Homesickness

Psalm 137, verses 1 to 9.

Psalms 137 · chapter mention

Let my right hand forget its skill.

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.

If I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem,

how they said, lay it bare, lay it bare down to its foundations.

O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall be he who repays you with what you have done to us.

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against a rock.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

According to city records, 28.8% of Cambridge residents were born in a foreign country.

And 12% of Cambridge residents didn't live in Massachusetts a year ago.

So it's kind of crazy stats, right?

And so 1 in 10 Cambridge residents, more than that, you meet,

were out-of-state or out-of-country transplants.

And so this is a city that's familiar with homesickness,

feeling out of place, just not feeling like you belong.

And so that sense of being distressed by the distance from loved ones

and from things that are familiar to you and longing for home.

And Psalm 137 really is about that.

It's about longing for home, but in a much more significant way,

because they're not only away, you know, for a time, their home's been destroyed.

And it teaches us overall that as exiles in worldly Babylon,

that we should long for the heavenly Jerusalem.

I think that's the main point of this psalm.

So first we see in verses 1 to 6 our remembrance of Jerusalem.

And then in verses 7 to 9, God's remembrance of Jerusalem.

So let's look at our remembrance of Jerusalem beginning in verse 1.

It begins by putting Babylon and Zion side by side,

which kind of highlights the sense of loss and separation.

So it says,

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.

So this psalm, we know from this verse that was written after the Babylonian exile in 586 BC.

God's people are by the waters, which sounds pleasant and nourishing,

but actually is not because when you get to the word Babylon.

It's by the waters of Babylon.

This is not where God's people should be, but that's where they are.

And there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion, the city of Jerusalem,

which has been reduced to rubbles,

and it survives only now in people's memory of the past.

And it's verses 2 to 3 continue that sad tale.

It says,

On the willows there we hung up our liars,

for there our captors required of us songs,

and our tormentors mirth,

saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

So the phrase,

On the willows there,

also communicates the sense of kind of being out of place,

because the word willows,

it says in the footnote in the ESV,

can be translated poplars.

I don't know if that's how you say the name of the tree, poplars.

Is that right?

Poplars,

so it's not the kind of willow tree in like the Boston Garden.

It's a poplar that's like a type of a willow kind of,

and it's the Euphrates poplar.

It's popularly known.

It's a type of tree that grows by rivers.

So like the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates, right?

Tigris and Euphrates in Babylon.

So it's a tree that's widespread popular,

known in Babylon.

And so, again,

that's a reminder that they're not where they're supposed to be.

On the willows there,

there we hung up our liars.

For there are captors required of us songs,

and our tormentors mirth,

saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

So this contrast of words kind of highlight

the cruelty of Israel's exile, right?

They demand songs of mirth

while tormenting them, right?

They demand, you know,

what is it here?

They demand songs

when they're keeping them captive.

But this cannot be, right?

And you can notice,

you might notice the repetition of the word there

in verses one to three.

By the waters of Babylon there,

and then there by the willows in verse three.

These are songs of Zion

that cannot be sung there.

It can only be sung

when you are in God's land

where God's promises are fulfilled

because they are God's songs.

And that's what verse four says.

How shall we sing the Lord's song

in a foreign land?

The Lord's song,

which speak of the joy

that's found in the presence of God alone,

the mirth of fulfillment

of the promises of God.

Like, how can that be sung

in a foreign land?

And so the psalmist kind of makes a vow

saying that he would lose his skill.

He won't be able to play his instrument

or he wouldn't be able to sing at all

if he forgets Jerusalem.

So he says, verses five to six,

if I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill.

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you.

If I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

So the first section, verses one to six,

begins and ends with the mention of remembering,

remembering Zion,

remembering Jerusalem.

No matter how long this exile lasts,

God's people are never to forget

where their true home is,

where God's promises are.

And this is true for us as well,

even though we're not part of the nation of Israel,

we're not Jewish.

And it's 1 Peter chapter one, verse one,

Peter addresses the church,

the Christians as elect exiles.

1 Peter 5, verse 13,

1 Peter 5:13

he calls the church,

she who is at Babylon.

Because the Old Testament nation of Babylon,

because of the Babylonian exile,

becomes this symbol or a type

of the center of worldly power and influence.

So in the New Testament,

Babylon gets used that way symbolically.

So then all Christians are those who are in exile in Babylon,

right?

According to the way Peter treats.

So we are those exiles that Psalm 137,

in a sense,

here is talking about.

So as exiles in worldly Babylon,

then we should also long for the heavenly Jerusalem.

That's the main point of this passage.

As Hebrews 12 and Revelation 21 speak of,

the heavenly Jerusalem is our home.

And we should be anticipating that,

longing for that,

and waiting for that.

And say,

as the psalmist says in verse six,

let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

It's a wonderful phrase, right?

Above my highest joy.

What is your highest joy,

right,

in life,

right?

Our longing for God,

our longing for His abode,

His home,

should be above our highest joy,

right?

So is God being united with God,

being in His presence,

being in awe of His glory,

worshiping before His throne,

is that above your highest joy?

Because if we are so satisfied

by the joys of this worldly Babylon,

so much so that we do not long

for this heavenly Jerusalem,

then that's a sign that we have forgotten

the city of God.

And we are to remember.

That's the exhortation of that passage.

And if verses one to six

is about our remembrance,

verses seven to nine

is about God's remembrance.

It's a prayer for God's remembrance

of Jerusalem.

So let's read it together.

Verses seven to nine.

Remember, O Lord,

against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem,

how they said,

lay it bare,

lay it bare

down to its foundations.

O daughter of Babylon,

doomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be

who repays you

with what you have done to us.

Blessed shall he be

who takes your little ones

and dashes them

against the rock.

This verse recalls

not only what the Babylonians did,

but also what the Edomites did.

So Edomites were

the descendants of Esau,

right?

So they're technically brothers.

But in Obadiah,

the prophet just rails

against the Edomites

because when Babylonians

were ransacking Jerusalem,

the Edomites just watched idly by

and let them have at it.

And so Obadiah is a denunciation of,

the whole book is a denunciation of Edom.

It says,

In that day,

Obadiah 8 to 11,

declares the Lord,

Will I not destroy

the wise men of Edom,

those of understanding

in the mountains of Esau?

Your warriors, Teman,

will be terrified

and everyone in Esau's mountains

will be cut down

in the slaughter.

Because of the violence

against your brother, Jacob,

you will be covered with shame.

You will be destroyed forever.

On the day you stood aloof

while strangers

carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

and cast lots for Jerusalem.

You were like one of them.

So this is a prayer

for divine vengeance

which explains

its shocking violence.

And it's not,

and it's,

there's some,

it's,

we shouldn't take the

expression strictly,

literally here

because it mentions

daughters of Jerusalem

and then it mentions

the little ones.

So it's referring

not to like,

let's go kill the babies.

It's referring to

the future generations

of Edom, right?

And the word,

word Edom,

the,

if you look at

1 Kings 14,

7,

one of the prominent

cities of Edom

was Sila

or it's the,

it's in Greek Petra.

You've probably heard of it,

right?

It means rock.

So 1 Kings 14,

7 says,

Amaziah,

Amaziah,

king of,

Amaziah,

king of Judah,

struck down 10,000

Edomites in the

valley of Saul

and took Sila

by storm,

right?

So he talks about

that as a,

and so here,

may your,

blessed shall it be

who takes your little ones

and dashes them

against the rock.

So it's literally saying

like dash them

against the city itself,

dash them against it,

that may Edom

be destroyed to its core.

That's kind of what it's,

that,

what that image is.

And,

and it's a,

it's a,

it is a,

you know,

it's,

I think it makes us

uncomfortable,

I think we're honest with it

to talk about verses

like this.

But I think

people understand

when they are,

victim of,

of grave injustice,

that this,

that there's something

about justice

that is necessary,

right?

So for example,

like,

even with,

I mean,

when you see,

for example,

nowadays,

let's say instances of,

you know,

racist kind of killings,

right?

Let's say there's a,

and,

and when people see that

and they're upset by that,

what do they do?

They call for murder charges,

right?

They want the guy

jailed for life

or in death row.

They want the guy's head,

right?

Because they're angry

and they believe

that's what justice demands.

So people,

when they're actually

really angry

and feel like

they've been victimized,

that's what they long for.

They long for justice.

And so there's a,

P.D. James

in her mystery novel,

Original Sin,

develops a character

who says this

to her Jewish colleague,

if I had a God,

I'd like him to be intelligent,

cheerful,

and amusing.

So this is a person saying,

well,

I want God to be just,

you know,

fun,

entertaining,

just to be a good companion.

And then the Jewish colleague

responds,

I doubt whether you'd find him

much of a comfort

when they herded you

into the gas chambers.

You might prefer

a God of vengeance.

And that's what

this justice is,

right?

It's when,

because you don't just look

at one side

of God's justice

and wrath.

You have to look at

what is engendering that

because it's God's love

for his people

that makes him

break out in wrath

toward the oppressors

of his people,

right?

So justice is also

a flip side of love.

You can't have one

without the other.

And here,

he's not calling for,

you know,

personal vengeance

and retaliation.

The psalmist,

he's praying that God

would take vengeance,

right?

And he's praying that God

would remember his people.

And so I don't think

this is contradictory

with the Christian ethic

of love your enemies,

you know,

turn the other cheek.

It's because those are

the principles of personal

ethics and loving our enemies,

right?

But that's not,

doesn't change

the fact that God

is going to bring justice

and he's going to bring

justice against his enemies.

And these are pictures

of Edom and Babylon

are representatives

of those who oppose

God himself,

not just us

and personally

his people.

And ultimately,

you know,

this psalm too

is fulfilled

in what Jesus

has done

because we see

the fierceness

of God's wrath

toward injustice

on the cross

where Jesus

is crucified,

right?

That's the,

we were enemies

of God.

We had,

we had fought

against him

and yet he loved us

and he poured out

his wrath

on his son

instead

on the cross

and it's through

that he brings about,

he inaugurates

the kingdom of God,

right?

He begins

the kingdom of God

in a sense

or he ushers

in the kingdom of God

so that it breaks

into our own lives

and it's not fulfilled yet,

fully fulfilled yet.

So we live in this

already but not yet

period,

intervening period

between Jesus'

second,

first coming

and second coming

and so because

we're there,

we experience

some of this

kingdom joy

and mirth

but not the fullness

of it

and so

we are still

suffering,

we are still

experiencing injustice

and we are to long,

instead of being

satisfied in worldly Babylon,

long for heavenly Jerusalem,

continue to

in our lives

and so that's what

this psalm is about.