Psalm 137:4

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 137:4

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? This is the answer returned by the Jews to the above request or demand; it may be, particularly, by the Levites, whose business it was to sing these songs: so the Targum, "immediately the Levites said, how shall we sing the hymns of the Lord in a strange land?' This they said, not merely on account of their unsuitable circumstances, being in distress and affliction, and so not disposed for such work; nor as if unlawful to them, being... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:4

How shall we sing the Lord's song - נשיר איך eich ! nashir ; O, we sing! Who does not hear the deep sigh in the strongly guttural sound of the original איך eich ! wrung, as it were, from the bottom of the heart? Can We, in this state of slavery, - We, exiles, from our country, We, stripped of all our property, - We, reduced to contempt by our strong enemy, - We, deprived of our religious privileges, - We, insulted by our oppressors, - We, in the land of heathens, - We sing, or be... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:4

Verse 4 4.How shall we sing, etc. The Psalmist puts a lofty and magnanimous answer into the mouth of the Lord’s people to their insolent reproach, which is this, that they abstained from their songs, as from their legal sacrifices, because the land where they now were was polluted. The Chaldeans thought the Jews were bound down permanently to this place of their exile; the Psalmist, when he calls it a foreign land, suggests that it was but the place of their temporary stay. But the main idea... 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 137:4

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? The "songs of Zion" are Jehovah's songs, used in his worship, suited only for religious occasions. It would be desecration to sing them "in a strange land," among strange people, not to call forth devotional sentiment, but to gratify curiosity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:4

The Lord's song in a strange land. What a wonderful mixture this psalm contains of tears and tragedy, of pathetic sorrow and fiery patriotism! We can almost certainly fix the time when it was written. The first party of exiles had just returned from Babylon, and had come to Jerusalem, where everything on which their gaze rested—the universal desolation and ruin—reminded them of what the spoiler had done, and brought back to their memory the horrors of those dreadful days when Jerusalem was... read more

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