When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. – 1 Samuel 27:4

Today's Scripture Reading (April 28, 2022):  1 Samuel 27

There is a haunting quality to Psalm 137. It is not a psalm written by David. In fact, it was one of the last psalms to be written, one written hundreds of years after David's reign had ended. Psalm 137 was written by an unknown exile living in Babylon during the days that followed the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple. It is a psalm that is filled with loneliness and pain. The Psalmist pours those emotions into his words;

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
    we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
    they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion" (Psalm 137:1-3)!

The image of the psalm is compelling. Here, hurting people have begun to live their lives in a foreign place, far from the rivers and hills of their youth. Here, they have hung up their instruments because they no longer had a song to sing. The Psalmist continues his thought, "How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land" (Psalm 137:4)? It is a good question.

David finds himself in a bad place. In Gath, he has finally accomplished one of his aims. Saul is no longer pursuing him. But the cost that he has had to pay to achieve this goal is high. He is now living in a foreign land, and he is subject to the King of the Philistines, the very people against whom he had once fought. What is significant about this time in David's life is that we have no psalms that were written from this era, not even a lament like we find in Psalm 137. While David was in Gath, the song seems to have abandoned him. F. B. Meyer makes this observation about this era of David's life.

"The sweet singer was mute. He probably acquired a few new strains of music, or even mastered some fresh instruments, while sojourning at Gath, a memory of which is perpetuated in the term Gittith, a term which frequently occurs in the inscriptions of the psalms composed afterward. But who would barter a song for a melody, a psalm for a guitar? It was a poor exchange." (Meyer)

The God-given muse that seemed to live inside the poet King had disappeared. For a time, all he could do was sing the songs that others had written; David's songs had abandoned him. And he did not know if those songs would ever return.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 28

Personal Note: Happy fourth birthday to my Grandson, James. You are growing up so quickly, and I am lucky to be able to watch you grow into the person you will become.