How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land (Psalm 137:4)?
The believer is a citizen of heaven or Zion. He belongs to the city of the living God and is expected to live on earth from this city. In other words, we are supposed to live here as ambassadors of our homeland Zion. You may take many things away from an ambassador but not the consciousness of his homeland. Forget it. One day, a group of international pastors were asked to introduce themselves at a meeting. Everyone went about this mentioning their name and earthly country till it was the turn of one remarkable pastor who mentioned his name and added that he hails from Zion. All the others applauded him for opening their eyes to this truth.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her (Psalm 87:6)
The above Scripture says that you and I were born in Zion and the whole world shall acknowledge it too. This means that the christian is supposed to live under the influence of Zion. He is supposed to see the world from the perspective of Zion. He is supposed to speak the language of Zion which is the word of God. To live on the earth by any other influence is to dwell in a strange land.
The Israelites, a people of profound singing, were carried into captivity in Babylon. As a result of their captivity, they had no motivation to sing and soon they hung their harps:
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 (Psalms 137:1,2).
When they were removed from Zion which is the source of their inspiration, the result was that they had no song to sing anymore. To sing is a sign of joy within. These Jews could not sing because their source of joy had been taken away from them. But since the joy of the LORD is [our] strength (cf. Neh. 8:10), to have their source of joy taken away also meant they were weakened. Since they dwelt in a strange land they had no joy which made them weak in spirit and therefore unable to sing the songs of Zion.
The songs of Zion were songs about the Lord and His relationship with His people. They were about the goodness of the Lord and how He desires to dwell in the midst of His people. They were about how Israel was the apple of God's eye and how He surrounded them like the mountains surrounded Jerusalem. To sing these songs, a person has to be under the influence of the environment in Zion. That way, such a person would see the Land flowing with milk and honey and say: Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken (cf. Isa 33:20).He would see the temple and with joy declare: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined (cf. Ps 50:2). etc.
Now they were in a strange land and could not experience Zion. As a result they had no song to sing. Take note.
In the New Testament, the believer can also find himself in Babylon even though he dwells in Zion. This happens when the believer chooses to dwell on the effects of Babylon (the world) instead of the influence of Zion. In this sense the believer, even though is born free, is seen to be walking in captivity. This can happen even though a believer dwells permanently in Zion. He is seen to walk in darkness even though he dwells in Zion. Once we are children of God, our citizenship in Zion is fixed in the sense that it cannot be altered. However depending on which influence we yield to, we may find ourselves partaking in darkness or light. From the perspective of Zion, to yield to the influence of the world is to be found in a strange land.
The world has its systems, its way of life. The world speaks the things which are contrary to the lifestyle of Zion. The world speaks fear. It speaks unbelief. It speaks condemnation. It speaks poverty. It speaks failure. It speaks death. It speaks defeat, etc. This is contrary to the language in Zion. Zion speaks faith in God, glory, victory, success, excellence, boldness, etc. As a result of the things found in Zion, there dwells in the hearts of the inhabitants what Peter described as joy unspeakable, full of glory.
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (cf. 1Pe 1:8):
This kind of joy is present because of the influence of Zion on the inhabitants. The sweetness that is experienced from the one who reigns in Zion, the Lord Jesus Christ. Once a believer turns focus to listen and dwell on the things that the world presents, the influence of Zion on him diminishes resulting in diminished joy even though he still dwells in Zion. Once the joy of Zion is diminished the believer loses strength. This prevents the believer from expressing the virtues of Zion in the world.
I have come to realize that joy plays a major part in effective christian living. Likewise, the absence of joy gives weak and ineffective christians. That is why it is the devil's aim to steal your joy from you by getting you to focus on the wrong things; the things that stir up fear, condemnation, etc. He constantly seeks to wear you out with these things. Your responsibility is to keep your joy in the Lord. It is to guard your heart with all diligence, always keeping it under the influence of Zion. That way, you will find yourself living effectively in and by Zion on the earth.
You must constantly keep the joy of Zion alive. You must keep focus on the things spoken in Zion which is the Word of God. You must constantly look upon Zion, the city of our festivities. This way, instead of the world exercising influence over us, we rather influence the world. In Zion, we are bold as the Lion. We are so joyful that we do not tire. This is the secret of evangelism. Many are unable to evangelize because they do not walk in the joy of Zion. They are not excited about life in the Kingdom. But those who are excited cannot keep quiet. They cannot shut up. They have something to say, because they are overflowing with joy.
May you overflow with the joy of Zion. May you have a song ringing in your heart giving praise to the God of Zion. May you keep your mind stayed on Zion and its speakings. May you look constantly upon Zion and its beauty as found in the Word so that you may locate your beauty therein. May the beauty of Zion shine forth through your joy. May the darkness in this world be dispelled through your expression of the joy of Zion. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (cf. Rom. 14:17).
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