We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
The verse depicts Judah in Babylonian captivity after the division of the kingdom and the reigns of its good and bad kings. By the waters of the Euphrates her children wept with their harps hung upon the willows, turning longing eyes toward Jerusalem lying desolate. It recalls the Hebrews mourning for the holy temple that had been laid waste. In that affliction many renewed their faithfulness to God's covenant, and through them the light of truth and the knowledge of God spread among the nations.
The harps left tuneless and silent on the willows picture believers who lost their joy and the music of their faith after the disappointment of 1844. When error is cleared away and the jewels of truth are revealed and recovered, they take their harps from the willows again and sing with renewed faith. In doing so they see harmony in the truth and know that God has not forsaken them. Their silent harps are taken down and made to sound sweetly again.
The same image of harps hung up and silent in sorrow applies to those who could sing Zion's songs but are hindered by poverty in missionary fields and by lack of concern for missionary work. When people work in love to save the lost, those harps can be taken down and made to give sweet music again.
The verse depicts Judah in Babylonian captivity after the division of the kingdom and the reigns of its good and bad kings. By the waters of the Euphrates her children wept with their harps hung upon the willows, turning longing eyes toward Jerusalem lying desolate. It recalls the Hebrews mourning for the holy temple that had been laid waste. In that affliction many renewed their faithfulness to God's covenant, and through them the light of truth and the knowledge of God spread among the nations.
The harps left tuneless and silent on the willows picture believers who lost their joy and the music of their faith after the disappointment of 1844. When error is cleared away and the jewels of truth are revealed and recovered, they take their harps from the willows again and sing with renewed faith. In doing so they see harmony in the truth and know that God has not forsaken them. Their silent harps are taken down and made to sound sweetly again.
The same image of harps hung up and silent in sorrow applies to those who could sing Zion's songs but are hindered by poverty in missionary fields and by lack of concern for missionary work. When people work in love to save the lost, those harps can be taken down and made to give sweet music again.