August 30th
Psalm 137
The
sadness of the exiles
1:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we
remembered Zion. 2:
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 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. 4:
How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? 5:
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
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. 7:
Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who
said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 8:
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be,
that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9:
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against
the stones.
Psalm 138
A Psalm of David
A
Prayer of thanksgiving
1:
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing
praise unto thee. 2:
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word
above all thy name. 3:
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me
with strength in my soul. 4:
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear
the words of thy mouth. 5:
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory
of the LORD. 6:
Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the
proud he knoweth afar off. 7:
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou
shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and
thy right hand shall save me. 8:
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD,
endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Today we are
reading Psalms 137 & 138. Psalm 137 is a Psalm which describes
the sadness and weeping of being captive in Babylon. There is no name
attached to this psalm but is probably was composed by Hezekiah. This
psalm probably commemorates the captivity of the people of Judah who
were taken away during the siege of Jerusalem but the psalmist is now
back in Jerusalem and remembers those sad days. (There is no need to
make this Psalm refer to the post-exilic times.) The captives of
Judah are those taken away by Shalmaneser and Sargon who took 27,280
from Samaria. 1Chron 5v6. The Psalmist says, we remember when we sat
by the river of Babylon and wept our hearts out whenever we
remembered Zion. He looks back saying we hanged our harps on the
willows in the middle of the river because our captors required us to
sing and to be jolly. So we hung our harps high up from the floods,
but so that we would not be required to play, when they asked us to
entertain then with songs of Zion. We replied, how can we sing the
LORD’s song in a strange land? Then the psalmist says, if I forget
you Jerusalem then let my right hand forget how to play the harp and
if I do not remember Jerusalem then let my tongue refuse to sing.
Jerusalem is my greatest joy now. Remember those of Edom who wanted
to raise Jerusalem to the ground. Then he speaks to the mothers of
Babylon saying you will be destroyed one day and happy will be the
man who rewards you for your atrocities. He will happily destroy your
little children. This horrendous language was uttered under law and
has no relation to Christianity. Psalm 138 is a hymn of David
selected by Hezekiah to follow the previous Psalm.
We see the relation
of these Psalms in this diagram
A.
Psalm 120 – 134 Deliverance from Sennacherib (15 Psalms of the
Degrees)
B.
Psalm 135 – 136 Praise two Psalms linked by a similar structure
A.
Psalm 137 Deliverance of the captives of Sennacherib
B.
Psalm 138 Praise
A.
Psalm 139 Deliverance from an evil heart
B.
Psalm 140 Praise and Prayer
So the Psalmist
David has three thoughts addressed to the Lord in praise which are
divided by two thoughts regarding the Lord.
A.
To Jehovah – Praise v1-4
B.
Of Jehovah v5-6
A.
To Jehovah v7
B.
Of Jehovah v8
A.
To Jehovah v8
David says I will
bring praise to the LORD with my whole heart. Even in the presence
the Lords judges I will sing praise to you, O Lord. I will prostrate
myself towards the holy temple and give praise to the name of the
Lord because of his loving kindness and faithfulness. Because you
have made you promises greater than your name. In the day that I
cried to you, you answered me giving me strength in my soul. I will
speak to all the kings of the earth making them praise you. They will
join me to sing in obedience to the LORD because great is the glory
of the LORD. David says, though the LORD is very high, yet he has
respect to the very lowly. But the proud he removes far away from his
presence. David says that though I walk right through the middle of
trouble yet you will revive me and you will stretch out your hand
against the anger of my enemies. And by your right hand you will
deliver me. The Lord will bring to fruition all his promises to me.
And the mercy of the Lord will endure forever toward me. He will not
forsake the things that he has done.
- How would you describe the sadness of the first psalm?
- Why did they hang their harps?
- How does the psalmist in the second Psalm look forward to better days?
No comments:
Post a Comment