Do you know.........
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The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalms 19 and 137 in the Hebrew Bible, a hymn expressing the
lamentations of the Jewish people in exile following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion... They carried us
away in captivity requiring of us a song... Now how shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?
lamentations of the Jewish people in exile following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion... They carried us
away in captivity requiring of us a song... Now how shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?
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I read through Psalms about three times earlier this year... twice with Bob 
We have listened to the song together also, and discussed the lyrics as they related to the Psalm... the indignity of being taken captive, forced into slavery and then being commanded to mirth and singing by your captives. And the "yikes" of the final line...
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 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.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 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.
7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
We have listened to the song together also, and discussed the lyrics as they related to the Psalm... the indignity of being taken captive, forced into slavery and then being commanded to mirth and singing by your captives. And the "yikes" of the final line...By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 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.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 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.
7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The verse 8 explains it, to be about recompense. This was most likely being done to their children at the time by the captors and they cried to God to vengeance aka the Messiah. Yes it still sounds horrible but they knew only the law then and not forgiveness. I think happy here means that the person who restores Jerusalem and frees the people will be the anointed one, thus "happy".
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Good morning, SoulWeaver, so lovely to see you back posting Yes, the "yikes" was a reaction on first reading... Bob and I talked about it some more last night; truly it is a brutal image, and we do not know all the whys of the total destruction of some people like the Canaanites, for aside from idolatry, and vengeance, it is possible they had an incurable virus that could have seriously impacted the population, even to the point of annihilation. One thing is sure: we are blessed not to have suffered in war times as others have.
Yes, the "yikes" was a reaction on first reading... Bob and I talked about it some more last night; truly it is a brutal image, and we do not know all the whys of the total destruction of some people like the Canaanites, for aside from idolatry, and vengeance, it is possible they had an incurable virus that could have seriously impacted the population, even to the point of annihilation. One thing is sure: we are blessed not to have suffered in war times as others have.-
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(Disclaimer, traumatic content in post)
Yes. I've been only through bombing not in combat, yet I've never percieved the airplanes the same way again, it's what triggered my chronic anxiety. I have heard a military person once say, that when he found an empty house where muslim terrorists previously impaled and roasted a baby in a civilian Christian home, something in him cracked and he killed the terrorists without mercy, for him there was no capturing them alive only annihilate, and he admitted to it years later. Being through atrocities like this changes people in undescribable ways, and we can't even understand... Who knows how did the captors treat them... Not so long ago, i think Japanese soldiers did this in China, they would grasp the feet and dashed babies heads upon tree trunks. So it is not far fetched to think this was happening to their children...
Yes. I've been only through bombing not in combat, yet I've never percieved the airplanes the same way again, it's what triggered my chronic anxiety. I have heard a military person once say, that when he found an empty house where muslim terrorists previously impaled and roasted a baby in a civilian Christian home, something in him cracked and he killed the terrorists without mercy, for him there was no capturing them alive only annihilate, and he admitted to it years later. Being through atrocities like this changes people in undescribable ways, and we can't even understand... Who knows how did the captors treat them... Not so long ago, i think Japanese soldiers did this in China, they would grasp the feet and dashed babies heads upon tree trunks. So it is not far fetched to think this was happening to their children...