Psalm 137

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Psalm 137 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

How do we worship in a foreign land?

Being completely cut off from their native land, and without their temple to worship in, the people of Israel were heartsick. They had no high priest, no king, no ark of the covenant, and found themselves lost in a culture they could not relate to. Think of what this means for a Christian today. If the Holy Spirit pulled out of our lives and we found ourselves living in a completely different nation without the freedom to regularly gather for worship, it would overwhelm us.

It is no wonder the people of Israel were downtrodden. The psalm describes their weeping at the rivers of Babylon.

By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion.

Psalms 137:1 NASB

However, God uses all circumstances to glorify Himself and stir a new growth within us. It was not all negative. Because they lacked a temple, the people created a synagogue. They also began gathering together all of their writings which eventually led to the Scriptures we now have in the Old Testament. As the people adapted to the foreign culture and the new language, it opened to the door for the Bible to eventually be translated into Greek.

We usually don’t see the blessings in such a place. Foreign territory is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. We tend to view such places as a hindrance to what God is trying to do. As we look back at history, it would be wise for us to consider that God often places mysterious and significant gifts in foreign territory. These are the places He does some of His best work.