Psalm 137:6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 137:1-6

We have here the daughter of Zion covered with a cloud, and dwelling with the daughter of Babylon; the people of God in tears, but sowing in tears. Observe, I. The mournful posture they were in as to their affairs and as to their spirits. 1. They were posted by the rivers of Babylon, in a strange land, a great way from their own country, whence they were brought as prisoners of war. The land of Babylon was now a house of bondage to that people, as Egypt had been in their beginning. Their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 137:6

If I do not remember thee ,.... In prayer, in discourse, in conversation; this is the same as before, to forget, repeated for the confirmation of it; let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; as is the case of a person in a fever, or in a violent thirst, which is to be in great distress, Psalm 18:6 ; the sense is, let me have no use of my tongue; let me be dumb and speechless, and never sing a song or speak a word more, should I be so forgetful of the deplorable state of Jerusalem... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:6

Let my tongue cleave - Let me lose my voice, and all its powers of melody; my tongue, and all its faculty of speech; my ear, and its discernment of sounds; if I do not prefer my country, my people, and the ordinances of my God, beyond all these, and whatever may constitute the chiefest joy I can possess in aught else beside. This is truly patriotic, truly noble and dignified. Such sentiments can only be found in the hearts and mouths of those slaves whom the grace of God has made free. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:1-6

By the rivers of Babylon, etc. "The psalm expresses the feelings of an exile who has but just returned from the land of his captivity." I. THE LOSS OF LIBERTY TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL . 1. Brings after it the most despondent sorrow . They hung their harps on the willows, and sat down and wept. 2. Blights the exercise of the highest gifts . They could not sing the joyful songs of Zion—the songs of the Lord. An enslaved people lose the power, as a rule, which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:1-9

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:1-9

Incongruity in religion. The psalm brings before us in very vivid color— I. THE DARK SHADOW CAST BY A GREAT GOOD . Patriotism is an excellent thing, and we are all of us glad and thankful to belong to a land of light and liberty. We would not, on any account, forego so great an advantage, so valuable a privilege. But how much suffering that blessing may entail! Who can measure the intensity of the humiliation and distress which the children of Israel endured when they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:1-9

Fruits of exile from God. It was Israel's, or rather Judah's, exile from Zion and Jerusalem that this psalm commemorated; but the fruits that exile bore, and which are here told of, set forth the fruits of the yet sadder exile from God which many a soul has known. I. THE MEMORY OF WHAT HAS BEEN LOST IS FULL OF SORROW . ( Psalms 137:1 .) "Yea, we sat down and wept." And if, as with God's ancient people, we through sin are banished from God, then, when we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:5-6

Sanctified patriotism. "Let my right hand forget," i . e . be numbed into deadness. The psalm expresses the feelings of an exile who has but just returned from the land of his captivity. He is oppressed with the desolation around him. His heart is heavy and bitter with the memory of wrong and insult from which he has but lately escaped. "He takes his harp, which he could not sound at the bidding of his conqueror by the waters of Babylon; and now with faltering hand he sweeps the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:6

If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Let me be deprived of the power of song. What was wished in the preceding verso with respect to the power of instrumental performance is here wished with respect to the vocal organs. If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. This seems to be the true sense, and is equivalent to "If I prefer not Jerusalem above aught else." read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 137:6

If I do not remember thee - Equivalent to, “If I forget thee.” If I ever fail to remember thee; if I shall ever act as if I had forgotten thee. Singing in a strange land, among those who had perpetrated such wrongs in thee - appearing to be happy, cheerful, joyous, happy, merry there - would be understood to imply that I had ceased to remember thee, and cared nothing for thee.Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth - Compare Ezekiel 3:26. Let me be unable to speak; let my tongue be as it... read more

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