By the Rivers of Babylon

By Bruce Cannon

Mitchell County

Psalm 137:1,2  “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.”

The nation of Judah was in captivity.  Their past had caught up with them.  The Lord’s mercy had waned and He allowed the enemy, Babylon, to come into the nation not once, but three times to take the Jews into captivity.  Beginning in 605 BC Babylon came and took the strong, the intelligent, and the best of the nation back to Babylon as captives.  It happened again in 597 BC and again in 587 BC.  After the last deportation, the enemy tore the Temple Solomon had built down and badly damaged the walls.  The Lord allowed Babylon to be His right hand of judgment against Judah and took away the desire to “fight” from His people.  It was His will that they be taken into captivity by Babylon.

The 137 Psalm describes the attitude of the people of Judah in captivity.  They sat by the rivers with their harps hung in the willow trees.  There was no joy or song in their hearts.  Many of their people would never come back to Judah after the captivity was over.  They made a life for themselves in Babylon.  Some of the women married Babylonian men.  Many of the men accepted their positions of servitude in Babylon.

How did this happen?  God had given the Promised Land to His people and they entered into it during the time of Joshua.  How did they get to the point of having it taken away?  The simple answer is rebellion; disobedience to God.  The Jews started acting like the world around them.  They served other gods and allowed themselves to be overtaken by evil.

Do we understand that the Lord will only allow this to go on so long before He sends in judgment?  Before that, however, the Holy Spirit of God brings conviction and chastisement in an attempt to turn His people back to Himself.  If that does not work, judgment always falls.

Is that where we are in America?  Have we gone so far away from God that He is allowing the enemy to come in and bring great harm?  Is the Lord OK with us aborting roughly 70 million babies?  Is He OK with us allowing pornography to be able to be accessed by any smartphone or computer?  Is the Lord OK with so many “Churches” in the U.S. turning away from His Word, His Will, and His Ways?  The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “NO!”

Let me ask a few rhetorical questions at this point:

1) Can we remember a time when the power of God fell and the Spirit of God tremendously moved in our midst?  Are our Churches filled with the power of the Holy Ghost of God or are we just going through the motions?  Are we meeting at 11:00 sharp and ending at 12:00 dull?

2) If we are not sensing His moving power in our midst as He is convicting hearts of their lostness, encouraging those who know Him, and as He is drawing us all closer to the Lord, do we miss Him?  Do we long for a sense of the presence of God among us?

3) Is the Church (is our Church) the beacon of hope it needs to be in a very hopeless world?  Are we bearing brightly the Light of the World that others may see Him who is the source of all hope and help?

I could go on and on with this line of questioning, but you see my point.  We need the Lord badly in our homes, our Churches, and in our government!   If we fall on our knees before God, will it help?  Will He run to our aid?  Will He restore?  Yes!  Pray with me for a deep cleansing of the people of God.  Pray with me for brokenness, humility, conviction, and repentance among all of God’s people.  Pray with me that the power of God truly falls in Washington,  Raleigh, and all across our country.  Pray with me that there is a tremendous move of God that truly brings a Spiritual Awakening to our land.  Pray with me that we can see an overturning of the poor decisions made by our government……decisions that have brought us closer to God’s judgment!  How I long to see evil stopped dead still in its tracks and the power of God turned loose in our homes and churches!  How I long to see souls saved, moms and dads on fire for the Lord, and children raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!  How I long to see the houses of God full of people, full of praise, and full of the power of God!   Pray with me, please!  Claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if we do our part God will hear our prayers, forgive our sins and heal our land.

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Bruce Cannon is the Pastor of Pine Branch Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, NC

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