Introduction
As
a psalm of lament, set during the Babylonian exile, Psalm 137 reflects the
psalmist painful recollection of the city of Jerusalem while being held captive
far from the city. Strong contrasts are
presented between Jerusalem and Babylon, and the psalmist employs motifs of
desired worship while at the same time acknowledging the impossibility of such
a prospect. Yet despite the initial
lament and recollection (vv. 1-4), the psalmist moves from lament to pledge
(vv. 5-6), with the hope of this pledge being sufficient support for the
imprecation offered in the final pericope (vv.7-9). At the psalm’s conclusion, there is the hope
of restoration, that YHWH will turn the psalmist’s sorrow (v.1) into joy (vv.
8-9). This joy will come at the expense
of the exilic community’s captor and the curse requested will extend not only
to the captors themselves but also to their children. In terms of theme, Psalm 137 hinges on the
idea of “remembrance”, and it is the psalmist’s pledge to remember Jerusalem,
and by relation the God whom inhabited the city, that gives the psalmist
leverage to petition that this very God remember the psalmist, the exilic
community, and most explicitly those who have cast them into exile.
Outline
I.
Lament
over the Babylonian Exile vv.1-4
A.
Mournful recollection and abandonment of worship vv.1-2
B.
Taunt of Jerusalem’s captors v. 3
C.
Rhetorical response v. 4
II.
Vow of fidelity to Jerusalem vv.
5-6
A.
Pledge to remember with physical investment v. 5
B.
Pledge to remember with vocal investment v. 6
III.
Request of remembrance and Imprecation vv. 7-9
A. Request that YHWH remember Edom v. 7
B. Request that YHWH remember
Babylon v. 8a
C. Imprecation against Babylon v. 9
Exegesis
[1-4] The first unit of
Psalm 137, vv. 1-4, presents a communal lament and recollection. By employing the first person plural, this
pericope recognizes not only the position of the psalmist but the entire exilic
community as well. From the beginning of
the psalm the reader is introduced to the important theme of remembrance. Despite the exile, as represented in the
setting “by the rivers of Babylon”, the exilic community has not forgotten
their home. Nonetheless, as a
consequence of such recollection, the community is sorrowful as they sit
weeping by the rivers. Their captors
taunt them with the request to hear a song of Zion, and the community responds
with the rhetorical question, “How could we?”
This inability to sing is also an important theme within the first four
verses. As verse 1 indicates, the
community is weeping, a difficult disposition from which to sing, and the harps
upon which they would play have been hung upon the willows by the river. Yet the tormentors still make their request,
a spiteful reminder that the community is not only incapable of singing presently,
but can forget about the days when songs of Zion were sung in Jerusalem. By twice mentioning Zion and twice
referencing Babylon (Babylon, foreign land), the psalmist draws the reader’s
attention to these contrasting and opposing communities. This disposition is nothing new to Israel, as
Erich Zenger notes, “The life of the people of Israel appears overwhelmingly to
be a daily struggle, an ongoing battle against enemies.”[1] However what is found in Psalm 137 is far
more than struggle, it is utter defeat.
It reflects a community who remembers but is unable to exercise the joys
of the past because of their present exile.
As the psalm unfolds both the theme of remembrance and the theme of musical
expression will be revisited, and the contrast between Jerusalem and Babylon
will be further emphasized.
[5-6] A transition from
the first person plural to the first person singular in verses 5-6 replaces the
voice of the exilic community with the voice of the psalmist specifically. Again, the theme of remembrance starts off
the pericope, with a pledge made by the psalmist. If the psalmist were to forget Jerusalem, he
or she would incur physical retribution with the loss of the right hand and the
inability to vocalize as depicted by the “tongue cling[ing] to the roof of [the
psalmist’s] mouth”. While these physical
and vocal consequences of forgetfulness would cause immense pain to the
psalmist, they would also prevent him or her from ever singing the songs of
Zion, as the hand would be essential to exercising a musical instrument and the
tongue would be vital to singing a song.
While the psalmist is currently prevented from singing the songs of Zion,
as presented previously, Psalm 137 will ultimately move to the hope of
retribution and restoration, and by staking participation in communal hymns the
psalmist recognizes the severity of his or her pledge. Furthermore, Jerusalem is mentioned twice in
these verses, subtly supporting the psalmist’s pledge. The psalmist cannot even compose a verse
without mentioning the name of Jerusalem!
Despite the exile the psalmist vows to remember Jerusalem and place the
city above the psalmist’s highest joy at the risk of great loss. Such a strong and serious pledge gives
leverage to the psalmist to evoke the remembrance of YHWH and imprecate YHWH to
respond against Jerusalem’s captors.
[7-9] After making the
pledge to remember, the psalmist evokes the remembrance of YHWH Himself. The theme is continued, and the remembrance
requested by the psalmist is of the action of the Edomites and the
Babylonians. Charges are brought against
each, as the Edomites served as agitators while the Babylonians devastated the
city. However, imprecation is only requested
against Babylon, capitalizing on the operative legal approach of lex talionis. While the Edomites observed the destruction
they did not actively destroy the city.
On the other hand, the devastation brought on by the Babylonians was so
severe that the appropriate punishment, or pay back, extends to the point of
dashing Babylonian children against rocks.
Though problematic for the modern reader, this retribution would bring
happiness to the one who exercises it.
Furthermore, if YHWH is to be responsible for this retribution, as the
imprecation would indicate, it would be YHWH’s army who would exercise this
judgment. If YHWH’s army refers to the
people of Jerusalem, the exilic community that was so sorrowful at the
beginning of Psalm 137 has the hope of once again experiencing joy (happiness)
when YHWH enacts His judgment. Keeping
with the theme of musical expression, this happiness could manifest itself in
the form of “mirth” (v. 3), as the exilic community might bring down their
harps from the willows and once again sing the songs of Zion. At the same time, as Dr. Joel LeMon notes,
“The psalms of imprecation are the prayers of the powerless, whose only source
of strength is the hope that God will act powerfully for their salvation.”[2] Therefore the joy that may be hoped for in
the final verse should not be viewed as a product of the community. It does not suggest an organic uprising but a
divine intervention.
Pastoral Implications
From a pastoral perspective Psalm 137
appears somewhat difficult to employ in either corporate or individual
worship. Within Baptist churches there
is little emphasis on lectionary readings, and even churches that do employ the
lectionary often exercise great liberty with which sections they choose to use. Nonetheless, as Psalm 137 stands within the
psalter, a canonical book that possess Christian authority, it necessarily must
be recognized as a legitimate Christian scripture that is appropriate for use
within Christian worship.
Two components of
the text seem most problematic. First,
the idea of a retributive God who punishes the “enemy” results in an “us verses
them” theology that can have dire consequences.
Secondly, the violent imagery of verse 9, and the subsequent celebration
that it initiates, is difficult to justify with the New Testament imperative to
love and forgive. However, if the
central theme of remembrance can be prioritized over these aspects, Psalm 137
can assist in both pastoral counseling and corporate celebration.
The
purpose of the retributive justice requested by the psalmist is to affirm God’s
recognition of the unjust oppression of the exilic community. Operating out of a context in which lex talionis justice is recognized, by
punishing the Babylonians God is seen as making right the injustice that the
community has experienced. Perhaps the
psalmist assumes that the only way to affirm God’s remembrance of the exilic
community is to inflict upon the Babylonians a pain that is equal to that which
the psalmist experiences. On the one
hand, the graphic imagery of “dashing little ones” gives painful recognition to
the depths of the psalmist’s own suffering.
On the other hand, history has shown that the psalmist’s assumption,
that a violent act must be reciprocated with another in order for justice to be
established, is invalid. By recognizing
the dominant theme of remembrance, and recognizing the retributive violence
within the psalm as part of this dynamic, modern Christians can recognize the
expression of the psalmist while at the same time identifying alternative means
of seeking God’s justice. According to
William P. Brown, “Psalm 137 is not so much a call for infanticide as a call
for God’s judgment to restore a defeated and demoralized people, a judgment
that necessarily involves the collapse of hegemonic rule.”[3] Though violence is the vessel through which
God’s judgment comes, Brown’s comments affirm the intention of the psalm to
elevate the theme of remembrance.
Conclusion
Psalm
137 presents a request for remembrance in the midst of oppression. After noting the dire circumstance in which
the exilic community finds itself, and highlighting the inability to sing the
songs of Zion, the psalmist makes a pledge to never forget Jerusalem. By staking physical suffering as a
consequence of forgetting Zion, the psalmist makes an individual oath that
gives the psalmist the leverage to make a request to God. Like the psalmist, perhaps God will remember
what has happened and those who are responsible. Furthermore, there is the an imprecation for
retribution, and the psalm concludes with the hope that possibly YHWH will
remember and make things right. While this
retribution is expressed through violent imagery, and thereby must be approached
with care, if the theme of “remembrance” is prioritized then modern communities
can look to other manifestations of God’s retribution and reconciliation. If God remembers, and there is the hope that
God will make things right, then within the modern context this correction must
be sought through other means.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Will P. Psalms.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.
LeMon, Joel M.
“Saying Amen to Violent Psalms:
Patterns of Prayer, Belief, and Action in the
Psalter.” Pages 93-109 in Soundings in the Theology of the
Psalms: Perspectives and
Methods
in Contemporary Scholarship. Edited
by Rolf A. Jacobson. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.
Zinger, Erich. A God of Vengeance? Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath. Translated by
Linda M. Maloney. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 1996.
[1]
Erich Zinger, A God of Vengeance? Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath
(trans. Linda M. Maloney; Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 1996), 11.
[2]
Joel M. LeMon, “Saying Amen to Violent Psalms:
Patterns of Prayer, Belief, and Action in the Psalter,” in Soundings in the Theology of the
Psalms: Perspectives and Methods in
Contemporary Scholarship (edit. Rolf A. Jacobson; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011), 108.
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