I SING BECAUSE I始M HAPPY SCRIPTURE: PSALM 137:1-6 CONCEPT: WE SING UNTO THE LORD SONGS OF PRAISE TO LIFT HIM UP AND TO ENCOURAGE OUR HEARTS IN OUR SCRIPTURE TODAY, WE ENCOUNTER THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN EXILE. OVER DECADES, THE LORD HAD BEEN WARNING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO WALK UPRIGHT AND TO OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS. HE PROMISED THEM THAT NOT ONLY WOULD HE GIVE THEM THE PROMISED LAND, A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY OR A VERY FERTILE AND FRUITFUL PLACE. BUT HE PROMISED TO GIVE THEM A PLACE WHERE THEY WOULD FIND HOMES THAT THEY DID NOT BUILD AND HARVESTS THAT THEY DID NOT PLANT. CATTLE THEY DID NOT BUY. WELLS THAT THEY DID NOT DIG AND LAND THAT THEY DID NOT PURCHASE. AND SO HE DID. HE GAVE THEM GREAT ABUNDANCE AND PROMISED THEM THAT IF THEY LIVED ACCORDING TO HIS COMMANDS, AND AVOIDED TAKING ON THE WAYS OF THE FOREIGNERS IN THEIR MIDST. HE PROMISED THEM THAT THEY WOULD FOREVER BE HIS SPECIAL PEOPLE AND THAT THEY WOULD PROSPER AND AVOID ALL OF THE DISEASES THOSE AROUND THEM HAD.
BUT THEY REFUSED TO OBEY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY NOT ONLY MARRIED THOSE GOD TOLD THEM NOT TO MARRY, BUT THEY ALSO WORSHIPPED OTHER GODS, EVEN THOUGH HE COMMANDED THEM NOT TO WORSHIP OTHER GODS NOR BOW DOWN TO THEM. HE HAD ALREADY TOLD THEM, WHEN HE GAVE THEM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THAT THE LORD THEIR GOD WAS A JEALOUS GOD. BUT THEY INSTEAD CHOSE TO BE LIKE THE FOREIGNERS WHOSE LAND THEY HAD CONQUERED AND TO DISOBEY GOD始S COMMANDMENT.
HE SENT PROPHETS AND JUDGES TO WARN THEM TO TURN AND RETURN. TO COME BACK TO HIM WITH HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS AND HE WOULD FORGIVE THEM OF ALL OF THEIR SINS. HE EVEN WARNED THEM THROUGH THE PROPHETS THAT IF THEY REFUSED TO OBEY HIM AND RETURN TO HIM THAT HE WOULD SEND A MIGHTY ARMY FROM THE NORTH THAT WOULD RAVAGE THEM AND DESTROY THEM. HE TOLD THEM THAT ALL THAT THEY DIDN始T KILL WOULD BE TAKEN INTO EXILE OR MADE TO LEAVE THEIR HOMELAND AND TAKEN TO BE SLAVES IN A FOREIGN LAND.
UNFORTUNATELY, THEY NEVER LISTENED AND SO, AS GOD PROMISED, KING NEBUCANEZER FROM BABYLON, CAME WITH A MIGHTY ARMY AND UTTERLY DESTROYED ISRAEL. KILLING ITS KING AND NOBLES. DESTROYING THEIR TEMPLE AND BURNING DOWN IT始S WALLS AND HOMES. THEY KILLED THOUSANDS OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN. THEY BURNED THEIR CROPS AND POISONED THEIR WELLS. AND THEN THOSE WHO WERE LEFT WERE FORCED INTO EXILE AND TO BECOME SLAVES IN A FOREIGN LAND CALLED BABYLON.
IT始S HERE WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE SCRIPTURE TEXT. THEY ARE SLAVES, WHO始S SPIRITS HAVE BEEN BROKEN AND THEIR HOPES DASHED. AND KNOW EXILED IN BABYLON THEY SITTING BY THE RIVER, King James Version (KJV) 137 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?
THE NEW LIFE VERSION SAYS IT LIKE THIS:37 We sat down and cried by the rivers of Babylon when we remembered Zion. 2 There upon the trees we put our harps. 3 For those who held us there made us sing. And those who made it hard for us asked for joy. They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”4 How can we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
THE DISOBEDIENT AND EXILED CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SAT BY THE RIVER AND CRIED AS THEY REMEMBERED JERUSALEM OR ZION. REMEMBERED WHAT THEY HAD AND HOW MUCH THEY LOST. AS THEY RECALLED ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ENJOYED THAT THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE OR ENJOY AGAIN. THEY CRIED, BECAUSE THEY REALIZED THAT THEY HAD DONE IT TO THEMSELVES AND THAT THEY HAD BEEN WARNED BUT REFUSED TO LISTEN. WITH A DOWNCAST SPIRIT AND BROKEN HEARTS. THEY SAT BY THE RIVER AND CRIED. THEY DID NOT FEEL LIKE SINGING OR REJOICING, FOR WHAT REASON. THEY FELT THEY HAD NOTHING TO SING ABOUT. SO THEY HUNG UP AND PUT AWAY THEIR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, THEIR HARPS. BUT THEIR CAPTIVES TAUNTED THEM AND TO BRING INSULT TO INJURY THEY ASKED THEM TO SING UNTO THEM ONE OF THE
SONGS OF ZION. AND THEIR REPLY WAS, HOW CAN WE SING THE SONG OF THE LORD, IN A STRANGE? WE AS A PEOPLE ALL HAVE TIMES IN OUR LIVES WE SADNESS AND GRIEF OVERCOME OUR PEACE AND JOY. THINGS HAPPEN IN OUR LIVES THAT SAP OUR STRENGTH AND QUENCH OUR SPIRIT. HARD TIMES, GREAT DISAPPOINTMENTS, TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS AND UNEXPECTED SICKNESS. AND YES DEATH OF LOVED ONES. ALL OF THESE THINGS COME AND MAKE US SAD. THEY FILL OUR HEARTS WITH GRIEF AND SEEK TO STEAL OUR JOY. THEY TAKE US TO A STRANGE PLACE. SOMETIMES WE DO THINGS THAT CAUSE US TO HAVE TO LAY DOWN IN A HARD BED OR DRINK BITTER WATER. BUT THERE ARE MANY TIMES IN OUR LIVES, WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES IN A STRANGE PLACE. A PLACE OF PAIN AND SORROW. A STRANGE PLACE WHERE TEARS FLOW AND HEARTBREAK LIVES. WHEN WE GET TO THAT STRANGE PLACE, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR HARPS? WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR SONG? YOUR SONG OF PRAISE AND YOUR
SONGS OF WORSHIP. DO YOU HANG YOUR HARPS UP UPON THE TREES. DO YOU PUT AWAY YOUR SONG AND ALLOW YOUR PAIN TO KILL YOUR PRAISE. THAT’S NOT WHAT MISS STACY WOULD DO. YOU KNOW THAT. SOMETIMES OUR PAIN AND GRIEF CAN CAUSE US TO BECOME NEGATIVE AND BITTER. IF WE’RE NOT CAREFUL OUR SORROW CAN TURN US INTO STRANGE FOLK, LIVING IN A STRANGE LAND. BUT NOT MISS STACY. SHE WAS A WOMEN WHO NEVER PUT HER SONG AWAY. SHE LOVED LIFE. SHE LOVED HER FAMILY. EVEN THOUGH HER HUSBAND WASN’T AN ANGEL, SHE LOVED THAT MAN WITH ALL OF HER HEART. THAT’S WHO MISS STACY WAS. SHE NEVER PUT AWAY HER SONG. TINY MAMA, TINT NEVER BECAME NEGATIVE OR COMPLAINED. NOT MISS STACY. WHEN HER MOTHER GOT SICK, SHE DIDN’T PUT AWAY HER HARP AND PUT DOWN HER SONG. NO SHE KEPT SINGING AS SHE TOOK CARE OF HER MOTHER. SHE WORKED HARD. 6 DAYS AWEEK, TO KEEP FOOD ON THE TABLE AND AT LEAST A $1 IN HER PURSE. AND NO MATTER HOW HARD THINGS GOT OR WHAT DRAMA SHE HAD TO FACE IN HER FAMILY. SHE NEVER
HUNG HER FAMILIES LAUNDRY OUT FOR OTHERS TO SEE. SHE KEPT FAMILY STUFF WITHIN THE FAMILY. BECAUSE WITH TINY MAMA, WITH MISS STACY, HER FAMILY WAS ONE OF HER GREATEST POSSESSIONS AND JOY. AND SO SHE KEPT SINGING. SHE KEPT HER HARP AND PLAYED SWEET MUSIC, IN THE MIDST OF HER STRUGGLES, SHE SANG HER SONG IN THE MIDST OF HER TRIALS. NO SHE DIDN’T PUT AWAY HER HARP AND REFUSE TO SING. SHE NEVER THAT OVER HER HEAD, THERE WAS MUSIC IN THE AIR, SHE KNEW THERE WAS A GOD SOMEWHERE. SO SHE SANG. SHE HAD A BLESSED ASSURANCE, SHE’D SING JESUS IS MINE AND O’ WHAT A FORETASTE OF GLORY DIVINE. SHE KNEW SHE WAS AN HEIR OF SALVATION, PURCHASED OF GOD, BORN OF HIS SPIRIT AND WASHED IN HIS BLOOD. SHE HAD A STORY AND A SONG.
SHE
NEVER HUNG UP HER HARP AND PUT AWAY HER SONG. NOT TINY MAMA, NOT MISS STACY. JESUS WAS ALL THE WORLD TO HER. HER LIFE, HER JOY, HER ALL. HE WAS HER STRENGTH FROM DAY TO DAY. SHE KNEW WITHOUT HIM SHE WOULD FALL. WHEN SHE WAS SAD, TO HIM SHE’D GO. MISS STACY KNEW
THAT NO OTHER ONE COULD CHEER HER SO. WHEN SHE WAS SAD, HE MADE HER GLAD. JESUS WAS TINT’S FRIEND. O YES HE WAS. SO BY FAITH, SHE SANG BECAUSE SHE WAS HAPPY. SHE SANG BECAUSE SHE WAS FREE. SHE KNEW THAT HIS EYE, GOD’S EYE WAS ON THE SPARROW AND THAT HE WOULD ALWAYS WATCH OVER HER. SO SHE SANG WHEN THINGS GOT STRANGE. SHE SANG WHEN LIFE GOT HARD. SHE SANG WHEN LIFE DEALT HER A PAINFUL HAND. SHE KEPT SINGING, HALLELUJAH, HER SONG. I UNDERSTAND SHE WOULD OFTEN SANG A SONG IN THE KITCHEN, WHILE SHE WAS COOKING OR WHILE SHE WAS PITTERING AROUND THE HOUSE. SOME WONDERED IF SHE KNEW ALL OF THE WORDS, BUT THAT DIDN’T MATTER TO MISS STACY. SHE SANG HER SONG ANYWAY. IT WAS A SONG SUNG BY Darrell McFadden I thought that number one would surely be me I thought I could be what I wanted to be I thought that I could build on lives Sinking in sand But I realize I can't even walk Without You holding my hand
I thought that I could do a lot on my own I thought I, I thought I could make it all alone I thought, I thought of myself As a mighty, mighty big man But I realize I can't even walk Without You holding my hand Lord I can't even walk Without You holding my hand Because the mountains are so high And the valleys are so wide I'm down on my knees I had to say, Lord I can't even walk Without You holding my hand (Repeat) Because the mountains are so high And the valleys are so wide I'm down on my knees I had to say, Lord I can't even walk Without You holding my hand Lord I can't even walk Without You holding my hand
FAMILY, YOU WERE BLESSED WITH A GREAT TREASURE. A WONDERFUL BLESSING FROM THE LORD. SHE TAUGHT BY HER EXAMPLE AND STEADFAST LIFE. IF SHE WAS HERE TODAY, I BELIEVE SHE MIGHT SAY, KEEP SANGING. DON’T HANG UP YOUR HARPS. KEEP LIFTING THE LORD, KEEP PRAISING AND PRAYING. KEEP SERVING HIM AND SINGING. AS WE CLOSE, IN OUR TEXT. AS THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GRIEVED OVER BEING IN EXILE, THEY SAID IN V5-6: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
MISS STACY LOVED HER SELF SOME ANNAPOLIS. IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE HER HAPPY JUST TALK ABOUT ANNAPOLIS. AND MY GOD, SHE LOVED HER CHURCH. NO MATTER HOW ROUGH THINGS MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN FOR HER. IF SHE COULD JUST MAKE IT BACK TO MOUNT OLIVE, WHERE NOT ONLY COULD SHE SING HER SONG, BUT HEAR THE SONGS OF ZION BEING SANG, IT WOULD FILL HER HEART WITH JOY. AND I’M GLAD TO SAY, THAT SHE ALSO LOVED HER PASTOR. O’ YES SHE DID. HER SMILE WAS ALWAYS A RAY OF SUNSHINE AND SOURCE OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ME. AND IF NOBODY ELSE SHOWED ON THEIR FACE THAT THEY ENJOYED THE MORNING SERVICE. SHE DID!
WHEN MISS STACY WAS CLOSE TO CROSSING OVER, I HAD THE BLESSED OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HER BEFORE SHE FLEW AWAY. SHE HAD BEEN GOING IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS. AND FOR THE MOST PART HAD STOPPED TALKING OR EATING. SHE WAS VERY WEAK AND WITHOUT A DOUBT SO TIRED. AND WHEN I CAME INTO THE ROOM, I CAME SINGING. THAT’S WHAT I DO. AS I BEGAN TO SING, SHE STARTED TO SMILE. IT WAS AS IF, THE SONGS AWAKENED HER SPIRIT AND SHE OPENED HER EYES BRIEFLY TO
LOOK AT ME. SHE WAS TOO WEAK TO SING OUT LOUD, BUT SHE MADE THIS NOISE AS IF TO SAY, REV. I’M STILL SINGING MY SONG. THEY SHE MOVED HER LIPS AS BEST SHE COULD TO MOUTH THE WORDS THAT SHE DIDN’T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO SANG OUT LOUD. SHE NEVER STOPPED SINGING HER SONG.
THE SONG THAT SEEMED TO GIVE HER THE MOST JOY WAS, O’ I WANT TO SEE HIM, LOOK UPON HIS FACE. THERE TO SING FOREVER, OF HIS SAVING GRACE. AND ON THE STREETS OF GLORY, LET ME LIFT MY VOICE. CARES ALL PASS, HOME AT LAST EVER TO REJOICE.
GONE TINY MAMA, GONE TINT, GONE MISS STACY, KEEP ON SINGING UNTIL WE SEE YOU AGAIN. TAKE YOUR REST MISS STACY. TAKE YOUR REST, CAUSE WE’LL SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE MORNING.