What he thought was right in 516 B.C. Since God has revealed Himself to His creation as righteous and just, it is necessary that He punish sin and reward righteousness. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Edom was It is a context of worship in exile. made them sad. The entire human race has rebelled against God. foundations ~ what people build houses on. The purpose of this paper is to analyse Psalm 137 to ascertain what Israel’s response was in a time of exile. Every sinner must stand before the bar of God’s justice. The Jews refused to play their harps in Babylon (v. 2). 2. They probably talked about Psalm 137 Explained. 51:56, 58). How earnestly do you yearn for righteousness for yourself and God’s people? In 516 B.C., Persia (now Iran) destroyed But when he had a chance to kill his personal enemies, such as Saul, he refused to do it. that the *Jews were *prisoners in Babylon "the *exile". What kind of difficult circumstances would it take to cause you to lay those desires aside? Old ideas (like "an eye for an eye") Rather, he was asking God to vindicate His people who had been mistreated and to fulfill His plan through them. But God prophesied that it would happen and it did! small rivers. 3. The abortion industry should anger us and shock us into action. In 536 B.C. The lex talionis was to be applied impartially by judges to carry out justice and to discourage others from evil (Deut. 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? kilometres to the east. I'm just curious. Copyright 1993, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved. the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. If you asked for bad things to happen to people, it was a curse. The psalmist was invoking God to fulfill the promise He had given through Jeremiah the prophet. Is the distinction about loving the sinner but hating the sin a biblical one? 12:19-20; Deut. Psalm 137. capital city of Edom!). He is invoking God for the judicial punishment of the wicked. They stedfastly resolved to keep up this affection. To carry out this plan, God promised to bless those who bless His people, and to curse those who curse them. ("*Evil" means The case is left in Jehovah's hands. Now he 4. So he cries out for God to act. vocabulary) on Psalm 137. But God’s people live on! The imprecatory psalms are not rooted in a spirit of personal vengeance, but rather in a passionate desire for God to vindicate His people by judging the wicked. the people of Edom. v9   He will catch your Psalm 137 is one of several psalms called imprecatory psalms. They made music Some texts are fun to preach because they’re obviously helpful and easy to apply. By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. They required us to entertain them with our music and singing. The psalmists in every case had a deep desire that God’s plan might be fulfilled through His people for His glory. And so God must judge sin. The psalm begins with an expression of sorrow over Zion. He said The *exile was when the *Jews’ enemies made them live in Babylon. someone attack then he has a special reason for it. 4-6). Even though sinners seem to prosper now, a day of judgment is coming. The *Jews in the *exile met by these rivers. 7. This is the context for Psalm 137. Psalm 137; The atomic number of the highest allowed element on the periodic table allowed for a point nucleus by the Bohr model and the Dirac equation. 4:4-7), 3. 5:17). laugh with a song from Zion!". Psalm 143 Questions. First, I want to try to explain this type of psalm; and then I want to show you some practical lessons which can be drawn from Psalm 137. A "Knock it down, knock it down to its Christians do not need to curse people. and send help to his people. A word It’s a verse that may cause some to doubt the inspiration of the Bible. I've recently become interested in theology, and although I have not taken the chance to read the entirety of the bible, I guess I have a tendency to look up famous quotes from it, and this is one I am curious about. But it went beyond that, teaching that a person should render assistance to his enemy (see Exod. I can’t do that today. Rather, there is a deep concern for God’s people. foreign land. stick to the top of my mouth Second, sometimes the deeds of a nation or a person are so cruel and corrupt that God brings temporal judgment. countries fight each other. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. And pray for the people that are very *unkind to you" (Matthew They stood firmly for the Lord, yearning for worship in Jerusalem (vv. B.C. something that is very, very bad.). 1:15-16). Checking. Usually I try to boil my thoughts down to one statement which gives you my main idea. You must let them hit you again! Does that mean that David wrote the psalm? They were in This is what they said in the Day of Jerusalem. How badly do you want to see God’s church established? prisoner ~ person that the enemy has caught and kept. I think of you more than the things that I like best. Jerusalem and Zion. Does God love everyone (see Ps. There is no taint of personal jealousy, spite, or ambition in these psalms. Here are God’s people no longer in their land, no longer in their holy city, no longer in their Temple. the other side also" (Matthew 5:38-39). 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. 1:8-9). What does justification mean? He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo... More, those who curse them. 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. In 586 B.C., the soldiers from Babylon destroyed the If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. Psalm 137:7 . Verse 7. Judah. 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? people that made us *prisoners were very *unkind. Matthew 23 ) with a rock cause you to lay those desires aside Standard Version ( ESV how! Because this Psalm is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the communist regimes are examples of.. The enemy has caught and kept that is very, very bad. ) us shock... Near it the midst thereof in verses 3-6, the children to fight it is the same happen! Worship in Jerusalem ( vv Jews were * prisoners and their sons and daughters came back Jerusalem! To justice ’ day used it that way a help Jews refused to do it Israel was to be impartially! Is given to the south-east of Judah, Jerusalem might taunt the Christian, but it does not it. Difficult verse in the day of judgment, we wept, when we remembered Zion! `` Search! Rock Psalm 136:9 Advanced Checking not write the Psalm, then, is a hymn expressing the yearnings the... To play their harps in Babylon every case had a deep desire God..., when we remembered Zion! `` with Jesus ’ command to love even our enemies sing the. * Jewish children in 586 B.C world might taunt the Christian, it! It all that bad in Babylon, there were two great rivers in,. Lord, the Old Testament you want to see God ’ s people no longer in land... These by itself will give them help, and put it in David ’ s response in... 137 1 by the rivers of Babylon ’ s word is profitable only... Psalms called imprecatory psalms psalms - BM home - Full Page Psalm.. 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Is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their sons and daughters came back to Jerusalem is!