we see these captives sitting down (under compulsion no doubt) by the rivers of Babylon. As these rivers were formed from the small brooks and streams which came from every part of the land, we find, in type, as they pass along before the eyes of these captives, the combined influence of the world in its most attractive forms presented to us. And what is the result? Do we, like these captives, turn away from it and with weeping "remember Zion," or does it attract our attention, occupy our time and engage our thought? Alas that such should be the case, that there should be so little weeping, so little turning away to the things of the Lord and to the city of His Name! The harp is silent, and in its place there is weeping and earnest prayer that, "in the day of Jerusalem," which to faith will surely come, vers. 7-9, vengeance may come upon those who now triumph over them.

The songs and mirth required (ver. 3) of these captives by their conquerors were probably a means of furnishing amusement and sport to these heartless victors. At least, the refusal to continue to "sing the Lord's song in a strange land" would seem to indicate as much. Surely had it been that some were really moved by the reality of these things in the hearts of the singers, there would have been no complaint whatever. As the apostle says, (i Pet. 4:14), "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye." The world, ruled over by Satan, "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), is indeed a hard and heartless master. How sad it is to see the professing church so thoroughly submitting to his power without protest! Truly it is a cause for much weeping, prayer, and confession of sin to God.

But we can thank God that there are those who have been brought to realize that such a position is, in truth, "a strange land," and that "the Lord's song "cannot be sung there. Of the wicked, Jer. 12:2 says, " Thou (the Lord) art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." In contrast with this, John 4:23, 24; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16 all show that true worship and praise must come from the heart. If, in the first place, the heart is not right with God, we may be assured that all the cold formalism of so-called worship is nothing but a mockery. In view of this, is not the question of ver. 4 raised at once in the minds of honest Christians? If so, let us face the question squarely, let us remove that which so seriously hinders our spiritual growth, and so deeply dishonors the name of our blessed Lord, and let us not be satisfied with anything which deprives us of the great privilege of meeting together with His own where we can, "in spirit and in truth " sing "the songs of Zion."

Through God's goodness, this may now be the happy privilege of each one of us, but for the Jew of those days it was a glorious event for which, as we have already seen, faith was steadily and persistently watching, and in vers. 5 and 6 we see how this question so completely occupied the attention of this godly remnant, that other things which natural men regard as of utmost importance were not in any measure to be compared with it.

" If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." All the natural skill, energy and strength so carefully trained and developed for providing the many necessary, useful or enjoyable things of life were to be entirely forgotten or laid aside. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem." No other subject of conversation was to be considered of such importance, neither was any earthly pleasure to be allowed so large a place in the heart.

And why did Jerusalem fill such a place in the mind of the Jew? It was the city that the Lord had "chosen to place His Name there." It was here that the people came together for worship. It was indeed to them, as its name implies, the foundation of peace. To us it speaks, no doubt, of the presence of God reached through the cross, the true foundation of peace, where He "made peace through the blood of His cross " (Col. 1:20). It is on this ground that we may gather in His name to worship Him "in spirit and in truth " and to " sing the Lord's song" not "in a strange land" but in His very presence (Matt. 18:20).

In closing, I would simply call attention to the important spiritual application of vers. 5 and 6 to ourselves in the light of these things. May the sharp rebuke which is found there, right upon the surface, be taken home by each one of us and may it be blessed to us all, turning our hearts, our thoughts and our lives more and more away from this dark scene unto Him who loves us and gave Himself for us. We may be assured that such a return to the things of the Lord would be owned by Him and would result in large blessing and spiritual growth in our midst. In the words of the beautiful hymn-

Lord, let us ne'er forget
Thy rich, Thy precious love,
Our theme of joy and wonder here
Our endless song above.

O let Thy love constrain
Our souls to cleave to Thee,
And ever in our hearts remain
That word, "Remember Me."

F. W. H.