Bible Gateway Recommends. Scoffers are not to be compiled with. Psalms 137 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, filling six volumes, provides an exhaustive look at every verse in the Bible. "If I prefer not Jerusalem" (Psalms 137:6). An imprecation of this type invoked against innocent and helpless little children is contrary to the word of Christ and the holy apostles; yet this is an accurate statement of the attitude that was common among the warring peoples of antiquity. It was always in their minds they remembered it they did not forget it, though they had been long absent from it many of them had never seen it, nor knew any thing of it but by report, and by what they had read in the scripture, yet it was graven upon the palms of their hands, and even its ruins were continually before them, which was ann evidence of their faith in the promise of its restoration in due time. 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. Far be it from us to avenge ourselves, if ever it should be in our power, but we will leave it to him who has said, Vengeance is mine. Music makes some people melancholy. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/psalms-137.html. Thus they put shame upon Israel, who would be looked upon as a people worthy to be cut off when their next neighbours had such an ill-will to them. It is a mournful psalm, a lamentation and the Septuagint makes it one of the lamentations of Jeremiah, naming him for the author of it. She shall be paid in her own coin: "Thou shalt be served as thou hast served us, as barbarously used by the destroyers as we have been by thee," See Revelation 18:6. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required … II. Their terminal representatives are featured in the New Testament in the evil dynasty of the Herods. Let not those expect to find mercy who, when they had power, did not show mercy. Though their enemies banter them for talking so much of Jerusalem, and even doting upon it, their love to it is not in the least abated it is what they may be jeered for, but will never be jeered out of, Psalm 137:5,6. As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart. To complete their woes, they insulted over them; they required of them mirth and a song. 525-550.). These were the `righteous remnant' spoken of by Isaiah. Find Top Church Sermons, Illustrations, and Preaching Slides on Psalm 137:1-4. Chapter 137. Psalm 137:9 shocks: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”. NIV, The Jesus Bible, Hardcover. The Edomites seem to have been almost totally a wicked people. Psalm 137 is a song of Zion expressing desire for God’s holy city while in exile in the land of Babylon. HINT: Since there are such a large number of resources on this page (>10,000 links) you might consider beginning with the more recent commentaries that briefly discuss all 150 Psalms - Paul Apple (750 pages), Thomas Constable, David Guzik, Bob Utley.For more devotional thoughts consider Spurgeon's The … IV. The mournful posture they were in as to their affairs and as to their spirits. 2. Matthew Henry :: Commentary on Psalms 137 ← Back to Matthew Henry's Bio & Resources . N.A.S.B. There are divers psalms which are thought to have been penned in the latter days of the Jewish church, when prophecy was near expiring and the canon of the Old Testament ready to be closed up, but none of them appears so plainly to be of a late date as this, which was penned when the people of God were captives in Babylon, and there insulted over by these proud oppressors probably it was towards the latter end of their captivity for now they saw the destruction of Babylon hastening on apace (Psalm 137:8), which would be their discharge. PSALM 137 A SONG FROM THE CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON For once, there is no need for guessing about the occasion of this Psalm. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Support JVL. Psalms 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. There has been considerable debate about the precise genre of this psalm. This is the repayment. As a just destruction. 4 How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? For there they that led us captive required of us songs. As an utter destruction. Those that rejoice in God, for his sake make Jerusalem their joy. Maré : Psalm 137 OTE 23/1 (2010), 116-128 119 The psalm not only relates the story of a specific period in Israel’s history, but it was probably utilised in the cult as an observance of lament by the exiles. "Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom. These are curses upon themselves, applicable in case of their forgetting Jerusalem, or preferring not Jerusalem above their chief joy. 137:9 "dashes our little ones" This was a common practice in the ANE (cf. "How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?" The destroyers shall be destroyed, Revelation 13:10. The marginal readings here substitute "words of songs" for "songs" in Psalms 137:3a and "tormentors" for "them that wasted us" in Psalms 137:3b. Do we ask, what reward? The first is, an heavy complaint of the church, unto Psa 137:1-6. 137:0 This is Psalm 137 in the whole book, the 37 th of the third fifty. And all this was a fruit of the old enmity of Esau against Jacob, because he got the birthright and the blessing, and a branch of that more ancient enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent: Lord, remember them, says the psalmist, which is an appeal to his justice against them. When suffering, we should recollect with godly sorrow our … The Jews bewail their captivity. It is a clear and judicious explanation of the text, and cannot be dispensed with. It is interesting to note that the specific prophecy mentioned in Isa. Babylon is the principal, and it will come to her turn too to drink of the cup of tremblings, the very dregs of it (Psalm 137:8,9): O daughter of Babylon! David prudently kept silence even from good when the wicked were before him, who, he knew, would ridicule what he said and make a jest of it, Psalm 39:1,2. Psalm 137 is the 137th psalm of the Book of Psalms, and as such it is included in the Hebrew Bible. We have already sung in another Psalm, The words of the wicked have prevailed against us. Their affection to God's house swallowed up their concern for their own houses. By the Rivers of Babylon — Al Naharot Bavel (Psalm 137) contains some of the Bible’s most beautiful passages. These they laid aside, both because it was their judgment that they ought not to use them now that God called to weeping and mourning (Isaiah 22:12), and their spirits were so sad that they had no hearts to use them they brought their harps with them, designing perhaps to use them for the alleviating of their grief, but it proved so great that it would not admit the experiment. None escape if these little ones perish. Copyright StatementJames Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. O daughter of Babylon — By which he understands the city and empire of Babylon, and the people thereof, who art to be destroyed — Who by God’s righteous and irrevocable sentence, art devoted to certain destruction, and whose destruction is particularly and circumstantially foretold by God’s holy prophets. We find some of them by the river Chebar (Ezekiel 1:3), others by the river Ulai, Daniel 8:2. Thoughts of Zion drew tears from their eyes and it was not a sudden passion of weeping, such as we are sometimes put into by a trouble that surprises us, but they were deliberate tears (we sat down and wept), tears with consideration--we wept when we remembered Zion, the holy hill on which the temple was built. Our Price: $13.99 Save: $26.00 (65%) Buy Now. Our Price: $29.99 Save: $15.00 (33%) Buy Now. For what has that Babylon done to us? Psalm 137 - Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. (1-4) Their affection for Jerusalem. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website. The psalmist writes from exile in what today is southern Iraq. 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. The bitterness of Israel against their enemies who had vented their sadistic cruelties upon them is understandable enough, however foreign to the spirit of Christianity they must appear to us who follow Christ. It was indeed a long and terrible trail of blood and suffering that was initiated by our ancestors in Eden who failed to honor God's Word regarding the "forbidden fruit". In 586 B.C., the soldiers from Babylon destroyed the capital city of Judah, Jerusalem. "Them that wasted us, or `tormentors'" (Psalms 137:3b). 3. Go to, To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use our convenient, "They that led us captive required of us songs. 8:12; Isa. Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary Psalms 137:6. As Amos said of Edom, "His anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever" (Psalms 1:11). (See Vol. "Complete Commentary on Psalms 137:4". 241-244. Finding the new version too difficult to understand? Her he calls unhappy, but him happy who pays her as she has served us. "Rivers of Babylon." How shall we sing the Lord’s song — Those sacred songs which are appropriated to the worship of the true God in his temple, and are appointed by him to be sung only to his honour and in his service; in a strange land — When we are banished from our own temple and country, and among those who are strangers and enemies to our God and his worship? They stedfastly resolved to keep up this affection. Psalm 30 frames the struggles of the life of faith within a glorious edifice: the Jerusalem Temple, a powerful cultural icon that “narrates” the faith of the believing community, the enduring presence of God, and the inviolability of God’s promises to Israel. In these psalms, the author (usually David, although not in Ps. PSALMS RESOURCES Commentaries, Sermons, Illustrations, Devotionals. Go to, To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use our convenient, Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible, Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible, Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. III. Matthew Henry :: Commentary on Psalms 137 ← Back to Matthew Henry's Bio & Resources. "In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them" (Obadiah 1:1:11). May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. The country of Babylon was 1000 kilometres to the east. Psalm 137:8-9. 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Each of us must walk in the light we have. It is an exclamation of their extreme displeasure in being compelled to do so. Here I. It appears that the status of the captive Israelites in Babylon was not unbearable. Book of Tehillim (Psalms): Psalms: Table of Contents. In prayer, in discourse, in conversation. Psalm 118 repeated that affirmation five times. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful. Next » Chapter 138. For our captors demanded a song from us. That this segment of the children of the captivity was a definite minority is revealed by the relatively small "handful" of the once mighty nation of Israel who actually returned to Jerusalem when God's servant Cyrus permitted and encouraged it. The prophet Ezekiel evidently was permitted to own property, as were many others; and, in time, as the `seventy years' expired, many of the Jews became prosperous and even wealthy. Every thing is beautiful in its season. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I prefer not Jerusalem Above my chief joy.". Let my right hand forget her art" (which the hand of an expert musician never can, unless it be withered), "nay, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I have not a good word to say for Jerusalem wherever I am." Book 1 (Psalms 1 - 41) » Psalms 1-41 in one file [or download in RTF format] ... Psalm 137: By The Rivers In Babylon [or download in R TF format] Psalm 138: Thanks! 3. The verse, אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָ‍ִם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי , “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither,” is sung at traditional Jewish weddings. "We sat down, as those that expected to stay, and were content, since it was the will of God that it must be so." You must not relinquish this to a commentator. Ancient armies had no medical corps, or battalion of nurses, to take care of the infant children of their slaughtered enemies! IV. It is sunk like a millstone into the sea, never to rise. Psalm 137:6 "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." Do we ask, what reward? 1. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. Though they dare not sing Zion's songs among the Babylonians, yet they cannot forget them, but, as soon as ever the present restraint is taken off, they will sing them as readily as ever, notwithstanding the long disuse. It was not mere secular “mirth” khat was requested in ver, 3; but, as the parallelism shows, the sacred gladness audible in the songs of Zion, which were at the same time the sowgs of Jehovah. Book Notes Barnes' Book Notes Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Book Notes Robertson's Book Notes (NT) Commentaries Adam Clarke Barnes' Notes Forerunner Commentary Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown John Wesley's Notes Matthew Henry People's Commentary (NT) … They took the people who lived there to Babylon as prisoners. Woah. Now, 1. As a destruction which should reflect honour upon the instruments of it. Christ prophesied that the same atrocities would be executed upon Israel herself in the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19:44). 2 Kgs. ), Jerusalem was not totally destroyed on that occasion, despite the plea of the Edomites that it be "rased.". The pious Jews in Babylon, having afflicted themselves with the thoughts of the ruins of Jerusalem, here please themselves with the prospect of the ruin of her impenitent implacable enemies but this not from a spirit of revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God and the honour of his kingdom. "Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament". III. Commentary on Psalm 137:5-9 (Read Psalm 137:5-9) What we love, we love to think of. 141. Rashi 's Commentary: Show Hide. ", "How shall we sing Jehovah's song in a foreign land? Psalms 137:1 (King James Version) A.F.V A.S.V. Bibliography InformationCoffman, James Burton. Maré : Psalm 137 OTE 23/1 (2010), 116-128 119 The psalm not only relates the story of a specific period in Israel’s history, but it was probably utilised in the cult as an observance of lament by the exiles. Psalm 137 is one of several psalms called imprecatory psalms. Thus they made the Chaldean army more furious, who were already so enraged that they needed no spur. JOSEPH A ALEXANDER Psalms Commentary (1864) Spurgeon had high praise for Alexander's work writing that it "Occupies a first place among expositions. Psalm 137 - Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying. Happy shall those be that do it for they are fulfilling God's counsels and therefore he calls Cyrus, who did it, his servant, his shepherd, his anointed (Isaiah 44:28,45:1), and the soldiers that were employed in it his sanctified ones, Isaiah 13:3. They were posted by the rivers of Babylon, in a strange land, a great way from their own country, whence they were brought as prisoners of war. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. 2. This is the repayment. The New Century Bible Commentary: Psalms 73-150 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972) Broyles, Craig C., New International Biblical Commentary: Psalms (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999. Psalms 137 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. Title: Psalm 137/Commentary, Author: Mark Dunagan, Name: Psalm 137/Commentary, Length: 5 pages, Page: 1, Published: 2020-09-24 . A lament for fallen Jerusalem - either prophetic or written in captivity. Plea of the Herods soldiers from Babylon destroyed the capital city of,. As mirth and a song of Zion down Beside the rivers of Babylon, Psalm 137:7-9 curses upon,! 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Psalm 137:4 as Rhodes noted, `` his anger did tear perpetually and!, Illustrations, and Preaching Slides on Psalm 137 Series Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Mar 11, |...