WEBVTT

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 Psalm 137, verses 1 to 9.

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 Let my right hand forget its skill.

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 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.

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

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

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

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 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

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

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

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 This is God's holy and authoritative word.

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

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

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 So it's kind of crazy stats, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 And Psalm 137 really is about that.

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

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

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

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 that we should long for the heavenly Jerusalem.

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

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

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

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

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 It begins by putting Babylon and Zion side by side,

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 which kind of highlights the sense of loss and separation.

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 So it says,

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

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

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

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

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 It's by the waters of Babylon.

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

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

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 which has been reduced to rubbles,

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

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

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 It says,

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 On the willows there we hung up our liars,

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 for there our captors required of us songs,

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 and our tormentors mirth,

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 saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

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 So the phrase,

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 On the willows there,

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

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 because the word willows,

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 it says in the footnote in the ESV,

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 can be translated poplars.

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

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 Is that right?

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 Poplars,

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

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

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 and it's the Euphrates poplar.

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 It's popularly known.

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

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 So like the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates, right?

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 Tigris and Euphrates in Babylon.

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

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 known in Babylon.

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 And so, again,

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

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 On the willows there,

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 there we hung up our liars.

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 For there are captors required of us songs,

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 and our tormentors mirth,

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 saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

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 So this contrast of words kind of highlight

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 the cruelty of Israel's exile, right?

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 They demand songs of mirth

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 while tormenting them, right?

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 They demand, you know,

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 what is it here?

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 They demand songs

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 when they're keeping them captive.

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 But this cannot be, right?

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 And you can notice,

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 you might notice the repetition of the word there

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 in verses one to three.

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 By the waters of Babylon there,

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 and then there by the willows in verse three.

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 These are songs of Zion

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 that cannot be sung there.

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 It can only be sung

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 when you are in God's land

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 where God's promises are fulfilled

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 because they are God's songs.

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 And that's what verse four says.

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 How shall we sing the Lord's song

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 in a foreign land?

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 The Lord's song,

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 which speak of the joy

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 that's found in the presence of God alone,

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 the mirth of fulfillment

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 of the promises of God.

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 Like, how can that be sung

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 in a foreign land?

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 And so the psalmist kind of makes a vow

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 saying that he would lose his skill.

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 He won't be able to play his instrument

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 or he wouldn't be able to sing at all

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 if he forgets Jerusalem.

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 So he says, verses five to six,

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 if I forget you, O Jerusalem,

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 let my right hand forget its skill.

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 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

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 if I do not remember you.

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 If I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

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 So the first section, verses one to six,

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 begins and ends with the mention of remembering,

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 remembering Zion,

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 remembering Jerusalem.

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 No matter how long this exile lasts,

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 God's people are never to forget

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 where their true home is,

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 where God's promises are.

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 And this is true for us as well,

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

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 we're not Jewish.

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

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 Peter addresses the church,

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 the Christians as elect exiles.

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 1 Peter 5, verse 13,

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 he calls the church,

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 she who is at Babylon.

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 Because the Old Testament nation of Babylon,

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 because of the Babylonian exile,

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 becomes this symbol or a type

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 of the center of worldly power and influence.

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 So in the New Testament,

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 Babylon gets used that way symbolically.

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

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 right?

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 According to the way Peter treats.

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 So we are those exiles that Psalm 137,

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 in a sense,

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 here is talking about.

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 So as exiles in worldly Babylon,

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 then we should also long for the heavenly Jerusalem.

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 That's the main point of this passage.

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 As Hebrews 12 and Revelation 21 speak of,

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 the heavenly Jerusalem is our home.

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 And we should be anticipating that,

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 longing for that,

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 and waiting for that.

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 And say,

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 as the psalmist says in verse six,

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 let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

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 if I do not remember you,

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 if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

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 It's a wonderful phrase, right?

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 Above my highest joy.

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 What is your highest joy,

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 right,

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 in life,

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 right?

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 Our longing for God,

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 our longing for His abode,

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 His home,

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 should be above our highest joy,

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 right?

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 So is God being united with God,

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 being in His presence,

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 being in awe of His glory,

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 worshiping before His throne,

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 is that above your highest joy?

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 Because if we are so satisfied

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 by the joys of this worldly Babylon,

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 so much so that we do not long

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 for this heavenly Jerusalem,

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 then that's a sign that we have forgotten

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 the city of God.

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 And we are to remember.

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 That's the exhortation of that passage.

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 And if verses one to six

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 is about our remembrance,

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 verses seven to nine

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 is about God's remembrance.

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 It's a prayer for God's remembrance

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 of Jerusalem.

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 So let's read it together.

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 Verses seven to nine.

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 Remember, O Lord,

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 against the Edomites

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 the day of Jerusalem,

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 how they said,

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 lay it bare,

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 lay it bare

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 down to its foundations.

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 O daughter of Babylon,

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 doomed to be destroyed,

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 blessed shall he be

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 who repays you

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 with what you have done to us.

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 Blessed shall he be

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 who takes your little ones

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 and dashes them

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 against the rock.

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 This verse recalls

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 not only what the Babylonians did,

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 but also what the Edomites did.

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 So Edomites were

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 the descendants of Esau,

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 right?

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 So they're technically brothers.

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 But in Obadiah,

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 the prophet just rails

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 against the Edomites

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 because when Babylonians

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 were ransacking Jerusalem,

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 the Edomites just watched idly by

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 and let them have at it.

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 And so Obadiah is a denunciation of,

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 the whole book is a denunciation of Edom.

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 It says,

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 In that day,

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 Obadiah 8 to 11,

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 declares the Lord,

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 Will I not destroy

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 the wise men of Edom,

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 those of understanding

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 in the mountains of Esau?

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 Your warriors, Teman,

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 will be terrified

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 and everyone in Esau's mountains

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 will be cut down

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 in the slaughter.

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 Because of the violence

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 against your brother, Jacob,

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 you will be covered with shame.

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 You will be destroyed forever.

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 On the day you stood aloof

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 while strangers

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 carried off his wealth

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 and foreigners entered his gates

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 and cast lots for Jerusalem.

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 You were like one of them.

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 So this is a prayer

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 for divine vengeance

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 which explains

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 its shocking violence.

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 And it's not,

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 and it's,

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 there's some,

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 it's,

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 we shouldn't take the

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 expression strictly,

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 literally here

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 because it mentions

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 daughters of Jerusalem

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 and then it mentions

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 the little ones.

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 So it's referring

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 not to like,

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 let's go kill the babies.

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 It's referring to

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 the future generations

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 of Edom, right?

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 And the word,

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 word Edom,

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 the,

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 if you look at

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 1 Kings 14,

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 7,

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 one of the prominent

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 cities of Edom

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 was Sila

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 or it's the,

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 it's in Greek Petra.

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 You've probably heard of it,

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 right?

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 It means rock.

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 So 1 Kings 14,

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 7 says,

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 Amaziah,

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 Amaziah,

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 king of,

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 Amaziah,

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 king of Judah,

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 struck down 10,000

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 Edomites in the

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 valley of Saul

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 and took Sila

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 by storm,

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 right?

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 So he talks about

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 that as a,

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 and so here,

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 may your,

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 blessed shall it be

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 who takes your little ones

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 and dashes them

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 against the rock.

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 So it's literally saying

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 like dash them

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 against the city itself,

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 dash them against it,

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 that may Edom

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 be destroyed to its core.

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 That's kind of what it's,

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 that,

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 what that image is.

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 And,

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 and it's a,

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 it's a,

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 it is a,

00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:22.680
 you know,

00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:23.100
 it's,

00:11:23.180 --> 00:11:23.920
 I think it makes us

00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:24.340
 uncomfortable,

00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:25.420
 I think we're honest with it

00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:26.920
 to talk about verses

00:11:26.920 --> 00:11:27.399
 like this.

00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:28.720
 But I think

00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:30.779
 people understand

00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:31.899
 when they are,

00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:33.079
 victim of,

00:11:33.079 --> 00:11:34.079
 of grave injustice,

00:11:34.439 --> 00:11:35.459
 that this,

00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:36.779
 that there's something

00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:37.299
 about justice

00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:38.179
 that is necessary,

00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:38.500
 right?

00:11:38.579 --> 00:11:39.199
 So for example,

00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:39.539
 like,

00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:41.500
 even with,

00:11:42.939 --> 00:11:46.459
 I mean,

00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:47.159
 when you see,

00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:47.759
 for example,

00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:48.659
 nowadays,

00:11:48.939 --> 00:11:50.840
 let's say instances of,

00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:51.480
 you know,

00:11:52.319 --> 00:11:53.579
 racist kind of killings,

00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:54.059
 right?

00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:56.220
 Let's say there's a,

00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:57.360
 and,

00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.100
 and when people see that

00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:00.419
 and they're upset by that,

00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:00.960
 what do they do?

00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.320
 They call for murder charges,

00:12:02.660 --> 00:12:02.879
 right?

00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.320
 They want the guy

00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:05.160
 jailed for life

00:12:05.160 --> 00:12:06.740
 or in death row.

00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:08.019
 They want the guy's head,

00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:08.500
 right?

00:12:08.680 --> 00:12:10.120
 Because they're angry

00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:11.440
 and they believe

00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:12.680
 that's what justice demands.

00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:13.540
 So people,

00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:14.240
 when they're actually

00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:14.780
 really angry

00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:15.700
 and feel like

00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:16.519
 they've been victimized,

00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:17.660
 that's what they long for.

00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:18.920
 They long for justice.

00:12:19.900 --> 00:12:20.840
 And so there's a,

00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:21.879
 P.D. James

00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:25.419
 in her mystery novel,

00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:26.120
 Original Sin,

00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:29.340
 develops a character

00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:31.539
 who says this

00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:34.980
 to her Jewish colleague,

00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:36.860
 if I had a God,

00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:38.939
 I'd like him to be intelligent,

00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:39.480
 cheerful,

00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:40.139
 and amusing.

00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:42.120
 So this is a person saying,

00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:42.259
 well,

00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:43.279
 I want God to be just,

00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:43.820
 you know,

00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:44.159
 fun,

00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:44.720
 entertaining,

00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:45.919
 just to be a good companion.

00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:48.059
 And then the Jewish colleague

00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:48.639
 responds,

00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.439
 I doubt whether you'd find him

00:12:51.439 --> 00:12:52.199
 much of a comfort

00:12:52.199 --> 00:12:53.519
 when they herded you

00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:54.519
 into the gas chambers.

00:12:54.979 --> 00:12:55.919
 You might prefer

00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:56.719
 a God of vengeance.

00:12:58.219 --> 00:12:59.299
 And that's what

00:12:59.299 --> 00:13:00.519
 this justice is,

00:13:00.579 --> 00:13:00.779
 right?

00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:01.699
 It's when,

00:13:01.979 --> 00:13:03.599
 because you don't just look

00:13:03.599 --> 00:13:04.459
 at one side

00:13:04.459 --> 00:13:05.319
 of God's justice

00:13:05.319 --> 00:13:06.000
 and wrath.

00:13:07.479 --> 00:13:08.939
 You have to look at

00:13:08.939 --> 00:13:10.219
 what is engendering that

00:13:10.219 --> 00:13:11.779
 because it's God's love

00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:12.659
 for his people

00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.139
 that makes him

00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.179
 break out in wrath

00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:16.079
 toward the oppressors

00:13:16.079 --> 00:13:16.639
 of his people,

00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:17.379
 right?

00:13:17.459 --> 00:13:18.899
 So justice is also

00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:19.779
 a flip side of love.

00:13:19.819 --> 00:13:20.479
 You can't have one

00:13:20.479 --> 00:13:21.099
 without the other.

00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:22.959
 And here,

00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:24.879
 he's not calling for,

00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:25.620
 you know,

00:13:25.959 --> 00:13:27.239
 personal vengeance

00:13:27.239 --> 00:13:28.059
 and retaliation.

00:13:28.719 --> 00:13:29.219
 The psalmist,

00:13:29.299 --> 00:13:30.519
 he's praying that God

00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:31.399
 would take vengeance,

00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:32.259
 right?

00:13:32.319 --> 00:13:33.659
 And he's praying that God

00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:35.379
 would remember his people.

00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:37.259
 And so I don't think

00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:38.379
 this is contradictory

00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:40.199
 with the Christian ethic

00:13:40.199 --> 00:13:41.339
 of love your enemies,

00:13:41.599 --> 00:13:41.740
 you know,

00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:42.500
 turn the other cheek.

00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:43.979
 It's because those are

00:13:43.979 --> 00:13:45.159
 the principles of personal

00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:47.480
 ethics and loving our enemies,

00:13:47.579 --> 00:13:47.759
 right?

00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:48.740
 But that's not,

00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:49.559
 doesn't change

00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:51.559
 the fact that God

00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:52.539
 is going to bring justice

00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:54.579
 and he's going to bring

00:13:54.579 --> 00:13:55.980
 justice against his enemies.

00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:58.059
 And these are pictures

00:13:58.059 --> 00:13:59.519
 of Edom and Babylon

00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:00.819
 are representatives

00:14:00.819 --> 00:14:02.039
 of those who oppose

00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:02.759
 God himself,

00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:03.939
 not just us

00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:05.299
 and personally

00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:05.939
 his people.

00:14:05.939 --> 00:14:07.939
 And ultimately,

00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:09.519
 you know,

00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:10.279
 this psalm too

00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:10.939
 is fulfilled

00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:12.259
 in what Jesus

00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:12.759
 has done

00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:14.139
 because we see

00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:15.039
 the fierceness

00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:15.899
 of God's wrath

00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:16.720
 toward injustice

00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:17.960
 on the cross

00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:18.460
 where Jesus

00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:19.059
 is crucified,

00:14:19.319 --> 00:14:19.500
 right?

00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:20.960
 That's the,

00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:23.039
 we were enemies

00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:23.500
 of God.

00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:24.700
 We had,

00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:25.779
 we had fought

00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:27.419
 against him

00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:29.059
 and yet he loved us

00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:30.480
 and he poured out

00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:31.039
 his wrath

00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:32.179
 on his son

00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:32.620
 instead

00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:33.679
 on the cross

00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:34.659
 and it's through

00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:35.840
 that he brings about,

00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:37.600
 he inaugurates

00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:38.340
 the kingdom of God,

00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:38.600
 right?

00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:39.500
 He begins

00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:40.399
 the kingdom of God

00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:40.820
 in a sense

00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:42.799
 or he ushers

00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:43.639
 in the kingdom of God

00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:44.559
 so that it breaks

00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:46.179
 into our own lives

00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:48.100
 and it's not fulfilled yet,

00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:49.659
 fully fulfilled yet.

00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:50.980
 So we live in this

00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:52.159
 already but not yet

00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:52.799
 period,

00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:53.700
 intervening period

00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:54.299
 between Jesus'

00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:54.720
 second,

00:14:54.980 --> 00:14:55.519
 first coming

00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:56.179
 and second coming

00:14:56.179 --> 00:14:57.480
 and so because

00:14:57.480 --> 00:14:58.320
 we're there,

00:14:58.539 --> 00:14:59.139
 we experience

00:14:59.139 --> 00:15:00.340
 some of this

00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.000
 kingdom joy

00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:02.840
 and mirth

00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:04.779
 but not the fullness

00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:05.259
 of it

00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:07.019
 and so

00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.220
 we are still

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:08.679
 suffering,

00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:09.840
 we are still

00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:10.699
 experiencing injustice

00:15:10.699 --> 00:15:12.519
 and we are to long,

00:15:13.439 --> 00:15:14.139
 instead of being

00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:15.340
 satisfied in worldly Babylon,

00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:16.659
 long for heavenly Jerusalem,

00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:17.600
 continue to

00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:18.720
 in our lives

00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:19.279
 and so that's what

00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.139
 this psalm is about.