Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
7 Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
This is one of those psalms that can be difficult to read. It starts with a deep sorrow and ends with a shocking cry for revenge. You can feel the heartbreak of the exiled people of God sitting by the rivers in Babylon, with their captors taunting them to “sing a happy song” from the home they lost. Of course they couldn’t sing. It would have felt completely wrong given their grief. I think we’ve all had moments that feel like we were passing through a strange “foreign land”. Maybe it is a season of loss or loneliness. It could be a life change where putting on a happy face just doesn’t feel right. What I love about this psalm is the permission it gives us to be completely honest with God. It shows that we don’t have to clean ourselves up first. We can bring our raw, unfiltered pain and even our “white-hot” anger directly to Him. He can handle it. And for us, the story doesn’t end there. While the psalm makes space for that honest cry for justice, our calling since the cross is to a different response—to trust God with ultimate justice and to pray for reconciliation, not revenge. It’s a path where we trust that grace can reshape even our most bitter and natural anger. This week trust God with your burdens.
Save the Date!
I also would like for you to consider the following networking meeting. This is a time to hear what other christian organization are doing to engage their communities.
I am praying we can get a couple of people from our church to go to this to learn what is happening across Belgium and give us input and ideas on how we can better engage our communities here in Leuven. Let me know if you are interested in going.
Have a great week!
Blessings,
Eric Casteel
Pastor