Part 4 | Singing the Song of Communal Lament

As we can read in the first chapter of Daniel, God allowed Babylon to capture Judah; many were taken into exiled captivity. The Babylonians mockingly asked the Israelites to sing some of the songs of Zion. The author of this song laments the pain of this taunting request by writing, "How can we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?" This Psalm Song is a communal lament of exiled Israel as it realizes the pain of God's punishment and searches for purpose and hope for the future. This Sunday we too will ask, "How can we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?"