Judgment's End Goal
"By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it."
Psalm 137:1-2
When the Jews found themselves in foreign lands, it was common for them to gather by a nearby river for Sabbath worship. This passage refers to those captives who had been taken to Babylon. The Babylonian captivity had been God's judgment in response to Israel's decades of sinful rebellion against Him.We can see in the psalmist's words that God's judgment had accomplished its intended goal. What Israel once took for granted, they now longed for. They wept at having to worship so far from Zion, the Temple Mount. If you find yourself distracted by the cares of this life with little heart left for the things of God, beware. You may find yourself losing everything that has replaced God. A loss that sometimes is the only way left for God to awaken the love we have lost for Him.
Seek Him first and you will gain all other things. Seek first all other things, and in the end you will lose both.
God's Word Backed by God's Name
"I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name."
Psalm 138:2
David speaks from experience when he declares, "For You have magnified Your word above all Your name." David discovered, as few have, what amazing things stand behind the "name" of God. He saw God's grace in choosing him to be king of Israel. He saw God's good in the years of chastening God brought him through to prepare him for his calling as king. David discovered through all he experienced, a list of virtues that are alone found in the perfection of God. God's love, holiness, power, forgiveness, and sovereignty are examples of things David knew firsthand.
David came to see that all of the main aspects of God's glory represented in His name were at His disposal to assure the fulfillment of His promise. Like David, our hope in God's Word has carried many of us through the most turbulent of waters. Because of this unreserved confidence in God's word of promise, David boldly declares in the midst of a great trial that God will surely revive him. God will stretch out His hand to overthrow the enemies of his soul. Those who know and hope in God's character, which is great in its perfection, will also surely see God's word of promise fulfilled beyond human understanding.
The Searching Light of God
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
Psalm 139: 23,24
David's desire that God would fully search the depths of His inner being, the rightness of his way of living, as well as the origins of his anxieties reaffirms why David had such a passionate heart after God. No matter what evil God saw in him, He would also lead David out of his sin to the golden path that leads to life everlasting. David proved the saying, "Though God knows all about me, He loves me still." David was not afraid to face himself as God saw him because he knew two vital things about God. First, he knew God already knew everything about him anyway so why hide what cannot be hidden? This is why he begins his psalm describing the complete length, depth, height and width of God's knowledge (v. 1-16). Secondly, David knew that in spite of the wickedness of his fallen nature, God's thoughts toward him were precious thoughts of love (v. 17-18). This is the basis for each one of us to fully accept the all-knowing eyes of God.
Let this knowledge of God give us the confidence to face all that God already knows about us. God will not only help us face the cancer of sin that eats away at what we were created to be (the image of God), but He will also lead us onto a path of abundant life. God will do all this for each of us because David is not the first nor last for whom God holds countless precious thoughts. This includes you!
Psalms 137
~Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land
1 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4 How shall we sing the LORD's song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, "Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!"
8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!
Psalm 138
~A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
6 Though the LORD is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
Psalm 139
~For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 137
This psalm was composed after the brutal conquest of the nation of Judah in 586 BC, with its bloodcurdling massacres when the towns and cities fell one after another to the conquerors, accompanied by pillage, rape and unspeakable cruelty. Much of the population was dragged off to Babylon in the subsequent mass deportations.
v. 1 By the rivers of Babylon – Babylon, located in a fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, had a sophisticated canal system that connected the two water sources. The Judean exiles were located along these streams; the prophet Ezekiel, for instance, received his first vision "among the exiles by the Kebar River [canal]" (Eze. 1:1).
of Babylon – The Hebrew text reads: "…Babylon – there! (sham, Heb.)
We sat down – Emphasizing the strangeness and foreignness of their location. The "there" is repeated again for emphasis at the beginning of v. 3.
v. 2 We hung our harps – Probably similar to what we know as "Irish harps," which are small enough to be carried by hand. The exiles "hung it up," they were not in any way inclined to make music in the midst of the situation.
upon the willows – literally, "poplars;" the trees growing beside the canals
in the midst of it – i.e. in the midst of Babylon
v. 3 there – See note on v. 1.
those who carried us away captive – our captors
those who plundered us – The memory of the pillaging of Judah and Jerusalem was still fresh in the poet's mind.
saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" – The captors or "plunderers" wanted to be entertained; this is a common occurrence among conquering armies.
v. 4 How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? – What their tormenters considered quaint "folk songs" of Zion (v. 3) were, for the exiles, sacred worship songs; it was totally out of place to sing them for a crowd of rowdy and perhaps drunken captors.
v. 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! – Right hand and tongue (v. 6) are, of course, the key to playing the lyre. The poet is saying: If Jerusalem is not at the center of my thoughts, may I be cursed.
v. 7 Raze it, raze it – The final three verses are a livid "anti-prayer" by the psalmist, asking God to repay the gloating enemies of Judah with their own coin with which they treated the defeated nation. The final scene of the attack when the enemies took the capitol ("the day of Jerusalem") replays itself before his mind's eye.
the sons of Edom – i.e. the Edomites, a neighboring people descended from Esau, Jacob's brother. They allied themselves with the attacking Babylonians, screaming for the city's total destruction during the final attack.
v. 8 Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! – i.e. happy is the one who pays you back in kind. The poet sees quite accurately, though, that whoever "draws the sword shall die by the sword" (Matt. 26:52).
v. 9 the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock! – This blood-curdling curse is the anguished cry of someone who has probably seen unspeakable cruelties during the final hours of the battle for Jerusalem. Are these only words of personal vengeance and vindictiveness or is there more to them? In ancient times, children were often viciously murdered at the successful conclusion of a siege (2 Kings 8:12, Is. 13:16, Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10).
Psalm 138
This thanksgiving psalm expresses the poet's personal gratefulness to God for deliverance from his enemies (v. 7)
v. 1 my whole heart – The heart, in Hebrew thinking, was the center of one's personality, the source of one's very being. It must be guarded and developed (Prov. 4:23).
Before the gods I will sing praises to You – This phrase has bothered Jewish and Christian commentators for centuries. Some have tried to interpret "gods" as meaning "judges," but that is a stretch. There is nothing particularly polytheistic about the phrase, though; it is best read as a simple statement of fact: in the midst of the nations, the psalmist confesses the true God, while folk around him worship idols and other things they imagine to be "gods."
v. 2 worship – bow down; probably similar to the way Muslims pray today
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name – The word order and emphasis in Hebrew is instructive: "Because You-have-magnified above-all-Your Name…Your Word!" The meaning seems to be that, glorious as God's "Name" (His character and nature) is, His revelation of Himself to humankind has brought Him even greater glory and praise.
v. 3 In the day when I cried out – i.e. in supplication that God would deliver him from His enemies.
made me bold with strength in my soul – "You made me bold and stouthearted" (NIV).
v. 4 When they hear – Whenever the word "hear" appears in the psalms, one should at least consider the possibility that the mighty "confession of faith" of Israel is a connotation; that makes sense in this case. The psalmist is reflecting on his small part in the great proclamation of faith before the nations: "Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is One!" (Deut. 6:4).
v. 6 Though the LORD is on high – Note the Hebrew a-b-b'-a' parallelism: "on high…regards the lowly // the proud…knows from afar (i.e. from a distance).
v. 7 Your right hand will save me – The "right hand" is a Hebrew idiom for strength.
v. 8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me – God's purpose will be fulfilled in our lives; not because of our cleverness or moral goodness, but because His "mercy endures forever" and we are the "work of His hands" (Phil. 1:6).
Psalm 139 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
Chief Musician – the head of the musicians in the Temple
of David – l'david (Heb.) can mean "composed by," "dedicated to," or "in the collection of"
Psalm 139
This wonderful psalm has been a companion of God's people through the centuries. It is a deep meditation on God's total knowledge of our human thoughts and condition and on the amazing glory of His presence everywhere: in all that is, was, or ever will be.
v. 1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me – God's knowledge is active, based upon His conscious awareness of everything in His creation.
v. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up – The phrasing recalls God's command to His people to know His commands: "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deut. 6:7).
You understand my thought afar off – God knows our innermost thoughts, a comforting and alarming prospect
v. 3 my lying down – Means the "lair" of an animal. I.e. in colloquial speech, "You know where I hang out".
v. 5 You have hedged me behind and before – The image the poet has in mind is probably that of a potter "squeezing" the clay between his hands; God has been directing the psalmist's life since the moment of his conception.
v. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? – It is impossible to escape from God's presence; there is nowhere in the created world that He is not there.
v. 8 hell – sheol (Heb.) the place of the dead
v. 9 If I take the wings of the morning – The picture is of someone riding the sun across the skies to the uttermost ends of the earth.
v. 11 the darkness shall fall on me – i.e. I will be wrapped up in darkness like a blanket
v. 12 The darkness and the light are both alike to You – It is all the same to God; night is like blazing daylight for Him.
v. 13 inward parts – literally, in Heb. "kidneys;" i.e. all of the most intricate organs of the body
covered me – Better translated: "knit me" or "wove me;" again emphasizing God's active role in the psalmist's life from the moment of conception.
v. 15 in the lowest parts of the earth – Literally: "in the depths of the earth;" it creates a picture (metaphor) comparing the womb and the underworld (v. 8).
v. 16 in Your book they all were written – The Hebrew text is not clear; this could mean: "All the days fashioned for me were written in Your book" (i.e., God intimately knows future events) or it could mean: "Everything about me…" (God knows us in detail).
v. 18 When I awake, I am still with You – After all of his effort to grasp God's thoughts (v. 17), the psalmist falls asleep; when he wakens, God's presence is still there.
v. 19 that You would slay the wicked – The poet's attention then turns to the conditions in the world. Wickedness is not hidden from him; how much more is it not hidden from God.
v. 22 perfect hatred – i.e. "total" hatred.
v. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart – Are a deep cry for personal revival. Spiritual renewal begins with the "searching" of one's innermost motives ("heart") and one's thought-life ("anxieties"; better translated "thoughts" or "thinking").
v. 24 see if there is any wicked way in me – Two life "ways" are envisioned by the poet: the "wicked" way (literally, the "aggravating" way…i.e. it is irritating or vexing to God and the "eternal way," upon which one is led by God (the image of the pilgrim "Christian" in Pilgrim's Progress).
Prayer Focus
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
Psalm 139:23-24
As David sought for You to search his heart, God, we pray for the same today. Examine our hearts, refine us in Your holy fire, and rid us of the sin that is within. Above all us, lead us in Your ways, Lord, so that we may spend eternity praising You.
Topical Core Groups
I've been attending the "Women of Sexual Integrity" class and through it, the Lord has been showing me things about my marriage relationship that need help. The women of our church body are blessed to have this opportunity to safely and effectively discuss and pray for issues related to sexual integrity in marriage. Tina Bailey is an awesome teacher.
Prayer Points
- that the Lord would continue to bless marriages in our church family through this class
- that more women would be yielded to allowing the Lord to work and heal and bless their intimate relationships with their husbands
