Today’s passage: Psalm 137
Helpful thoughts:
- The psalmist expresses the pain of being required to sing songs about Jerusalem to the Babylonians after it had been destroyed.
- He would rather forget how to play his instrument and lose his ability to speak or sing than forget about Jerusalem (And all the promises of God concerning the city).
- It is known that the Babylonians committed great atrocities against the kingdoms they conquered. The final verse of this psalm is asking for the old law of “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” However, God has commanded us to leave vengeance to Him (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19)
Questions to consider:
- Why would it be right for the psalmist to continue trusting in the promises of God for Jerusalem? Did the Babylonians defeat God like they may have thought they had? (Jeremiah 29:14, Revelation 21:2)
- How does the justice of God give us freedom from exacting revenge on anyone we might consider to be an “enemy?”
- How could we desire to see God’s justice poured out for their sin (As it was for ours)? (1 John 2:2)