BELOVED OF GOD

Psalm 126:1-6 in its entirety: "It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
when God returned Zion's exiles...We laughed,
we sang. We couldn't believe our good fortune...We
were the talk of the nations--God was wonderful to us...We are one happy people...And now, God, do it again.
Bring rains to our drought-stricken lives..so those who planted
their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those
who went off with heavy hearts...will come home laughing with
armloads of blessing."

This psalm is a Pilgrim song. There is no author indicated. The people of God
who lived all over Judah, once a year traveled to Jerusalem to worship God at
the Temple. As the walk took several days, they found great joy in singing
together songs to the Lord God, Pilgrim Songs. Psalm 126 is just one of many.

Imagine singing our camp songs! 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall just doesn't seem to do it for me! No, those devout Jews sang to the Lord their beloved Pilgrim Songs, just like Psalm 126.

This psalm would have been written around any of the times God's people were re-building their temple, God's home. King Cyrus of Persia was one king who granted their return, giving them funds to build with and their own gold and silver that had been confiscated. Imagine their joy at returning. Imagine the joy seeing loved ones returned! Not unlike how we feel when our fighting men and women return after the scourge of war.

Oh, Lord Jesus! Grant that the world can see the love and joy of Christians singing together and praying for one another! What a thrill it would be to be walking together on our separate roads, ready to meet one another at a crossroad. And from that crossroad we can walk arm and arm to meet our Lord God. Beloved of God, let's sing!

I'm an alto. How about you?

Fondly, jo