We see this difference in practice when we compare David’s imprecatory psalms with his personal actions. You’re going to have to roll up your sleeves and do some hard thinking! Second, sometimes the deeds of a nation or a person are so cruel and corrupt that God brings temporal judgment. foundations ~ what people build houses on. God’s plan is to bless all families on the earth through Abraham’s seed, which refers broadly to the nation Israel and specifically to the Messiah, who is a direct descendant of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). Our prayers, behavior, and words toward those opposed to Christ should be aimed at offering them the free grace of God through the cross. To such a people, God would send the Savior of the world. … „By the rivers of Babylon …“ – … Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalm 137 is one of several psalms called imprecatory psalms. 25:21). It had inflicted this awful torture on others; it would reap the same punishment itself. They probably talked about musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you Michael, the prince of Jerusalem, answers in Psalm 137:7, Remember, O Lord, etc. He does this in two ways. If someone hits you, you must not hit them help to do it. Psalm 137- 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. When the psalmist prays for Babylon to have its infants dashed against the rocks, he is asking that the law of retribution be carried out through God’s prescribed means (a warring nation) to punish Babylon with the same evil Babylon had inflicted on Israel. In the New Testament, the authority to punish and avenge evil is given to the state (Rom. If God has promised something in His Word, He will fulfill it. What does justification mean? Or did somebody else write it, and put it in David’s book of psalms? 18:23, 32). 6. killed their parents. 5:17). There is a desire for God’s glory to be displayed. 32:35; Prov. that the *Jews were *prisoners in Babylon "the *exile". By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. This weapon (a way to fight) in war. Every chapter is devoted to praise and thanksgiving from the author to Yahweh. Those that rejoice in God, for his sake make Jerusalem their joy. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day used it that way. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. He also So they did not want them to grow up. 1:8-9). is a special name for God that only his people use. 13:3-4). 7. Psalm 137:6 If I do not remember you, let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. A word So he cries out for God to act. After the Babylonians had plundered Jerusalem destroyed the city killed many of the people and carried the rest off to the … know this: The word "rock" in Psalm 137:9 is the same word as the and send help to his people. Psalm 137 English Standard Version (ESV) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? Bible / Our Library / Bible Commentaries / The Treasury of David / Psalm / Psalm 137 / Psalm 137:7; Share Tweet. our *harps on the willow trees (special kind of tree). The notes explain some of the words with a *star by them. It contains difficult words. It’s a verse that may cause some to doubt the inspiration of the Bible. Verses 4 – 6: They could not sing to the *LORD in a If someone hits you on the right side of your face, let him hit you on Psalm 137 is an imprecatory psalm. Verses 7 - 9: Edom was a country to the south-east of Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile. Psalm 137:6 Psalm 137:8 EXPOSITION. There are four practical lessons I’d like to note from Psalm 137. There were also 9:2, 3). The soldiers from Babylon killed many *Jewish The psalm begins with an expression of sorrow over Zion. 2. It’s not the kind of psalm that lends itself to easy preaching. They were in Rather, he was asking God to vindicate His people who had been mistreated and to fulfill His plan through them. No matter how difficult our situation, we can obey the Lord. How did they address the faith crisis of exile? Even though sinners seem to prosper now, a day of judgment is coming. Psalm 150 is the 150th and final psalm of the Book of Psalms, generally known in English by its first verse, in the King James Version, “Praise ye the LORD”.Praise God in his sanctuary”. Babylon. children in Babylon. Verses 1 – 3: The *psalmist is probably home again in Psalm 137 is one of several psalms called imprecatory psalms. They made music There were The *psalmist says that the same will happen to the foreign land. 5. Who is the greatest adversary that all of us have? ("*Evil" means 2. They required us to entertain them with our music and singing. killed the children. small rivers. God agreed to love At the outset, I must say that there is no simple, concise solution to the problems raised by such psalms. rule in verse 9 of the psalm. Perhaps we understand the *psalmist when he wrote verse 9. sing the *LORD’s song in a foreign land. Since God has revealed Himself to His creation as righteous and just, it is necessary that He punish sin and reward righteousness. Copyright 1993, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved. We call the time In fact, it was just the opposite. That verse reads, “Happy is the one who seizes your infants / and dashes them against the rocks.”. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? The nation Israel was to be a people under God’s rule. It is a context of worship in exile. 1:15-16). This period in the Bible is called “the day of the Lord.” God’s Word is abundantly clear on this point (e.g., 2 Thess. But it went beyond that, teaching that a person should render assistance to his enemy (see Exod. 19:20-21). prisoner ~ person that the enemy has caught and kept. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, © The Lockman Foundation, Related Topics: Hamartiology (Sin), Apologetics, Character of God, Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. What is the meaning behind Psalm 137? Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of caesium formed by nuclear fission; The number of atoms in a chlorophyll molecule, for which the chemical formula is C 55 H 72 MgN 4 O 5. Definition of Psalm 137. The Book of Psalms is the third section of the Hebrew Bible and a book of the Christian Old Testament. agree with someone). A prisoner is someone in a prison. But He fulfills it in response to the prayers of His people in line with His Word (see Dan. The fall of Nazi Germany or the toppling of the communist regimes are examples of this. vocabulary) on Psalm 137. The thought of Jerusalem in ruins brought these Jews to tears. In these psalms, the author (usually David, although not in Ps. We call them canals. Click to see full answer. We need to consider two aspects of the psalmist’s attitude to understand the imprecatory psalms: His prayer was not, “Give me an opportunity to get even with those scoundrels!” Rather it was, “Lord, You avenge the evil done to your people.” That is a significant difference. What about women in our country paying doctors to chop up their babies so that they don’t have to be inconvenienced by an unwanted child? And pray for the people that are very *unkind to you" (Matthew When people do things that are bad, as in Psalm list at the end explains the other words that have a *star by them. As we have seen, the Old Testament forbade revenge. The *Jews in the *exile met by these rivers. 51:56, 58). the people of Edom. Jerusalem and Zion. The psalmist, then, is a man who identifies with God’s righteous purpose to judge all evil. Because this psalm is a remembrance of Babylon, many commentators believe it was written after the return from exile. Her he calls unhappy, but him happy who pays her as she has served us. Psalm 137:9 relies on eye-for-eye justice. daughters came back to Jerusalem. We have already sung in another Psalm, The words of the wicked have prevailed against us. was right! 8, you will see that Persia has not yet destroyed Babylon. psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms). Instead of justice, what does David want from God? Psalm 137 Explained. But the people that lived in Babylon made them. may be bad. B.C. Now read the words that Jesus said at the top of the psalm. Christians do not need to curse people. In fact, verse 9 is probably the most difficult verse in the book of Psalms. In these psalms, the author (usually David, although not in Ps. The *exile was when the *Jews’ enemies made them live in Babylon. This publication is The New Testament is a more complete revelation than the Old, but it does not contradict it. v1   There we sat down, What the *psalmist said in 516 B.C. It is a cruel punishment, but it was a case of Babylon reaping what it had sown. I don’t have time to develop them thoroughly, but perhaps they will stimulate you to see the value of even such a difficult passage as this: The psalmist is not simply trying to address us, but to shock us into seeing the awfulness of sin. Does God love everyone (see Ps. How can such a verse be reconciled with Jesus’ command to love our enemies? I'm just curious. Just as God’s purpose to punish sin reveals His righteousness and His purpose to bless the earth through His chosen people reveals His love, so His purpose to fulfill His Word reveals His faithfulness. And there were other inner walls! In 586 B.C., the soldiers from Babylon destroyed the What had God promised concerning Babylon? 5:18-19). The psalmist is doing the latter when he prays for judgment on Israel’s enemies. The Search OF the Savior: Why Jesus Came, Part 2 (Gal. Psalm 137. the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. The Psalms: 137: The Mourning of the Exiles in Babylon: 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. I would venture to say that you will not hear many sermons on Psalm 137 in your lifetime. The purpose of this paper is to analyse Psalm 137 to ascertain what Israel’s response was in a time of exile. Words in boxes are from the Bible. The case is left in Jehovah's hands. You must let them hit you again! This was the with a *Jew. be a help! ... 137:5-9 What we love, we love to think of. Rather, there is a deep concern for God’s people. "Foundations" are the hard bit of ground that you build a This book clearly provides hope and confidence in the Lord as the maker of all things, the ultimate ruler of everything including the universe. Since there are a number of imprecatory psalms, and since these passages have caused many doubts and questions in the hearts of sincere believers, I thought that we should grapple with the problems they present before we leave our study of the Psalms. If we read the Scripture in context and then go to other Scriptures and history we find its true meaning. capital city of Judah, Jerusalem. But this was not the intent of that law. When God says that something will happen, you can count on it. stick to the top of my mouth eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Should we emphasize God’s love or His judgment to a person opposed to the gospel. When the psalmist cries out for judgment on Babylon, he is appealing to God to carry out His covenant with Abraham so that ultimately all peoples would be blessed. To allow certain atrocities to go unpunished would violate the moral fiber of the universe and encourage other evil people to perpetrate similar evils. The Jews refused to play their harps in Babylon (v. 2). We need to understand that God’s timing is not our timing. Psalms 137:4. The psalmist was invoking God to fulfill the promise He had given through Jeremiah the prophet. What kind of difficult circumstances would it take to cause you to lay those desires aside? Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob This means that the Gabriel, the prince of Zion, then addresses the destroyer of the Babylonish nation, in Psalm 137:8, Psalm 137:9, Happy shall be he that rewardeth thee, etc. 137) invokes God to bring down judgment or punishment on his enemies. and their children. children and hit them with a rock. God’s people live on! "Knock it down, knock it down to its Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile. (Information from D. J. Wiseman, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1:441-442.) Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. v3   For there the There are many scriptures that can be ripped out of their context to make a case against them. One of the rules in Judah was "an eye for an eye". Psalm 137:1-6 New International Version (NIV) Psalm 137. Psalm 137:7 . They did not want the children to fight the people that To prepare the world for the coming of Messiah, God chose Abraham and his descendants through Jacob. We should never take de-light in the thought of God’s judging our enemies, because He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they repent and live (Ezek. Should a Christian pray the imprecatory psalms against those who oppose the gospel? 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