How shall we sing?

See them, who their harps suspending
On the weeping willow tree,
Lacking zeal Thy pardon spurning,
They could not rejoice in Thee.

But we are in Thee confiding,
Freed from Babylon and sin;
Even tho' our life they threaten,
Thou, O Lord, wilt help us win!
--Zion's Harp #214

"How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." (Psalm 137:4-5)

What a sad scene it must have been "by the rivers of Babylon"!  Looking back with hopes dashed, the realization of warnings spurned and pardon missed because of disobedience.  No song would come, no mirth from their grieving and regret-filled hearts.  Yet, at end, a resolve to never forget Jerusalem; the city of David, the embodiment of the once and future time when obedience would flourish again,  accompanied with promise fulfilled of the Lord's blessing.

Thou, O Lord, wilt help us win!