Psalm 137 - Hateful Songs

Psalm 137:1-9 NIV

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 

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?

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.

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. 

Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

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Psalm 137 illicits both empathy and horror. I feel empathy for the exiled temple musicians, Levites whose lives have been turned upside down. Their lives were set apart for service at the temple, providing music, and leading worship in songs of joy and praise to the Lord. Now who are they? The temple is destroyed. JERUSALEM is in ruins. They are living in Babylon as captives, defeated and terrorized.

I get the feeling that the Babylonians tease and taunt the exiles when they ask for a song. The musicians refuse as they hang their musical instruments on tree branches next to the Tigris River or perhaps the Euphrates. Both rivers come near one another in ancient Babylon. (It's also the traditional location of the Garden of Eden. The hanging gardens of Babylon were a wonder.) In their grief the musicians find it impossible to sing songs of joy. Instead their hearts are embittered toward their tormentors and enemies.

The musicians pledge their allegiance to Jerusalem swearing never to forget the city of God. They'd rather lose their gifts as singers and instrumentalists than to forget Jerusalem. But then, as they mourn the loss of Jerusalem and the temple, their hearts turn dark with vengeance.

The musicians call upon God to remember how the neighboring Edomites celebrated the downfall of Jerusalem. They want God to do to Babylon what they did to Jerusalem, to destroy their great city and kill them all, dashing their children heads against rock.

Gruesome imagery! Horrific hatred!

BABYLON does fall to the Persians. No doubt Babylonian children died, just as many innocents do in times of war.

I suspect that you have at one time or another fantasized doom on those who have mistreated you. Our violent films in America feed such fantasies. We love to see the bad guy get his comeuppance. Perhaps we've even visualized doing harm to someone who's hurt us. It's a natural response in our fallen from grace state.

In Christ, however, we are new creations, no longer children of darkness. So when bloodlust arises in our thoughts, as an expression of our need for justice and vindication, remember that our Lord taught us to pray for our enemies, to love them. This requires leaning on grace, His love which transcends our own abilities. Through Christ we can let go of vengeful impulses and allow Him to love through us. Surrendering to Christ's higher inclinations will change our hearts and set us at ease as His love heals our wounds.

It's hard to be cheerful in a time of suffering, especially when it seems unfair and uncalled for. Grieve. In time, through faithful surrender to the love of God, you will sing a happy song again.