1<\/sup> By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept 4<\/sup> How can we sing the songs of the LORD 7<\/sup> Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did Imprecatory psalms are sometimes hard to read-<\/em><\/p>\n and harder to digest.\u00a0 \u201cHappy is the one who seizes your<\/em><\/p>\n infants and dashes them against the rocks\u201d?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n There is a whole history lesson that goes with today\u2019s psalm- <\/em><\/p>\n but I\u2019m not going there.\u00a0 This is a psalm of sorrow- of memorial-<\/em><\/p>\n of pain- and yes, of anger.<\/em><\/p>\n This past week I had a conversation with a lady about her<\/em><\/p>\n nephew who is back in jail because of his addiction to drugs. <\/em><\/p>\n He is due to be released, but no one in the family is willing to take<\/em><\/p>\n him on.\u00a0 Or should I say, no one is willing to take on him and his<\/em><\/p>\n addiction<\/em><\/p>\n I don\u2019t really understand addiction fully, but what I get- what I KNOW<\/em><\/p>\n about it is that it is as tenacious and destructive as a stage 4 cancer- and<\/em><\/p>\n more often than not- it ends in death.<\/em><\/p>\n Those who live with drug addictions are whirlwinds of trouble- <\/em><\/p>\n redemption and relapse, <\/em><\/p>\n futile futures and they are dangerous to love.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying that they can\u2019t come out of the depths of degradation-<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m saying that often, they don\u2019t \u2013 and if they do- there is no<\/em><\/p>\n guarantee they won\u2019t end up back in the same despair.<\/em><\/p>\n My friend, Michele, wrote a psalm that I\u2019d like to share with you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 PRAISE THE LORD<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Praise the Lord for being our Creator<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Praise Him for making us new<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Praise Him\u00a0 for being our mentor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Ask and it shall be given to you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Praise the King, the First and the Last,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Praise Him for your future and past.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Praise the One in Heaven above,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Praise Him, Praise Him with all of your love.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Michele was an addict who came to know and love the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n Her voice was loud in His praises, her chuckle filled with the joy<\/em><\/p>\n she had in being a part of the family of God.<\/em><\/p>\n Her eyes would sparkle as she spoke of His grace and mercy-<\/em><\/p>\n and her stories were full of the mystery of His love.<\/em><\/p>\n Her life was troubled-<\/em><\/p>\n there was so much she had to make amends for- so much she<\/em><\/p>\n had to learn-her addiction was costly- it stripped her of her<\/em><\/p>\n family, her teeth, her health, her friends.<\/em><\/p>\n And she wanted to have a life like those of the believers she knew.<\/em><\/p>\n But her life was precarious \u2013 even at its best.<\/em><\/p>\n And the addiction did not go away- it laid in wait for a moment of<\/em><\/p>\n weakness and despair. <\/em><\/p>\n And I believe- in the end- it was too strong for her to keep fighting.<\/em><\/p>\n But \u2013 thinking of Michele and the many others of our loved ones<\/em><\/p>\n who are caught in the web of this enemy-<\/em><\/p>\n I understand Psalm 137 better.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201dDaughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, Amen.<\/p>\n Here is a little background to this entry-<\/p>\n http:\/\/heidiannie.livejournal.com\/31820.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Psalm 137 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; … Continue reading
\nwhen we remembered Zion.
\n2<\/sup> There on the poplars
\nwe hung our harps,
\n3<\/sup> for there our captors asked us for songs,
\nour tormentors demanded songs of joy;
\nthey said, \u201cSing us one of the songs of Zion!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwhile in a foreign land?
\n5<\/sup> If I forget you, Jerusalem,
\nmay my right hand forget its skill.
\n6<\/sup> May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
\nif I do not remember you,
\nif I do not consider Jerusalem
\nmy highest joy.<\/p>\n
\non the day Jerusalem fell.
\n\u201cTear it down,\u201d they cried,
\n\u201ctear it down to its foundations!\u201d
\n8<\/sup> Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
\nhappy is the one who repays you
\naccording to what you have done to us.
\n9<\/sup> Happy is the one who seizes your infants
\nand dashes them against the rocks.<\/p>\n
\nhappy is the one who repays you
\naccording to what you have done to us.\u201d<\/p>\n