How Can We Sing?

Good morning. As always, this good to be with you.

This text is above my paygrade. Good news is every other text is to friend of mine likes to say, this is God's word and this is our story. What's a 911? Means more or less to you probably depending on what age you are but I think you know what I mean. Not just any 11th of September. When that occurred, we were living in Nairobi Kenya. We have picked up our kids from school, and you took a bus home and 45 minute drive to the international school they were in. We picked them up and Shop to get a snack.

The first inkling, we had that something had happened because at that point we didn't know anything. We're two guys, laughing. And saying, when should I, I remember you said, I hope they get Disney World to show me new shopping and happened. Some people are angry somewhere, sad. Some more rejoicing. We went home and turned on CNN, International on a TV and we saw the towers fall. On the way home, we did inner-city Ministry in New Jersey at the end of our block. We could look down and see the towers. So we were well acquainted with them. We will take the PATH train from Newark to to Manhattan, and pastoring went under the basement of the World. Trade Center from there. We Subway so, we know the place and now watching on TV. It was frightened. But horribly sad. Made us angry. And it felt so strange at that moment to be in a foreign country. Was almost like a funeral. We need to be home.

This song. The set and the remembrance of their destruction. Jerusalem. The temple. Torn down. House is torn down. Walls, and Towers. Topple. Young children, disposed of because they're only a nuisance to an invading Army. And people in a foreign country. Route from Judah to that Caravan tracker, perhaps 900 miles. To Babylon.

It may sound quite strange to us. But this is the word of the Lord and this is our story. So we need to learn from it. All the way we've been singing about. We must sing and my toddler's, how can we sing this song? But I have an alternate title In My Head by when I was asked this morning, what's the name of your sermon? You have a title How can we sing? Or is it the deep deep love of Jesus?

I think sitting this song,

Refined. Amazingly. Not. Maybe a first glance the Scripture. It takes more than one glass. We see the deep deep love of Jesus for us. So what about three things this morning? It's amazing how Sherman's come down to three points. I don't care about the mournful time text. The surprising curse. And obviously, the Strange Addiction. the first, the mournful context, Context is vital to any study of scripture. And this is the place where we really need to understand what is the contacts here. What is happening.

Well, it don't show us a terribly sad and mournful situation. Are captives taken from Judah to Babylon. They are in a foreign land and I'm sure it's far and in every way that the sounds of the language is foreign, the dress is foreign and they worship foreign gods are Idols. Their worship is different. And in this place, perhaps these men and I assume assume that your group of men together, I don't think it'd be a mixed group together and they're, they're out together and they've hung up there, they're Liars on the Willows, they're not going to play. They're not going to sing. While they're here in Babylon. Well, I make calls because of their sin. God's judgement on the nation. Don't you think there were many people in June who are probably faithful to the Lord? Who hadn't worshipped idols. They said 4 to 10 today. Sometimes we suffer because other people, sometimes we suffer because we have sinned. Jerusalem has been under siege for a couple years by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians for the Balcones / Chaldeans Yuri Babylonians and ends with the same. Same people. To make things worse. These Babylonians. He's Invaders. Who would come from a far country, where egg, Dawn by the edomites, these invites or neighbors. Neighbors are also related. Abraham was their grandfather. That's it was the people of Judah. He was their grandfather. Rather than protect their neighbor and protect their brother as they're called in other places, they egged them on. Lay It bare, lay it down, down to the foundations. And other things.

So we read about this invasion. When twins that are ranging Judah regarding specific dates. Nebuchadnezzar came with his army. He had a CT built seats. Were the city was under siege for 2 years. That was famine in the land, in their City. There was nothing to eat. Then a breach was made in the city wall and is that at I and some of his army began to escape wraps to fight another day. But there were pursued and the edomites stopped them is ever trying to escape and said, to the Battle of here. They are coming to get them.

The king himself. His son, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes. And then his eyes were put out and he was taken. To Babylon the house of the Lord was burned and ransacked all the greats. Houses burn down, the walls were broken down the ramparts around the city were broken down. The city was laid, other Ali waste like those towers that fell down on 9/11 nothing but waste on the ground. Useless to be taken away.

And the edomites again Aging in the mall opens I have prophesize against cheetah mites. He says on the day you stood aloof on the day the stranger carried off his wealth. That is a wealth of Judith. Your brother and foreigners enter these Gates and cash slots for Jerusalem. You were like one of them. Do not gloat over the day of your brother and the day of his Misfortune do not rejoice over the people of Judah, in the day of their ruin, do not boast, do not loot their wealth, all these things they did. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off. His fugitives, do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

And then he says, for the day of the Lord is near upon All Nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you, your daddy's shall return upon your own head. For those captives living By the Waters of Babylon was a heartbreaking remembrance. So they sat down. And there went the hung up their Harps. They can't play They shan't say.

I have an uncle named James that I never met. He died in World War II. He's buried in Raleigh at the National Cemetery there. I visited his grave more than once the first time a few years ago.

His mother, my grandmother, my mother's mother. Used to play the piano. There was a piano in their home. The actor James was killed in the war. She never played again. she never played again, they hung up their hearts and they wept They're mine was full of the sadness of what would happen to the city of a great king of their king of Yahweh. Their God but, Their captors, their tormentors. Demanded of them. Sing us. One of the songs of Zion.

Marketing. It's imagine a bunch of drunk soldiers. Thing is one of the songs of Zion. One of your little ditties, about your little guy in the movie knocked over. You were saying. Before, then this awful.

Sing. I mentioned Russian sculptures.

Not that soldiers are necessarily Truckers. But I remember being Russia, flying on a plane, a Russian plane from point. A to point B from Osceola to

The plane was half full of Russian soldiers. They all had their rifles with them which was very drunk and rifles. Don't go together very well with airplanes. And what they saying all night. Now, these chapters are demanding that they sing. Somebody suggested, maybe they wanted the same Psalm 48, not that I would imagine date, this Babylonian new songs. What's on 48 say? Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. While there is no more city of here. We destroyed them. His Holy Mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the Earth. You walked around the World. Trade Center a few days after it. Fell, they fell. Would you say this is the joy of all the Earth? This is beautiful. It's not beautiful anymore. Mount Zion in the far, north. The city of the great king.

We can be so great about him.

We came in. We received very little resistance, you ran in flat, but we talked, you, we have your team, we killed all of his things. We put his eyes out. He's our captor and so are you?

Song goes on. We have thought of your steadfast love of God in the midst of your temple, they remember being the temple. Perhaps, they were Temple singers. They had their Liars that were singers. I never remember being in the temple and thinking about the Lord as they worshipped him and now the temple is gone. The house of God. Lays flat in rubble.

And one more thing about the song, Walk about Zion go around her number, her, Towers consider. Well her ramparts weather on the more Towers, there are no more Rampart. Their goal. Psalm itself would seem like a mocking to the soul.

And it wouldn't surprise us therefore that there comes our curse. But I call it was surprising curse. If you hadn't read the whole song, you would think a curse would come, but to whom, would it be directed at Or maybe their tormentors are right there in front of them, mocking them demanding, a song of Zion, so they can make fun of God.

I will sit. Proud to eat termites. You should have helped them. Neighbors relatives, Nebuchadnezzar. The king himself is Army's the nation of Babylon. No, the Samus pronounce is a curse upon himself.

Is there a conditional curse? He doesn't curse others. He curses himself. Yeah, we need to read the whole song. Not me, not just for you.

He says, if I forget you, oh Jerusalem, let my right hand. Forget, its skill us loses Control of his hands. You can't play anymore.

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. If I do not remember you man, not be able to sing anymore. May, I never be able to sing or play If I forget you desire, if I do not remember you. If I do not set Jerusalem among my highest Joy,

It's destroyed. It's hideous.

But it's my highest joy and the Lord Jesus on the cross was marred more than any other man, but he is our highest Joy. It was at my all old, hymns Bernard Road and told him, he lived a thousand years ago, so it's an old him, right? You may know the hymn O sacred head. Now wounded.

And you have a line in there that though despised and Glory. IJoy to call the mine. Jesus on that cross mod, but none as beautiful as he can be. My highest Joy, but him. May I not forget. Jerusalem.

Siri pronounces curse upon himself. if he does not remember,

So, there's no point. A prayer will touch you on an estranged. Benediction. Perhaps I should have said to strange benedictions and I don't mean the to here. The song has just spoken of their situation their tormentors, he's spoken to himself and now he speaks to God. he says, in verse 7, Remember O Lord against the edomites in the day of Jerusalem? How they said they had bear it bear down to the foundations. What's the strongest ore? He's praying. He's praying to the Lord and he's asking the Lord simply to watch to. Remember. To remember. The Samus doesn't say I'm going to take care of those edomites. He doesn't say, Lord, give me the strength of Samson. I'll destroy the Babylonians and the edomites, all of them. There's not Revenge here but there's a remembering he leaves it in God's hand. God will sort them and all of us out. Remember God's word through Obadiah? Speaking to the edomites for the day of the Lord is upon All Nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you, your deed shall return on your own head. He's praying and he's praying. According to the word of God.

But you might say, wait a minute. What about those last two verses. I said the challenging ones. I'm calling it. A strange benediction. Benediction is a word of blessing. Lester. Are that may the Lord bless you and keep you there, benedictions and their blessings.

What are they? Let me read them again. On Babylon. Doom can be destroyed unless it shall be. He repaid you with what you have done to us. Blessed, is he who takes your little ones dashes immigrants. The rocks. Yes, we would be less than honest if we didn't say these. Challenging versus Ferrari years. Anyone's sensibilities.

They're not meant not to be.

Remember when David has send and taking a census and that's a challenging passage and how all that unfolded. They take a census, the Lord pronounce judgment. Prophet came to Dave and said, here are three choices, the Lord has given you.

Which one are you going to take? What's going to be the medicine? David said, let me think about this.

Second Samuel, 24. David Gibbs, this response? Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his Mercy is great. But let me not fall into the hand of man.

The Bible is one book. Some people really do have the view, the Old Testament, that mean bad God, and your session is that nice week. well, I'm a friend of ours, who she said, I want to read Matthew because I Think Jesus was a and she mention one political party. Where Jesus is neither had, I don't think he's registered that way, you know. He's a lord.

Right. We can't imagine that but it's not who he is.

No. It's man's hands. David didn't want to fall into?

You know how when you're driving and someone cuts you off. And you bless them. Or something like that, isn't it? Yeah, we think about people who the road rage.

Brothers and sisters. Oh my gosh. Are we sweetie sweetie song that happens to us? I don't think so. Unless I'm speaking to people were holy Sanctified because I'm not yet.

Let me fall into the hands of man. Derek Kidd know whose I am.

Commentator, I really liked. There's a paragraph. I'm going to read it to you was a long sentence. So, this song takes its place in scripture as an impassioned protest beyond all, ignoring and toning down. Not only just a particular act or cruelty, but it has all comfortable views of human wickedness, either with regard to the Judgment deserves for the Legacy. It leaves.

And it's true that show a profit for this song. Lord says vengeance is mine. I will repay. Isaiah 13. Isaiah pronounces judgement on Babylon and he says this Their infants will be dashed in pieces Before Their Eyes, their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. My God never says, and isn't that a wonderful thing? No, he's awesome. He says, this is why I'm sending my son because there's no other remedy for these people.

Then him.

Remember Obadiah as you have done so we'll be done to you. So this Amish address is Babylon at what they have done. He can't repay, he's any asking to be the one that the Lord would honor his word. And he would repay.

So, how do we understand it? Well. Have some thoughts. We do live in a fallen world. That one day. It is indeed going to fully redeem. There will be a new Heaven and they'll be no sorrow or pain or dad Stones tearing down. The walls. Will be no hatred but that's the day. We wait for it. Hasn't come yet. Look at the world today. Look at home. So I got families.

Looked at so many things.

We failed to. And we can't really know the depth of the fall. When our first parents in and in Adamson, we sent it all How deep is that hole? And that pit of the Fall. We can know how deep that is and how holy and righteous our God is we are to fall into know it ourselves And we're two finite to measure. It's damp.

I'd use a hands of wicked men to nail his son to the cross. It was God's plan. But we can and we'll all too willing to murder the son of God. And God raises up King, Cyrus of Persia. To punish Babylon, Aziz, use Babylon to punish these people. Now others will be raised up any goes on and on and on think of the Middle East of Ukraine of Ethiopia all around the world. Versus show us the Deep sinfulness of the human heart.

And have to show us Jesus. Who is the one who dealt with the hat? The scripture says, Jesus bore the sin of the world.

Jesus bore on that cross. Little ones dashed against stones. he bore on that cross, those of us who are married speaking to our wives and way that we shouldn't all of us. Send of the world. Sinclair Ferguson said, the Jesus went into the darkest deepest. Thanks. Here are his people in Exile. The Exile that Jesus went into was a deeper exiled, it was a bottom of that pit of the Fallen this of man and his sin.

I actually brought the judeans finally out of Exile, Exile into Exodus. So Jesus Christ will bring us out of the Grave. That will be a great Exodus with the Lord returns with a shout and the dead in Christ shall rise first and we are still alive and remain shall be caught up with him in the air forevermore. That's a great actualist, we're looking for and he is gone before us, and you will lead us. In that. We have that cord to look forward to.

I'll be 75 in November top of your medicine.

It's just wonderful getting older. It's hard to

but we're closer to home. We're closer to home. And we taste it. When you're 70 for you taste, it better than when your 34 that's just the way it is. And it's a wonderful thing to keep walking with Jesus. So the strange benediction at the end of the service, they'll be a benediction.

And it will be this benediction. We will read those words. You're a buzzard will be you even the dash for a little ones, against a stone. That won't be your benediction. You have a different benediction, but if you think the benediction in this song is strange that benediction of blessing from God, that we received is stranger still, it's more unexplainable. It's explicable, but the mighty. Holy God would pronounce his love and his grace and your mercy upon, which is that we are for he is so wonderfully and gloriously gracious to give us that word that we had no right to but they fully and completely earned for us. The one who is full of grace and truth. Let's pray.