Psalm 137 – We Wept
In Psalm 137 – we wept, the Hebrews wept when they remembered their homes, their country, their loved ones, and all that they had lost. What causes you to weep?
Psalm 137
Psalm 137 is a lament, in the middle of psalms of praise and thanksgiving. If reading the Psalms in succession, it is a rude awakening, expressing deep sorrow and anger. It is a hymn about not being able to sing because their grief weighs heavy on their hearts.
“In Jewish tradition, Psalm 137 is read on the eve of Tisha b’Av, the “9th of the month of Av.” This is considered the saddest day on the annual Jewish calendar, as it marks the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the city itself, and the eventual loss of Judean (and later Jewish) autonomy. Post-biblical Jewish authors associate other national calamities with this day, including the earlier biblical narrative of the “sin of the spies” (Numbers 13-14), to key events in the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, and the Holocaust.” Psalm 137: Entering the Psalm | Hebrew College
You might say this psalm marks days of infamy.
Psalm 137 – we wept, begins with the statement of how those in exile in Babylon wept.
“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” (1)
In mournful tones, they wept over all of their losses: the death of loved ones. the loss of almost everything they owned, the destroyed city of Jerusalem and her great temple, the agony of a forced march from Judea to Babylon, the cruelty of their captors.
“The English words are sad, even mournful, but the words have an even sadder sound in the Hebrew language. Psalm 137:1-3, which lead up to and explain the pathetic question of Psalm 137:4, repeat nine times the pronoun ending nu (meaning ‘we’ or ‘our’), which sounds mournful. It is like crying ‘ohhh’ or ‘woe’ repeatedly.” (Boice) Psalm 137 Commentary: The Mournful Song of the Exiles
The Songs of Zion
The captives hang their harps on the poplar trees, unable to sing.
“There on the poplars we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (2-4)
“Music and singing were integral parts of Israelite worship and culture, so the demand for a song from their captors adds insult to injury. Instead of finding solace in music, the Israelites are reminded of the songs of Zion, which evoke memories of their land and their worship.” Psalms 137 Explained – Verse by Verse Commentary – God’s Blessing
The Hebrews cry out in pain.
Remember
The psalmist calls upon all the Israelites to remember Jerusalem.
“If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” (5-6)
Then the writer calls upon God to remember what the Edomites did and asks for justice in kind to Babylon for what happened to the Israelite nation.
“Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us.” (7-8)
Verse 9
The psalm ends with one of the most problematic verses in Scripture. How can one pray this verse?
“Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” (9)
Many chose to omit it when reading this psalm. Others put the verse into a context that explains its use.
“There is ample evidence that ‘to dash in pieces their little ones’ was a common enough sequel to a heathen victory, and that Babylon had been in no mood for restraint at the fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:7; Lamentations 5:11f.).” (Kidner)
“This awful blessing is understood in light of the previous line. No doubt the singer had seen this done to the little ones of Jerusalem, and the horrible image was seared upon his mind. He prayed that the Babylonians would get as they had given.
“The psalmist also may have known of Isaiah’s prophecy that announced that just this would happen: Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes (Isaiah 13:16). Psalm 137 Commentary: The Mournful Song of the Exiles
As hard as this line is to read, it is part of the book of Psalms, part of Scripture and not to be erased because it makes us uncomfortable. Rather it is for us to wrestle with.
Memory in Psalm 137
In Psalm 137 – we wept, the Hebrew nation remembers their suffering. Memory of this suffering remains important. No matter how painful, the psalmist swears he will never forget his country.
We here in America, just celebrated 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Some people would like to erase parts of our past. They don’t want to talk about the hard times or the suffering of indigenous peoples and slaves. But this remains a part of our history. Just as our own lives contain a mixture of good times and challenging times, laughter and tears, failures and successes, our country’s history holds a mixed bag of victory and defeat, kindness and violence. We need to remember and acknowledge it all.
Frederick Douglas, in a speech given on the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, stated the following, quoting from Psalm 137:
“Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, “may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!” To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. My subject, then fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave’s point of view.” Psalm 137: “I Hear the Mournful Wail of Millions” by Frederick Douglass | Hebrew College
Remember the past, Psalm 137 commands us.
Psalm 137 – We Wept
In Psalm 137 – we wept, the Hebrew community had many reasons to weep. They had suffered devasting losses. Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus (John 11:35) and lamented over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39 and Luke 19:41-44).
Chances are you, too, have reasons to weep. When you look back at your life, do you remember times when you wept quietly in pain, or sobbed out of grief, crying out to your God? You are in good company.
Psalm 137 reminds us of challenging, painful times. It lets us know that it is okay to weep and to be angry.
What brings tears to your eyes? Bring this to God in prayer.
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 137: Exiles in a Foreign Land – An Early Immigration Crisis? – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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