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Psalm 137: Ranting, Raging, Praying

Thursday 22nd October 2015

Tagged as: logos

We live in a world where we see and feel the horrendous effects of evil… God cares about evil in all its forms:

Spiritual evil: idolatry

Personal evil: immorality

Social evil: injustice

Tonight we’re going to think about the IMPRECATORY Psalms, in which the writer prays for God to judge evil – particularly these are prayers cursing and condemning God’s enemies.

We are going to look at the most shocking one: Psalm 137! God has given us these angry Psalms for a reason, and I think you’ll be excited when you discover why, and how they can be used today!

God’s people are in exile outside of God’s Promised Land. A foreign nation has captured them and destroyed the Temple. Down by the rivers for ceremonial washings (in unclean place among unclean people) this was the best they could do without the Temple sacrifices and washings. They have their instruments to worship God. But then their captors come to humiliate them and mock them for worshipping the apparently defeated God of Israel, YHWH: “Where’s your God now? He cannot help you here – our gods are greater than your one!”

 

Psalm 137 has 3 stanzas:

v.1-3: Remembering the horrors of exile in Babylon

  • Captivity in “Babylon” (v.1), “a foreign land” (v.4). Being mocked by their “tormentors” and “captors” (v.3)
  • Saddened by their sufferings in exile and the devastation of Jerusalem in 2 Kings 25

v.4-6: Remembering the hope of Jerusalem

  • Zion (Jerusalem) is not just the place, but also a symbol of the hopes of God’s people: King, Temple, Promises, Salvation. Implies there is hope in God for restoration, keeping the memory alive of what God has done and what He has promised for His people in the future.
  • Invokes curses on self (before anyone else!) in case they forget or give up on or lose their confidence in God’s justice and promises.

v.7-9: Asking God to remember His promises to vindicate His people and bring just retribution on evil

  • “Remember” – language from the courtroom: plea of victim for vindication and justice in God’s court.   Asks for justice to be done: “repays you with what you have done to us” according to the lex talionis principle (Exodus 21:23-25, Romans 2:5-6)
  • This Psalm is not only a response to EVENTS but to SCRIPTURE (God’s promises to deal with those who have wronged His people.
  • V.7: curse on Edom (because are guilty in God’s court): terrible things they did by turning on their extended family in Israel and handing them over to the Babylonians and wishing harm on them in their hour of need): Obadiah 1:10-14, Ezekiel 35:1-5
  • V.8: curse on Babylon (because are guilty in God’s court): Jeremiah 25:12, 50:15, 51:24 – they are “doomed to be destroyed” based on what God has already said.
  • V.9: asks God to punish the Babylonians in a way that befits their crime of killing Israel’s children – fulfilled by the Medes and Persians in 535BC. E.g. Nahum 3:10: what Babylon did to Nineveh’s children (and Israel’s too); Isaiah 13:16-18: God’s prophecy against Babylon – this Psalm only asks God to do what He has already said He’s going to do against Babylon

 

BOOK: Bible Study

Observation Questions:

(1)   Asterisk each curses – what do you notice about them?

(2)   Circle the locations - what is associated with these places in the Bible?

  • They are not just real places, but also represent spiritual principles. Babylon with sin and evil. Zion Jerusalem with God’s redemptive work: Temple, King, Promises. The NT looks beyond historical Babylon to its spiritual significance for world history
  • The Bible is a tale of two cities: City of God vs City of Sin/Evil. In the judgement and destruction of the spiritual principle of Babylon at the Second Coming, God will bring an end to evil (Revelation 18:10)

(3)   Who is to “remember” and what is to be remembered in v.1-6 and 7-9? Why?

  • Remember the hope of salvation and rescue according to God’s promises to His people
  • Asks God to remember and not forget to deal with the evil done against His people

Meaning Questions: Clearer parts of the Bible help us interpret the harder parts. Cross references really help understand this Psalm.

(4)   What is being prayed for in v.8-9? (in light of Nahum 3:10, Isaiah 13:16-18, Jeremiah 50:15, 51:24)

  • they are “doomed to be destroyed” based on what God has already prophesied as punishment for their wicked actions against them. They are simply praying for God’s will to be done and justice to come!
  • is asking God to punish the Babylonians in a way that befits their crime of killing Israel’s children – wants justice to be done and for evil to be punished

(5)   What principle (“lex talionis”) about God’s justice does Exodus 21:23-25 teach?

  • lex talionis restrained vengeance and ensured justice (Exodus 21:23-25): the punishment has to fit the crime (no more and no less!)
  • This is not about personal revenge but about legal process to redress wrong and punish evil – OT forbids personally taking revenge.

Application Questions: Thinking about Christian ethical responses to evil and enemies

(6)   Can we use this Psalm… and if so why should it look different living on this side of the Cross of Christ?

  • First ask the question: who is entitled to use this Psalm perfectly? ONLY JESUS! He is God, the one ultimately wronged by evil committed by His enemies. And the incredible thing is that God has taken the judgement and wrath upon Himself, rather than his enemies. It is His son’s head crushed so that the blessing (rather than cursing) can flow onto us. He is dashed against the rocks so we never have to be.

We live between the Cross and the Second Coming of Jesus. When Jesus returns it will be to bring justice in the world: to right all wrongs, and to end evil’s dominion. Revelation 18:10 says that Babylon (the symbol of evil and wickedness) will be destroyed at that time and God’s people will celebrate its overthrow. But in this in-between time how are we to live? We no longer live by the OT principle… so what is the NT principle?

LOOK: Bible Application (Christian Ethics on Loving, Doing Good and Praying For Enemies)

(7)   In light of Matthew 5:38-45 and Romans 12:19-21, how should we respond to those who do evil? Share examples of when you have (or haven’t) acted in these ways?

  • Because of Jesus, we are ministers of RECONCILIATION not RETRIBUTION => that leads to the Christian ethic in the present age of love and forgiveness and peace and praying for our enemies (for them to be saved, just as we God’s enemies have been saved)
  • Jesus’ ethic of loving our enemies and not repaying them for their evil now, depends on the idea of a final judgement and punishment for sinners. When Jesus does return it will be to judge the world and to bring justice against sin and evil! Otherwise the only way to see justice done would be to take things violently into our own hands.

TOOK: How we can use these imprecatory psalms:

  • Use them to pray for perpetrators of evil: “Our calling, since the Cross, is to pray down reconciliation, not judgement…” on those who are opposed to God and His kingdom (Kidner).
  • Use them to enter into and pray for God’s people in suffering the world: “These psalms awaken our consciences to the anguish of those who suffer. They serve to wake us from the dreadful passivity that has overtaken the comfortable churches of the Western world. They make us long for the coming of the kingdom in power and justice” (Gospel Coalition)
  • Use them to express our longing for God’s justice when we are wronged (physically and spiritually): It is surely better to pray and commit enemies into God’s hands rather than to take matters into our own hands for revenge

Summary:

Teaching: In the face of evil and injustice today, we should remember and rely on God’s promise to vindicate His suffering people and vanquish evil

Application: May our experience of God’s grace (as His enemies) change how we deal with ours: to love, do good and pray for them

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