Doest Thy Tongue Cleaveth?/Banana Split Decision

Doest Thy Tongue Cleaveth?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

                                                                                                        …Psalm 137:6-7

            One of our missionaries, Margery Browning works in the back woods of Brazil.  Margery has a faithful companion that walks in side her home at times; that is her horse.  It’s a simple roomy place, with open windows where you might find her horse reaching in to grab food off the counter.  This woman has served the Lord most of her life in this area and feels at home in the rustic surroundings.  

            Margery knows our family’s love for Brazil, and our conversation is mingled with joy and precious memories.  After years of hard work, she has developed health problems. One being, her glands do not supply enough saliva in her mouth.  The tongue can stick to the top of her mouth causing it difficult to talk or swallow at times, so must carry a bottle of water with her always. 

            I felt so bad for her but she said, “No I am fine! God has been good to me.”  What a blessing she is to us.  When I read the verse for today, I thought of her, even though it is not quite the same situation as the Israelites were in.  Margery is a faithful servant, and certainly not in captivity unless her horse won’t let her out the door.  But this Psalmist asked that his tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I forgot the songs of the God of Abraham.  If I forget thee Lord, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; in other words let me never sing again, or never let me sing a song if it not be of you and your greatness.  The Babylonians mocked them saying:

            “Where is your God now? You know the one who allowed you to be captured.  Sing!  Come on sing of your great God,” as the Babylonians drenched every word with sarcasm.  It was hard to sing because it brought memories back to them of Jerusalem and the freedom that they knew and their present state of doom. Whispers in their hearts and homes, kept it alive even when they questioned how they would sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.

            Their mouths began to hum and then sing, as they brought back music and the joy of their homeland once again.  In their hearts the music was alive, but the outward silence of 70 years, broke when the Lord brought them out of bondage.

            May our tongue cleave to the roof of our mouths if we dare sing of any other than of God the Father and His Son Jesus.