Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. This is actually a quite controversial verse. "May. This is the setting for Psalm 137. NRSV By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. If you look at verses 1-3 of the psalm, you will see that he (or she) was in Babylon. "May. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions, make it to be David's, and yet add the name of Jeremiah; and the Arabic version calls it David's, concerning Jeremiah: but, as Theodoret observes, Jeremiah was not carried into Babylon, but, after some short stay in or near Jerusalem, was forced away into Egypt; and could neither be the writer nor subject of this psalm: and though it might be written by David under a spirit of prophecy; who thereby might foresee and foretell the Babylonish captivity, and what the Jews would suffer in it; as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah did, many years before it came to pass; yet it seems rather to have been written by one of the captivity, either while in it, or immediately after it. Psalm 137. which is true of literal Babylon, called the destroying mountain, Jeremiah 51:25; and of mystical Babylon, the destroyer both of the bodies and souls of men, Revelation 11:18; happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us; meaning Darius the Mede, as Kimchi; or rather, or however who must be added, Cyrus the Persian, as R. Obadiah; who were ordered by the Lord to retaliate her, and do as she had done to others, Jeremiah 50:15; and in so doing pronounced happy, being the Lord's shepherd, raised up in righteousness to perform his pleasure, Isaiah 44:28; and here wished success by the godly Jews. (586 BC) The people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, were taken captive and exiled by the Babylonians. Perhaps it was when David was king, or up to 500 years after. This may have been written shortly after the captivity ended or possibly some time into the captivity, but the early period of Israel’s captivity in Babylon is most certainly the immediate historical context of the psalm. III. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Psalms Psalm 137 Summary. They knew you would ultimately deliver them, and in the meantime, they knew you would comfort them and sustain them as they awaited their day of salvation. The psalm begins with the phrase, “By the waters of Babylon.” To what does this refer? Here are God’s people no longer in their land, no longer in their holy city, no longer in their Temple. II. 137. For once, there is no need for guessing about the occasion of this Psalm. 0 0. In its whole form of nine verses, the psalm reflects the yearning for Jerusalem as well as hatred for the Holy City's enemies with sometimes violent imagery. Psalm 137 Perhaps written during the Babylonian Captivity, this psalm communicates a sense of anguish so deep that it cannot be expressed even in the familiar musical lament. On the willows there we hung up our harps. It is clear that the 150 individual psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel’s history. This Psalm is wisely placed. And so, as the first verse of this Psalm says, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; and there we wept when we remembered Zion.” King David did not write this psalm with Negative Theology in mind. Now, however, the Hebrews found themselves in a cultural situation that was hostile to their religion and pure worship. Psalm 137. This is David saying he has a personal connection with God. It provides a vivid image of what life in exile must have been like. We read in verse 1, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem. Words in boxes are from the Bible. "the voice of the Spirit of God answered and said, "if I forget", &c.''. Psa 139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 137. The psalm has been set to music by many composers. Commentary on Psalm 137:5-9 (Read Psalm 137:5-9) What we love, we love to think of. Or the sense is, let everything that is as dear as my right hand he taken from me: or, as it may be rendered, "my right hand is forgotten" (e); that is, should I forget Jerusalem, it would; for that is as my right hand; so Arama. Psalm 137:9 shocks: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”. Requirements from Acts 1:21–26 (Part 1 of 2), Some Thoughts about the hymnal Cantus Christi. This sets David apart from others. The psalmist penned this poem while … Home / Lent / Psalm 137. How Shall We Sing the Lord ’s Song? It is a lament for the disobedience that led to Israel’s captivity in Babylon, the city of sin. Historical Context Psalms Psalm 137 Summary. A song at the dedication of the temple. He is an elder in his church in Fort Worth, TX where he resides with his wife and four children. Stockium, p. 447. Lord, we pray, draw near to us and encourage us today. The psalmist tells of the exiles’ tears and of their poignant memories of Jerusalem. The occasion of this psalm was the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and the treatment they met with there; either as foreseen, or as now endured. His brothers did not treat him kindly when he went to bring them food while they were at the battle front (1 Samuel 17:28). They cannot forget Jerusalem, Psalm 137… To me, Psalm 137 is one of the saddest psalms written. Many discussions on the purpose of the Psalms and what it means for the Scriptures to be 'divinely inspired' inevitably look at this passage. 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