Psalm 137:1, 8-9 (NIV)
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your enfants and dashes them against the rocks.
Whoa. Did you read that last verse? As one who is pretty engaged in the pro-life movement and the battle against abortion in America, these are hard words to read and understand. “Happy” is the one who throws Babylonian babies down from the city walls to their death? Some other versions even use the word, “blessed.” Before you cast this aside as just some uncomfortable “Old Testament anger” or bury it underneath your discomfort, we must remember that Jesus himself endorsed every single word of the Old Testament (Mth. 5:18, Mk. 7:13), which would include the intent and purpose of Psalm 137:9. So, why would the Prince of Peace endorse such a horrible sentiment?
He does…and He doesn’t. Let’s look at three main points.
First, the psalmist wrote this from his Babylonian captivity after witnessing the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem (Zion). They wept for the death of so many loved ones, including their babies who were thrown down from the city walls. They wept for the loss of almost everything they owned…for the destroyed city of Jerusalem and her great temple…for the agony of a forced march from Judea to Babylon…for the cruelty of their captors…and for the bleak nature of their future. Regarding verse nine, Spurgeon remarked that, ““Let those find fault with it who have never seen their temple burned, their city ruined, their wives ravished, and their children slain; they might not, perhaps, be quite so velvet-mouthed if they had suffered after this fashion.” The New Testament commands us to mourn with those who mourn (Rom. 12:15) and so that it the posture we should take before judging this difficult verse.
Secondly, as their captors mocked them and asked them to sing “one of the songs of Zion,” God’s people chose to rely on the Old Testament judicial system of “lex talionis,” or an eye for an eye where the punishment was to match the crime. Jewish laws prohibited avengers from punishing a wrongdoer beyond what he or she had done: If he intentionally wounded someone, he would receive an equal wound back. Ideally, such a system prevented feuds from escalating while providing justice. Psalm 137:8 speaks of Babylon being repaid by having precisely what she did to the Jews done back to her. Verse 9 names the crime: killing babes. To the exiles, such justice would show that God stands up for the oppressed and cares about righting wrongs.
Lastly, Psalm 137:9 invokes prior prophecy. Verses eight and nine do not ask God for Babylon’s doom, but rather assumes it. Why? Because God’s prophets said Babylon would exile the Jews for 70 years, after which God would send the Persians (Medes) against Babylon and the Jews would return home. The prophet Isaiah said this would happen to Babylon: “Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes” (Is. 13:16). The psalmist isn’t making up or calling down a gruesome punishment—He demonstrates faith that what Isaiah and the other prophets foretold was going to happen. Babylon would fall and the exiles would return to the land. Psalm 137:9 turned the exiles’ hopes toward restoration and faith in God.
Whenever you encounter a passage that disturbs you or confuses you, don’t run away from it, but rather, lean into it. God’s Word is true and trustworthy and remains consistent with His character from the first sentence to the last. Our God is not a god of confusion, but a god of truth, and there is plenty of help through the Holy Spirit and myriads of great theologians (mostly online) to guide you to understanding and peace!
