Psalm 137

What would it be like for you and I to be in exile in some foreign land? There had been so much loss of life. Everyone was grieving not only their enslavement in Babylon, but the loss of dear ones that they loved.

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

You've got to be kidding me.

How can I sing a psalm for my captors when I am far away from the city of Jerusalem, the city I love?

The psalmist remembers Jerusalem with tears. He longs for the holy city. And the Spirit of God composes this song in the heart and mind of His servant.

It is a song of heaven and hell. It is a song of exile for those who long for the appearing of the One who is called, “The Lord, Our Righteousness.”

We long for Him! We are eager for His return with all the ones for whom we have been weeping. We want to be in the Jerusalem above. But more than anything, we want the Jerusalem that is above with all her angels and redeemed people to come down upon the earth in the final Day of the Lord.

But that day will be a frightening Day of Judgment for the world. The Psalmist remembers the neighboring nation of Edom which was rejoicing in the destruction of Jerusalem when the Babylonians came against the holy city. But God's judgment would come against Edom too.

What will it be like for the enemies of Israel and the church when the Lord comes to judge the living and the dead?

“Forgive them, Lord, they don't know what they are doing.”

But do they know?

“Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord.

So be it. But give me a taste of the Jerusalem that is above today in the songs of Your people here below and in the Word that you speak to my heart. And fill me with your Spirit from the city above that I love.