We have extremes in the two psalms for today. We go from a worship song of exultation and thanksgiving to a lament, a song of mourning.
And God is there in both extremes. That is one reason I love the Psalms. We see those who love God responding TO the LORD they serve in the emotions that overwhelm them at the time.
LINK: Psalm 136
BACKGROUND
This psalm was probably used in worship and lends itself to being sung antiphonally. It’s pretty obvious what its theme is! One phrase is repeated over and over again, twenty-six times, to be exact:
For His mercy endures forever
That is how the English Standard Version puts it. And yet another translation:That’s how it’s translated in some versions (New King James for one) . Here’s another way it’s been translated:
For His steadfast love endures forever
For His lovingkindess is everlasting
That is the way the New American Standard Version words it.
Has it sunk in yet?
The psalm alternates that statement with specific examples of God’s goodness.
God’s mercy and love are revealed in His works of creation (vv 4-9).
God’s mercy and love are revealed in His rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt (vv 10-15).
God’s mercy and love are revealed in His care of His people in the wilderness and in conquering enemies and giving His people the land of Canaan (vv 16-22).
The psalm ends with a summary: God cares for His people when they’re hurting, He rescues them from enemies, He feeds all that lives (vv 23-25).
The psalm ends with thanks:
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
And indeed, recounting all that God has done that reveal His mercy, does cause us to pause and give thanks to Him.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
As I pondered this psalm I couldn’t help but think about how the Lord has cared for me. He created an orderly and beautiful world for us to live in. He rescued me from the control of sin, through His death. He defeated those “enemies” of mine that war against me: fear and bitterness and envy (and more). He has given me a place of plenty to dwell in, a land full of His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.
I am going to write my own “psalm” today in the style of Psalm 135. I am going to be specific in it. I will name ways I have seen God’s steadfast love revealed in my own “history.”
Won’t you do the same thing?
LINK: Psalm 137
BACKGROUND
This psalm is a lament, a song of sorrow.
The Jews sang this psalm in captivity. Defeated and taken into captivity by the Babylonians, they were humiliated further by taunts. Jerusalem had been given to them by the LORD. It was where He wanted them to worship Him. But they no longer lived there. In exile, far from home, the Babylonians made fun of them and their faith and asked them to sing their songs of joy and rejoicing about Jerusalem, their home. The implication is clear: the Babylonians were asking, “So where is your great God now?”
But the Jews do sing! They sing a sad song to God. And as they sing they remember that God is still God. They remember what God did to His enemies in the past. Babylon will be destroyed in the same way it destroyed Jerusalem.
In a sense, this is a psalm of prophecy, for that is what happened to Babylon. It was ransacked and destroyed.
REFLECTION
Two main thoughts swirl around in my mind as I write this.
The first is that even in times of great trouble and anguish of heart we can sing to God. We are to sing what is in our hearts, though, not fake platitudes. God doesn’t want us to pretend. That is something that hit me many years ago when I was in college. I knew I should be a certain way and so I’d pretend to God that I was that way. One day, I realized how very foolish that was. God, after all, knows my heart. He knows me better than I know myself. So I began to pour out all the yucky stuff to Him. I began to be honest with God. And you know what? He began to work in me, to bring me back to Him, to give me understanding. He restored joy and peace to me.
The second has to do with that last verse, that curse. I don’t have any kind of definitive answer about it or special knowledge of why curses are included in the psalms. It is hard to read that verse. Here are my thoughts, about the violence of that curse (and by extension, others):
The Jews are crying for justice. They are asking God to punish the Babylonians in the same way the Babylonians hurt them. It’s easy for us, living in this age when we have seen little physical violence done against us and those we love, to deplore the violence of those curses. But we haven’t lived there.
We all want justice.
When someone wrongs me, my first reaction is to want them to pay for it, to be held responsible for their wrong. I have to go through a process to move from justice to mercy. I have to remember how I have so often put myself before the LORD, how I have sinned. He died to forgive that sin. Justice was satisfied. That is something that we often forget. We don’t get to mercy unless we go through justice first. When I remember that God gave Himself to die for me, that He loves me and forgives me, then for His sake I am able to forgive others. It’s not often for their sake that I forgive them! But if God can forgive me, then surely I can forgive others. I cheapen His gift to me if I don’t reflect what He has done to others. But justice is not an evil desire; it is a truth, and one that God recognizes. That is why He died. We cheapen grace when we forget what sin deserves.
APPLICATION
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
As I pondered this psalm I couldn’t help but think about how the Lord has cared for me. He created an orderly and beautiful world for us to live in. He rescued me from the control of sin, through His death. He defeated those “enemies” of mine that war against me: fear and bitterness and envy (and more). He has given me a place of plenty to dwell in, a land full of His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.
I am going to write my own “psalm” today in the style of Psalm 135. I am going to be specific in it. I will name ways I have seen God’s steadfast love revealed in my own “history.”
Won’t you do the same thing?
LINK: Psalm 137
BACKGROUND
This psalm is a lament, a song of sorrow.
The Jews sang this psalm in captivity. Defeated and taken into captivity by the Babylonians, they were humiliated further by taunts. Jerusalem had been given to them by the LORD. It was where He wanted them to worship Him. But they no longer lived there. In exile, far from home, the Babylonians made fun of them and their faith and asked them to sing their songs of joy and rejoicing about Jerusalem, their home. The implication is clear: the Babylonians were asking, “So where is your great God now?”
But the Jews do sing! They sing a sad song to God. And as they sing they remember that God is still God. They remember what God did to His enemies in the past. Babylon will be destroyed in the same way it destroyed Jerusalem.
In a sense, this is a psalm of prophecy, for that is what happened to Babylon. It was ransacked and destroyed.
REFLECTION
Two main thoughts swirl around in my mind as I write this.
The first is that even in times of great trouble and anguish of heart we can sing to God. We are to sing what is in our hearts, though, not fake platitudes. God doesn’t want us to pretend. That is something that hit me many years ago when I was in college. I knew I should be a certain way and so I’d pretend to God that I was that way. One day, I realized how very foolish that was. God, after all, knows my heart. He knows me better than I know myself. So I began to pour out all the yucky stuff to Him. I began to be honest with God. And you know what? He began to work in me, to bring me back to Him, to give me understanding. He restored joy and peace to me.
The second has to do with that last verse, that curse. I don’t have any kind of definitive answer about it or special knowledge of why curses are included in the psalms. It is hard to read that verse. Here are my thoughts, about the violence of that curse (and by extension, others):
The Jews are crying for justice. They are asking God to punish the Babylonians in the same way the Babylonians hurt them. It’s easy for us, living in this age when we have seen little physical violence done against us and those we love, to deplore the violence of those curses. But we haven’t lived there.
We all want justice.
When someone wrongs me, my first reaction is to want them to pay for it, to be held responsible for their wrong. I have to go through a process to move from justice to mercy. I have to remember how I have so often put myself before the LORD, how I have sinned. He died to forgive that sin. Justice was satisfied. That is something that we often forget. We don’t get to mercy unless we go through justice first. When I remember that God gave Himself to die for me, that He loves me and forgives me, then for His sake I am able to forgive others. It’s not often for their sake that I forgive them! But if God can forgive me, then surely I can forgive others. I cheapen His gift to me if I don’t reflect what He has done to others. But justice is not an evil desire; it is a truth, and one that God recognizes. That is why He died. We cheapen grace when we forget what sin deserves.
APPLICATION
Has someone wronged you? Are you far from God and living in a “foreign land”?
Cry to Him. Sing a sad song to Him. Cry for justice. Return to worshipping Him.
Remember what He has done for you in your rebellion against Him. He satisfied justice and extended grace. Can you not respond to His love, reflect Him, and forgive someone else?
PRAYER
Father, we praise you for your steadfast love revealed over and over again to us. Help us to remember that when we are in a barren place or when we are wronged. Help us to turn to you when we are filled with joy and help us to turn to you when we are hurting. Give us honest hearts before you.
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