Psaumes 137:4-6 BDS

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 137:5

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem ,.... This was said by one or everyone of the Levites; or singers, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or by the congregation of Israel, as Jarchi; by one of them, in the name of the rest; or by the composer of the psalm. The Targum is, "the voice of the Spirit of God answered and said, "if I forget", &c.;' that is, to weep over the calamities of Jerusalem; which might be thought, if the songs of Zion were sung; or to pray for the restoration of her prosperity and... 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 137:4

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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:5

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem - Such conduct would be, in effect, a renunciation of our land a tacit acknowledgment that we were reconciled to our bondage; a concession that we were pleased with our captivity, and could profane holy ordinances by using them as means of sport or pastime to the heathen. No: Jerusalem! we remember thee and thy Divine ordinances: and especially thy King and our God, whose indignation we must bear, because we have sinned against him. Let my right hand forget -... 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

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

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:5

Verse 5 5.If I shall forget thee, O Jerusalem! This confirms what was said in the former verse, and leaves us in no difficulty to understand what the Psalmist meant by it. For here God’s people declare, and with the solemnity of an oath, that the remembrance of the holy city would be ever engra-yen upon their hearts, and never, under any circumstances, effaced. Having spoken of song, and of the instruments of music, the Psalmist’s appeal is made in terms which corre-spond — that his hand would... 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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 137:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 137:5

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

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:5

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

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

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 137:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 137:1-6

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