Psalm 137 Puns

Citharae appensae

Salicibus Babelis -

Sol cadit exul

Lyres hanging

from the willows of Babylon -

Foreign sunset

Cetre appese

Ai salici di Babilonia-

Tramonto straniero

Yes, I chose to title this post with a verse that sounds very jarring and brutal. Its important that when we come across violent or harsh passages in the Old Testament that as Christians we are able to unpack them. And also recognise that if we truly believe as St Paul articulates in his letter to Timothy, that "all scripture is God breathed" then even these passages have a spiritual and moral lesson in them, as paradoxical as that may seem. So lets unpack this:

(i)It is an Imprecatory Psalms

• The Imprecatory Psalms are a Psalms where the Psalmist is cursing their enemies and praying for judgement to befall them. Normally it is said in the context of a great injustice. Why are the Imprecatory Psalms important?
• The first general reason is that since it is happening during a great act of injustice, they express anger and indignation at an injustice. And call us not simply to just gloss it over. The Imprecatory Psalms give divine legitimisation to the idea that anger and indignation at injustice and oppression is legitimised and sanction and rebukes the notion that we are to simply just accept things as the way they are.
• Imprecatory Psalms also centre the voice of victims. And it centres their expressions of anger in a raw and unfiltered manner. Think of a rape victim who curses his or her rapist. A victim who has been abused by religious officials. A person who's family member has been the victim of racial violence. Someone who's family and friends were wiped out in a great act of genocide and violence. Imprecatory Psalms operates from the perspective that the anger of these victims, expressed through rage, or even cursing their enemies, is legitimate.
• Implicit in this divine legitimisation of the anger and voice of victims is a divine rebuke to the temptation to tone police the perspective of victims. The notion that victims can voice their anger, but not in a way that we approve of, or in a way that makes us uncomfortable. It gives a divine rebuke at any attempt at a culture of respectability politics and centres their experiences.

(ii)It is a Psalm written in the context of oppression

• The Psalm is written in the context of the Babylonian conquest of the Israelites. Hence why it starts off by saying "By the rivers of Babylon-there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion"(Psalm 137:1)
• The Israelites suffered a major act of ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Babylonian invaders as part of their imperialist expansionism.

“Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen”
My father supports my little sisters back and gently guides her hand to her nose, she holds her breath as he lowers her under the water. It isn’t very deep, she only just turned 8 after all. When she emerges, her face is shining, and her smile lights up the room.

The rest of the ward is gathered around the baptismal font - the spirit palpable amongst the members. I can feel the Holy Ghost in my heart, that still small voice strengthening my faith and giving me comfort, and I know in that moment that she can feel it too. My father holds her arm for support, as she wades through the water towards the stairs, leading to the changeroom. They emerge a few minutes later, towel dried and in fresh white garments. She’s smaller than I was at that age and my old baptism dress hangs loosely on her tiny frame.

We all gather around the baptismal cake and enjoy the refreshments, speaking in joyous but reverent voices. This may be a celebration, but it is still a sacred occasion and we are in the Lord’s house.

I approach my sister and kneel, hugging her tightly. I notice that already has her ring on, now we match. Nothing fancy - a small green shield, with the initials CTR. Reminding each and everyone one of us of the covenant we made with the Lord at the age of 8.

I will miss her.

We have been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. I’ve forgotten how many brothers and sisters my mother has birthed, as commended by our prophet.
Each one, baptized and blessed.
Each one, loved by my parents, my brother and me.
Each one, laid across The Tablets of Stone.

This is always the hardest part, but I know it will be over soon. I anxiously twist my ring around my finger, and I am reminded of my promise to always Choose the Right. I close my eyes and hear my Father's voice from the pulpit, his voice ringing through the chapel.

"Psalm 137:9 - Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

"Amen"

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Psalm 137 (NLT)

1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept     as we thought of Jerusalem. 2 We put away our harps,     hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. 3 For our captors demanded a song from us.     Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:     “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” 4 But how can we sing the songs of the Lord     while in a pagan land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,     let my right hand forget how to play the harp. 6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth     if I fail to remember you,     if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

7 O Lord, remember what the Edomites did     on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Destroy it!” they yelled.     “Level it to the ground!” 8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.     Happy is the one who pays you back     for what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who takes your babies     and smashes them against the rocks!

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We know this is a later psalm because it references the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, which happened around 586 BCE. To give you some context, people think David lived around 1000 BCE or so.

The rivers of Babylon are where they are now—i.e., not Israel.

The psalm serves two purposes: (1) to express their sadness & (2) prayer for vengeance

Whenever a culture is displaced or endures a shock, it immediately goes into self preservation-mode.

What we get in these first verses is just plain sadness. The Israelites don't want to be in exile because they're farther from God's land. Also, if they forget Jerusalem, they don't want to write about anything because nothing else deserves it.

The Israelites' culture is so tied up with their land—so losing their land means losing much, much more

V 8-9 : Well, that escalated pretty quickly. The vengeance the author hopes for is decidedly violent: he dreams that the Babylonians' children will be thrown against the rocks like their children were.

•At this point, the writers of the Bible started thinking about God as more universal rather than in "your god vs. my god" terms. Before, God was one among many—the Israelites just thought he was the best. But the traumatic fall of Jerusalem made them think twice…and psalms like this usher in a new era.

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1 thing I take away is that here is another example of God's people being busted & broken yet they still pray to him....notnin the traditional way of asking, maybe not in the context of how a Christian should