Psalm 137
1 We were sitting by the rivers of Babylon.
We wept when we remembered what had happened to Zion.
2 On the nearby poplar trees
we hung up our harps.
3 Those who held us as prisoners asked us to sing.
Those who enjoyed hurting us ordered us to sing joyful songs.
They said, ‘Sing one of the songs of Zion to us!’
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while we are in another land?
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
may my right hand never be able to play the harp again.
6 If I don't remember you,
may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so I can't sing.
May it happen if I don't consider Jerusalem
to be my greatest joy.
7 Lord, remember what the people of Edom did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
‘Tear it down!’ they cried.
‘Tear it down to the ground!’
8 People of Babylon, you are sentenced to be destroyed.
Happy is the person who pays you back
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the person who grabs your babies
and smashes them against the rocks.
137:1–9 In Psalm 137 people complain to God. They lament and tell him how sad and angry they are. They are sad and angry about unfair things that are happening. Babylonian armies had taken control of the southern kingdom. They had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. They had taken many Jews as prisoners and forced them to live in Babylon. The speakers of this psalm were some of those Jews forced to live in exile. They were very sad. The Babylonians made fun of them. Psalm 89 talked about this too. That psalm also complained to God about the mean things said by other nations. It accused God of breaking down Jerusalem's walls. It accused God of breaking his covenant with David. This was because God didn't protect the king from David's family line or his city. That city was Jerusalem. The speakers of Psalm 137 never wanted to forget Jerusalem. God had promised to put his name in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 6:6). This means that people knew that God was present with them there. If they forgot Jerusalem, it would be like forgetting all about God. The speakers of Psalm 137 prayed to God about those who destroyed Jerusalem. They reminded God about how the Edomites had celebrated that terrible event. They wanted God to remember the sins of the Edomites and the Babylonians. The Jews believed that God would take action as Judge and bring judgement. They wanted him to bring judgement against those who had hurt them.