Psalm 137 The Weeping Willow
1. The Psalmist's Lament
The Place - 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
The Pain - yea, we wept,
The Past - when we remembered Zion.
The Poverty -
The Call for Mourning - 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
The Cause for Mourning -
The Distance - 3 For there they
The Dominion - that carried us away captive
The Demand - required of us a song;
The Case for Mourning -
They had No Song - 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song;
No Satisfaction - and they that wasted us required of us mirth,
No Sanctuary - saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
No Salvation - 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
It's Impossible, Implausible, Impractical -
The Cure for Mourning - 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning
A Revelation - Of their Folly.
A Recognition - Of their Fault.
A Resignation - Of their Fate.
A Reclamation - Of their Faith.
A Restoration - Of their Favour.
2. The Psalmist's Loss -
They had lost -
The House of God - 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Their Hope in God - let my right hand forget her cunning. [her skill with the harp].
Their Help from God -
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth:
Their Holiness by God - if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
3. The Psalmist's Loathing Of -
Edom's Bitterness -
It's Testing - 7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom
It's Timing - in the day of Jerusalem;
It's Telling - who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Babylon's Brutishness -
Her Identity - 8 O daughter of Babylon,
Her Prophecy - who art to be destroyed;
Her Enmity - happy shall he be,
Her Destiny - that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Israel's Barrenness -
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The Warning - Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived;
The Witness - God is not mocked:
The Work - for whatsoever a man soweth,
The Wage - that shall he also reap.
