Lessons from Psalm 137: Charlotte Chapel 2008

In this sermon, Richard Belcher discusses the challenges of maintaining faith and identity in times of exile and distress. He explores the deep emotional and spiritual responses of the Israelites during their Babylonian captivity, emphasizing the importance of remembering and clinging to one’s spiritual roots in the face of adversity.

The following unedited transcript is provided by Beluga AI.

Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 137. You haven’t seen me around much this semester. I’m actually on sabbatical. But when I heard that the series this fall is going to be on the Psalms, I thought, well, I’m interested in that topic. I’d like to participate. And so I chose one of the more difficult Psalms, one of the imprecatory Psalms, to focus our attention on this morning. To get the full speech on the imprecatory Psalms, you have to take poets. But we’ll at least focus our attention on Psalm 137.

Probably one of the verses we sang earlier may be an allusion to something in Psalm 137, the end of verse six. But the “I love thy kingdom, Lord” has verse four, “Beyond my highest joy, I prize her heavenly ways.” That phrase, “beyond my highest joy,” may be an allusion to a phrase here in Psalm 137. So let’s give our attention to the reading of the word of God. This is a difficult psalm, as you will hear as we read it.

Psalm 137:

¹ By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. ² On the willows there we hung up our lyres. ³ For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” ⁴ How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! ⁶ Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! ⁷ Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!” ⁸ O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! ⁹ Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (Psalm 137:1-9, ESV)

Let’s pray. Father, we thank you that your word is truthful. We thank you that you were honest enough with us to reveal your truth to us and tell us who we are and what we need. And we thank you that your word is the foundation upon which we can build our lives.

We pray that you would sanctify us today in your word to the glory of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. You cannot read Psalm 137 without having some kind of reaction. For most people, it’s a negative reaction. Many people are surprised to find such seething words in the Bible, as we find at the end of this psalm, especially such seething words.

Especially as you compare them with what Jesus says. Doesn’t Jesus say, “Love your enemies and bless those that curse you”? You have verse seven of this psalm saying, “Lord, remember what Edom did.” Don’t let them get away with it. And doesn’t Jesus say, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you, and then you have the end of this psalm that talks about blessed are those who bash babies.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:27-28, ESV)

⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44, ESV)

What these psalms say and what Jesus taught seemed to be so different. And many, even among conservatives, have rejected these words in Psalm 137 as being sub-Christian, Old Testament, Jewish ideas. Some have said, these are not the oracles of God; these are not the word of God.

Most of us here this morning would not go that far in our assessment of these words, but in reality, we act that way because we ignore them or we don’t use them. Even a good hymnal like the Trinity hymnal does not have any of the imprecatory sections of the psalms in the responsive reading section. Certainly not Psalm 137, certainly not Psalm 109. And if you read a psalm that has an imprecatory section, usually it is removed from the responsive reading. We have done what one author has called. We’ve performed psalmectomies.

We’ve cut some of these psalms out. We’ve treated them less than scripture, less than what Paul says, profitable for doctrine, reproof, and correction in righteousness. But this is the heart of the problem. This attitude is the heart of the problem. It’s the heart of the theme of Psalm 137. Psalm 137 helps us to show us where our true commitment and allegiance lies. Do we really believe that all scripture is inspired of God and is profitable? Are we willing to submit our thinking to the word of God?

Are we willing to commit ourselves to God’s purposes and his plans? Our sovereign God is in the process of working out his victorious purposes for his people. And as his people, we must be completely committed to those victorious purposes. That’s at the heart of Psalm 137, the commitment that is required of God’s people. And such commitment sometimes comes with a cost. The commitment expressed in Psalm 137 arises out of a great situation of tragedy and loss.

If your life is sailing along, if things are going well, if there are no major problems in your life, you don’t always experience the cost of commitment. For many people, commitment is demonstrated in a situation of tragedy and loss. It’s like your attitude to your automobile. As long as it’s working, you don’t give it a second thought. You get in turn, it turns on, and you drive. But problems bring thoughts of your car to the forefront. Situations of tragedy and loss that bring the response of commitment to the forefront of our thinking.

Psalm 137 arises out of a horrible situation of tragedy and loss. It describes a community in distress. It is a community lament. God’s people have been conquered by the Babylonians. They have been uprooted and deported to Babylon. They’ve had everything they hold dear taken away from them. They’ve lost their homes. They’ve lost their children in the devastation of war. How many Jewish babies experienced what we read about in verses 8 and 9? The capital city of Jerusalem has been destroyed. The apple of their eye, the Temple, the special place of God’s dwelling, has been demolished.

In verse one, they remember Zion. They weep, they mourn. In verse two, they are mocked by their enemies. Sing us one of those songs of Zion, salt poured into an open wound. It’s in situations of pain where commitment is demonstrated. It’s in situations of horrible distress where these psalms of cursing arise. Perhaps these cries of cursing are shocking because many of us haven’t really lost that much.

But to those who’ve experienced evil in bold expression, those who’ve smelled the burning flesh of the Nazi crematories, those who’ve lost family and children through horrible acts of injustice, parts of the church that are under extreme persecution are not shocked at all by these psalms that call for justice. Call for justice. These psalms arise out of situations of such horrendous evil that they force us to respond in some way. And our response demonstrates where our true commitment lies. It demonstrates where our priorities lie. Some people superficially ignore reality.

Others become apathetic because they don’t care anymore. Some walk away from God because the tragedy is too tough to deal with. But commitment and its cost is demonstrated in this psalm by the way God’s people respond to this tragedy. They’ve lost everything. They’re in a foreign land. And yet what is their concern? What is their focus? What is most important to them? What is their highest priority? It comes out in the middle of this song where they talk about Jerusalem. Jerusalem is their focus. Jerusalem is their highest priority. Why Jerusalem?

Is it because it’s the capital city of their homeland? Is it because it’s the place of their birth and they have such fond memories of it? Yes, that’s a part of it. But that’s not the main reason. The main reason is that Jerusalem represents the purposes of God, the plan of God. Jerusalem in the Old Testament is the place where God’s king was to rule. Jerusalem was the place of God’s special dwelling. There, in that temple, Jerusalem was the center of God’s purposes and his plans, not only for Israel, but for the whole world.

And here, God’s people have lost everything. They’ve lost everything. And they’re not primarily concerned about themselves. They’re not primarily concerned about their situation. Yes, they are concerned about their situation, but their thoughts go to Jerusalem. That’s what they express in this psalm. How can I forget Jerusalem in verse five? And notice the way they put it, verse five. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. If I do not remember you, if I do not send Jerusalem above my highest joy.

That’s commitment. That’s commitment to the purposes of God and the cause of God. To have lost everything and yet to be concerned about the purposes of God, to be concerned about Jerusalem. You notice here in verses five and six, there’s even self-imprecation. Isn’t there a curse against myself if I do not place God’s purposes at the height of my concerns? Take away my ability to play, take away my ability to sing, if I forget God and that place, he’s promised to demonstrate his plans and purposes, a self-imprecation.

Here we see that Psalm 137 and the other psalms of cursing have nothing to do with personal revenge. The focus is not on getting even. The focus is not on feelings of hatred toward the enemy. If you can offer a curse against yourself, you’re not motivated by personal revenge. The focus is on God’s kingdom. The focus is on the triumph of the cause of God. And that’s why Psalm 137 does not contradict Jesus’ words in Matthew 5. Jesus is talking about personal revenge. Jesus and the Old Testament both condemn personal revenge.

Paul in Romans 12 is quoting Proverbs 25. We are not to take personal revenge against our enemies, but we can pray for the triumph of the kingdom of God.

¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, ESV)

And this commitment that is expressed by God’s people in Psalm 137 is a commitment that looks to the future. It’s not just rooted in their present situation, but it is a commitment that looks to the future, because it’s a commitment that has the hope that God is going to bring victory again for his people. What does it mean for God to be victorious?

It means that all the enemies of God will be defeated. It means that all the situations of injustice will be made right. It means that God’s people will triumph in victory over all those who oppose God and his ways. For those in Psalm 137, it means that God will deal with Edom and with Babylon. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, brother to Jacob. They helped the Babylonians when the Babylonians plundered the city of Jerusalem. You read Obadiah, just one chapter. I place Obadiah in the context of the fall of Jerusalem.

In 587, the Edomites rounded up fleeing Israelites and handed them back over to the Babylonians. Treason, Obadiah says, against your brother Jacob, God’s going to have to deal with Edom for there to be a restoration of God’s people. The Babylonians obviously are those who’ve taken God’s people to Babylon, and for deliverance to take place, Babylon will have to fall. Another nation will conquer Babylon to allow God’s people the freedom to go back to their homeland.

And in terms of retributive justice, what Babylon has done to others will also be done to them, as we see at the end of this psalm, a horrible, horrible practice of genocide on the next generation. But this commitment in psalm 137 looks beyond the present situation of suffering to the victory that God will bring for his people. What does this mean today, in light of the coming of Christ? Our hearts desire as God’s people should be for the victory of God’s kingdom. That should be our highest commitment, our highest priority.

And for God to be victorious, for the kingdom to be established, it means that the enemies of God need to be dealt with. We prayed this morning together, the Lord’s prayer. We prayed thy kingdom come, and in the context of the new covenant, it’s much clearer that that expression, thy kingdom come, can refer to the conversion of the enemies of God’s people. That wasn’t as clear in the old covenant, but in the new covenant. Thy kingdom come is a prayer that God would convert the enemies.

All of us at one time may have been enemies of God in our natural state of sin, and we have found grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we pray and we witness and we work that many will come to know the grace of God. We pray, thy kingdom come, extend your kingdom through converting those who are enemies. And so we love our enemies. We do good to those who hate us, and we pray that God would use us as a witness for him.

But we also know that for God to be victorious, for the kingdom to come, it may also mean judgment against those who oppose the purposes of God. And so when we pray thy kingdom come, an element of that prayer is that God would be victorious. And an element of that prayer means that those who continue to oppose the purposes and the works of Jesus Christ will one day experience the judgment of God. The martyrs in Revelation 6:10 cry out, how long, O Lord, before you avenge our blood?

How long, O Lord, until you act and bring us the vindication and the victory that has been won for us through Jesus Christ? And then, of course, you remember that Babylon returns in the book of Revelation, doesn’t it? Babylon returns there as a symbol of world power that stands opposed to the purposes of God and the purposes of Jesus Christ. And although there are many questions surrounding the book of Revelation, there’s one thing clear in the book of Revelation, isn’t it? Jesus Christ wins the victory. Babylon will be defeated.

And in that regard, I believe it’s appropriate for God’s people to pray and to sing this particular psalm. But ultimately, this psalm is a psalm about the victory of our coming judge about Jesus Christ as he’s described in Revelation 19, riding on that white horse with the sword of the word of God, leading us into that last great battle where we will experience final victory.

And isn’t it appropriate that the one who himself took upon himself the curse for our sin there in the garden of Gethsemane, as he wrestled with the will of God from a human perspective, wrestling with the will of God for his life, responded by putting the purposes of God first as he prayed, “Not my will, but your will be done.” The lamb whose robe is stained with blood is the one who will come as judge of all.

And because we are assured of this victory, as those who believe in Jesus Christ and as those who are committed to him, we are able now to commit everything that we have to his purposes and his kingdom. That’s our response, to respond exactly the way God’s people did in psalm 137 and to make the purposes of Christ and his kingdom our highest priority and our highest joy. What does such commitment look like? It’s a doctor and his wife standing on their lawn, watching their big, beautiful house burned down.

And in the midst of their tears and their crying, the wife saying to the husband, pray that God will use this to bring our neighbors to Jesus Christ. It’s the story of Rick, Canada’s younger brother, and he’s told this story in chapel here before. Rick’s younger brother Dave died of leukemia at the age of 19 many, many, many years ago.

And his one concern as he wrestled with that illness was that his life would be a testimony to the glory of Jesus Christ and that those who ministered to him while he was sick would hear the gospel message. Such commitment was also seen in the life of Ab Carmichael, born in 1867 in Ireland. One day, coming out of church and walking toward her house, she came across an old woman, a widow, who was struggling trying to get the goods that she had to her home. And she stopped to help her.

And to her horror, helping this woman to her home meant turning around and walking past the church that she had just come out of. She felt such shame walking past those people that she just worshiped with. That afternoon, she went up into her room and she poured her heart out to God and said, I never want again to be ashamed of ministering in the name of Jesus Christ. She became a missionary to Japan and then to India, and she wrote a series of Calvary love challenges.

Listen to a couple of them, she says, “If I covet any place on earth but the dust at the foot of the cross, I know nothing of Calvary love. If I forget that the way of the cross leads to a cross, I know nothing of Calvary love. If I do not see suffering as the greatest honor that can be offered to any follower of Christ, I know nothing of Calvary love. If the hardest task cannot be asked of me, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

It’s called Calvary love because it’s what Christ has done for us at the cross, for the joy set before him. He endured the cross, despising its shame, and he went there for you and he went there for me. Is that the kind of commitment that you are living out in your life? A lot of you have left lucrative jobs. A lot of you have given up a lot to come to seminary for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the sake of the kingdom of Christ, continue to live out that commitment.

Even while you’re here in seminary, don’t let the idols of this world, the idols of your heart, keep you from living each day fully committed to Jesus Christ. May he be your highest joy. Let’s pray.

Father, we thank you that you empower us to accomplish what you’ve called us to do. We thank you that Christ rose from the dead on that third day, and he now sits at your right hand. We thank you that he sends his Holy Spirit to empower his people.

We pray today that you would fill us with that spirit, that we would be faithful to your word and to what you’ve called us to do. We thank you for the victory that we know through Jesus Christ. May we live our lives each day in full confidence of what Christ has done for us, and may he receive all the glory, for it is in his name that we pray, Amen.