Psalm 137; Acts 15:22-41

Psalm 137
I found this psalm difficult. Maybe you have a comment about it. I'm going to look at it from the perspective of emotions.

Grief: God's people, the Israelites, were weeping because they had been taken into slavery as a result of their sins against God. They wept when they remembered the good old days back in Jerusalem. This psalm does not record that they were grieving over their sin, but rather they grieved because they were being punished for their sin. The lesson here for us is obvious--we should be sensitive to offending God with our sin, and then we won't have to face the consequences.

Singing: I guess singing is not exactly an emotion but rather a response to an emotion. These people could not sing, and so they hung up their harps. Actually, we should be able to sing in difficult places.
At least we should try to have a song of praise in our hearts. After all, Paul and Silas were able to pray and sing when they were wrongly imprisoned. (Acts 16:25)

Anger: It's right to feel anger toward evil and injustice. However, it's not our job to tell God how to do His job! He had already promised to judge Babylon, and He always keeps His promises. We can leave the judgment up to God.

Acts 15:22-41
The leaders of the church at Jerusalem determined to send a letter to the church at Antioch informing them of the decision they had made regarding the dispute. (see v. 1-21) They sent the letter with Paul and Barnabas and two others, Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. They read the letter to the believers at Antioch, and they were glad and encouraged.

Judas and Silas returned to Jerusalem, and Paul and Barnabas stayed for a while and ministered in Antioch. After a time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit each city where we preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing." Barnabas agreed and wanted to take John Mark with them. Paul strongly disagreed because John Mark had deserted them on a previous trip. (see Acts 13:13). Their disagreement was so sharp that they went their separate ways. Barnabas and John Mark when to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and they went to Syria and Cilicia. I'm sure this was a painful experience for Paul and Barnabas at this time, but we, looking back, can see how God can even use conflicts. Their evangelistic team was doubled, and they were able to visit twice as many places. In the end the rift between them was healed, and Mark became important to Paul's ministry.