From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.
“…we sat down, yea, we wept, … We hanged our harps upon the willows … they that carried us away captive required of us a song; … Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” (Ps. 1-4)
God told Ezekiel: “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.” It was because of this rebellion that “the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.” (Ez. 12:2; 11:23) This mountain on the east side of the city is none other than the Mount of Olives. The Glory of the LORD left the Temple, the Temple Mount, the city of Jerusalem, and ascended from the Mt. of Olives in the days of Ezekiel and in the days after their rebellion against Him, and His death, burial, and resurrection. The Glory of God came, they rebelled, and He left! The Glory of the LORD will not remain in the midst of mutiny.
Israel found the absence of God, their absence from the City of God, and their casting into the captivity of gross abominations in Babel a fate far more than they could bear. Their hearts and spirits were dashed upon hard rocks of burning consciences. Yet, they found no remedy to sooth their disparities. God had judged, and God had cast them from the place where once His Glory filled a Holy Temple and He gathered with His people. God hid His face!
As King Saul demanded of David to sing sweet melodies to comfort and give him peace of mind, so did the Babylonians demand of the abandoned Israelites. But, in such great sorrows they could find no delightful tunes, no tender words, and no calming spirit; therefore, they hung their harps upon the willows and wept for the joy they once cherished in the company of the Glory of God.
O how many a church has suffered such abandonment by the Glory of God, and has lost the joys of sweet melodies filling the pews in a house where God once assembled with His people! When we inquire of the LORD, His reply is a resounding: “They have turned their faces from Me; I have turned My face from them and have left!” O that we would seek the face of our God and plead for His blessed Glory that we may hear the sweet melodies yet again!
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