Don't Hang Up Your Harps (Part 3)

Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple, robbed of all its precious things, lay in absolute ruins!  How could this be happening to God’s people?  How could it be happening to them? 

According to this unknown Psalmist they should:

-Curse their enemy! 

-Hate their oppressors!

-Deprive them of your music! 

-Sing for them no song! 

These men are beasts and monsters!  Hate them with an everlasting hatred! The curses of the Psalmist came because of putting hate before love and not realizing that a God of love was at work in disciplining His people

He could not see the hand of God in their defeat. He did not realize that God was preparing them to be stronger in their future.  It was their captivity that allowed some wonderful things to transpire in Babylon:

-In Babylon they would recognize that their God was indeed a Universal God, a God who was with them in Babylon as He was with them in Jerusalem. They would see He had not forsaken them. 

-In Babylon they would develop the Synagogue that became for them a place where the God of Judaism could be worshipped as surely as he could in their most precious Temple. they found God could be worshipped anywhere that He was welcomed.

-In Babylon, as in the Wilderness before that, they became truly the "people of God."             

Jesus loved His enemies.  He told us to love our enemies as well as to bless those who cursed us.  Then He said we ought to pray for them. The world teaches us to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made and whose skin is a different color. It's not easy to love your enemies, but with the help of God you can even love your those that despitefully use you.  This help from God only comes through prayer.  The Word says, “You have not because you ask not.”

Ask yourself these questions:

-Can I love those Edomites who laughed at me when I was down? 

-Can I love those family members who should have supported me in my time of sadness but did not?  

-Can I love those people who laughed at me and made sport of my misery? 

No, I cannot in my own strength; but I can keep praying until God turns my hate into love for our God is love. 

Can I love those Babylonians who destroyed the City of God, the City of David, the Holy City, and the Temple as well?  No, not without God and not without accepting the will of God.  If I put hate before love, I have already hung up my harp and my song has stopped in my soul.

I have had some situations that happened in the last few years of my ministry that caused some bitterness and hatred in my heart that shook my very foundation. The devil still attacks me with those thoughts from time to time. I wanted to hand up my harp and quit singing many times because of those who had hurt. Then I realize if I pray for those who attacked me, those feelings started going away. Don't be like the unknown Psalmist and pray against your situation, but hang in their and do the best you can. Remember the past doesn't control your future, but God does.