INTRODUCTION - Read Psalm 137, Jeremiah 12, Ezra 1&2, Nehemiah 1:1-3
In times of trouble, it's easy to forget that God answers our prayers, but HE DOES, and reassures us of HIS LOVE AND MERCY. He will "carry us through our difficulties". Like the Israelites, in their captivity, we need to be honest with our GUILT, FEAR and GRIEVING. Remember, even in times of mourning, "GOD WILL HEAR YOU AND COMFORT YOU."
"I am leaving you with a gift - PEACE OF MIND AND HEART. And the PEACE I give you the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:27 (NLT)
The Israelites had been exiled into Babylon, watching their homes and the Temple in Jerusalem fall down around them. They had lost confidence in God's presence, and their "cry for lament" was heard all over the countryside. They were a DESPERATE, TORMENTED PEOPLE!
For centuries, the people of Judah had heard the prophecies - "the CONSEQUENCES for their IDOLATRY AND DISOBEDIENCE." Judah and Israel had experienced Civil War, which had ended with their "captivity into Babylon." God's people had failed to hear God's warnings and had been "stripped of their covenant blessings." They could worship in the Temple, nor live in the Promised Land.
"No one can deny the relentless pain brought on by enduring the consequences of their wrong doing......The Lord always warns those He chastises." Charles R Swindoll
"Then after 70 years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon for their sins. I will make the country of Babylon a wasteland." Jeremiah 25:12 (NLT)
We later read in Scripture, how after their many years of captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah would lead the Israelites as they returned home to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of their city and their Temple. God's mercy and grace would abound.
"O Lord God of Heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His Covenant of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey your commands. LISTEN TO MY PRAYER! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family have sinned..... but if we return and obey your commands and live by them, even if we are exiled to the ends of the earth, YOU WILL US BACK TO THE PLACE YOU HAVE CHOSEN for Your name to be honoured." Nehemiah 1:5&6, 9 (NLT)
"GOD'S GRACE AND MERCY hold us every step of our journey, as we return to HIS PRESENCE." Ruth Chou Simmons
THE EXILES SONG - PRAYING FOR MERCY - Read Psalm 137:1-4
Imagine the Jews with their "heads hanging low" and their "shoulders slumped", silently sitting with the "tears streaming down their cheeks". Psalm 137 was written shortly after their exile into Babylon. Imagine or hurt and lonely they would have been feeling, away from the GOD'S PRESENCE.
"Besides the Rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thoughts of Jerusalem.....Our captors demanded a song from us. One tormentor insisted on a joyful hymn: "Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!" But how can we sing those songs for the Lord in a pagan land?" Psalm 137:1, 3&4
The Psalmist himself was an exile. Why then would they have been weeping?
* Because of the death of their LOVE ONES.
* Over the loss of EVERYTHING THEY OWNED.
* Their city and homes had been DESTROYED, along with their Temple, in which they WORSHIPPED GOD in His Presence.
* Because they were being TREATED CRUELY by their captors.
* They felt they had a BLEAK FUTURE - too many UNKNOWNS.
* They were feeling GUILTY because of the CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SIN and their FEAR OF JUDGEMENT.
The words in the song were sad and mournful, not just a "PERFORMANCE". They were singing them in a FOREIGN LAND. Because of their fear and guilt they had forgotten GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY.
Because of GOD'S MERCY AND GRACE, you can have "surefooting, confidence and trust" with "access to GOD'S PRESENCE. " This is what the Christian life "originates from".
DEVOTION TO GOD - HIS TENDER MERCIES - Read Psalm 13:5&6
"If I forget you Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof if nt mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy."
Psalm 137:5&6 (NIV)
The Psalmist vowed to never forget GOD'S HOLY CITY - JERUSALEM. Notice that in these verses, the personal pronouns,, "we and our" are replaced with "my and I". After related the anguish of the Jewish people in the first four verses, the Psalmist is now doing some "self analysis". Although still feeling their grief and guilt, he refuses to "GIVE UP". He wanted to accept that God was loving, merciful and faithful - and HIS PROMISES WERE TRUE.
Today, we too often suffer the consequences of disobeying our Father God; but if we turn our hearts to Him, believing in His Son Jesus Christ, nothing can "break our bond" with Them. Let's not forget God's GRACE AND MERCY.
"Our merciful God has extended the way out, through GRACE. Receive His extravagant LOVE FOR YOU; HIS MERCY is always greater than your sin.....The more we set our hearts on the MERCY AND KINDNESS OF GOD the more can't help but OFFER OURSELVES BACK TO HIM, in GRATEFUL PRAISE." Ruth Chou Simmons
"Nothing that has OCCURED, or WILL OCCUR in Heaven or earth can change the TENDER MERCIES of our God." A.W Tozer
GOD'S JUSTICE - A PLEA FOR MERCY - Read Psalm 137:7-9, Obadiah 1
The Edomites joined with the Babylonians, destroying Jerusalem and taking the Jews into exile. They were a sister nation to Israel, and they should have been "sympathetic" to them, yet they "enjoyed watching the destruction of God's people".
"Descendants from Esau were closely related to the Israelites, but hostility had divided them. The Edomites gloated at the news of Jerusalem's ruin." Pat and David Alexander
"Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down", they cried, "Tear it down to its foundations." Psalm 137:7 (NIV)
"The vision of Obadiah: This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom......."See I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame forever." Obadiah 1&10 (NIV)
The Psalmist was seeking justice and retribution on behalf of God's people, for the all the Babylonians and Edomites had done to them, but it was not "self justification". In the future the Babylonians and the Edomites would be in ruins. GOD'S JUSTICE AND MERCY would prevail, and the Israelites would RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND and rebuild it.
"But when the 70 years are fulfilled, I will punish the King of Babylon, for their guilt", declares the Lord, "I will make them desolate forever. "......"They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands." Jeremiah 25:12&14 (NLT)
"O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who repays you, according to what you have done for us." Psalm 137:8 (NIV)
"For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope"...... "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and I will bring you home again to your land."
Jeremiah 29:11&14 (NLT)
CONCLUSION - MERCY FOR OUR PRESENT AND FUTURE.
By the end of this Psalm, the Psalmist moves on from sorrow to focus on God's faithfulness and mercy. God's compassion is the deep love that God has shown to those who are in misery and distress, like the people of Israel who had been in exile. MERCY AND LOVE is freely given to us too, even though we may feel unworthy or undeserving. His MERCY AND LOVE are "new every morning" they "never end" and "GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS."
"By the Rivers of Babylon", (1979), Boney M (Performer), You Tube
"Mercies: New Every Morning" (2020), Matt Redman (Composer/Performer), You Tube
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