Psalm 137 -- Anonymous, an Exile to Babylon

He was an exile, or someone who had once been there and remembered this time with bitterness. Babylon was the scene (see the accompanying picture here, from the Chludov Psalter, of that episode next to the river) in “Psalm 137”, a centuries-old lament. A prisoner’s reason for writing doesn’t need to be further explained – he’s in detention where his will has been conquered. Vengeance is the resulting operative emotion that the writer expresses, and God’s word doesn’t conceal or sugar-coat this deep anger. What does one do with such a memory?

Was the composer one of the prophets, perhaps Jeremiah or Ezekiel? Or was it one of the Levitical composer-musicians who lamented this time, allowing the nation to recall and so purge from their collective soul these feelings? Some sources indicate that Jeremiah was the source of this prose, perhaps alternately called out as ‘Jeremias’ in an ancient superscription. Or, was Ezekiel lyrically recalling his personal Babylonian experience that he referenced in his prophecy’s first few lines (Ezekiel 1:1-3)? That the nation is derisively encouraged to sing for their captors suggests this recollection was especially offensive, conceivably because singing was normally reserved for voluntary expression to Him.  That would be the complaint of a godly musician, right? Someone who reserved his musicality for the Holy One would find a pagan’s requirement for this form of expression unforgivable. A song to recall these acidic sensations must have come from a personal witness to their origins.  Yet, a composer willing to expose his own heart’s disturbing desire – to see his enemy’s infants crushed (Psalm 137:8-9) – is someone whose connection with holiness is false, isn’t it? How low does the human spirit sink, despite the test given it in a depraved time? The words of this composer, no matter who he may be, read like those of a war-weary soldier, someone with combat fatigue.    

Is the anonymity of the Psalm’s writer by accident? Who would want to own the feelings of revenge that this writer expresses? Is it possible that the writer recognized his own condition, as he concluded his composition? The song’s last sentence, “So let the words…be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord”, read like someone who’s seen his own degeneration and wants to recover. Indeed, that may be one of the most common themes of the Psalms and other biblical songs – they’re therapeutic. I can’t hide my insides from Him. Admit them, give them to Him. He’s the only one that can heal me of this wound.

There is no source for the song story, but for background on the psalm, see the New International Version Study Bible, general editor Kenneth Barker, 1985, copyright The Zondervan Corporation, for notes on Psalm 89 and the song’s original biblical-era composer. 

Also see this site for background and potential author of the psalm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_137