Psalm 137

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion … How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (v1,4).  The Jews who had been exiled to Babylon missed their homes, especially the freedom to worship the Lord in the Temple.  They were captives in Babylon, surrounded by idol-worshipping pagans.  But eventually they did remember the songs of Jerusalem, and those songs kept hope alive in their hearts. 

Hebrews says that all who belong to God in Christ are exiles.  We are ambassadors of a better kingdom, and the songs we sing remind us of our true home (Hebrews 11:13-16).