Brilliant insights! I am growing more and more to love your writing.
As I read this piece, my mind went to our (Canadian here) first nations’ peoples who continue to suffer the trauma of the residential school system. I think your reading of Psalm 137 is very apropos.
It also has me pondering how, in compassion and intercession, I can lament on behalf of those who can’t, won’t, or don’t know how, and in solidarity with those who do. I think it is trivializing and re-traumatizing when my prayers say, “I know just how they feel” when I can’t possibly know. But, if the psalter is my prayer book as well as theirs, maybe I can honestly pray, “Father, I know why they feel…”
Thank you for making me ponder… I look forward to more!
Thanks for the careful and helpful exegesis and excellent application. The Scriptures capture people in real life living through difficult experiences and you really navigated that well!
Hi Catherine! Thanks for tackling such a hard topic. I've never read an article on this before, and I think you handled the text with such thoughtfulness. I work for the Daily Grace Co., and we love helping our readers tackle tough issues like these from the Bible. I'm curious if you would be interested in writing an article for us about a hard passage or a topic in Scripture that tends to be avoided. Please message me if so!
I’m glad you wrote about this. I recently read through Psalms and enjoyed sitting with this one quite a bit. I do prefer this reading to the metaphorical one, though it is grisly. I think the hard reality is that these people lived with an ethic that was more tolerable to brutality than we are. God did not deliver them from it by dropping a modern ethic on them, but by walking with them to form them into a people capable of sustaining justice and peace.
I noticed as well that asking them to sing songs of Zion was not just for entertainment but mocking God and His powerlessness using irony. At first I thought hanging the harps would be done only in grief but I started to wonder if it could also be an act of defiance. We aren’t going to sing because God will be mocked. Instead we will lament and remember, and appeal for justice.
Finally, I think about children (especially in OT) representing generational continuity. From Babylon’s perspective, they may have thought “we won, therefore we are justified”. But Israel’s trust in God says victory does not prove righteousness. Even if justice does not happen immediately, the brutality they visited on Israel will be visited on themselves in some form in the future (and I agree, it is not Israel saying we will do this to you, but whoever does it will be justified). It’s like saying: you built your power by destroying futures, your future will be judged in return.
Funny thing about those gates of Babylon, I've seen them, and I've never been to Iraq...because they're in Berlin. German archaeologists boxed them up as thousands of little fragments and shipped them home and reassembled them and now they share the Museuminsel in the Spree with the Berlin Cathedral, which if you walk past its gates leaving the museum you will see dozens of bullet holes pockmarking its surface.
“Psalm 137:9 gives us permission to pray when we’re raw and raging. It tells us that we don’t have to hide the dark parts of ourselves from God or wait until we’ve found a way through the pain. God meets us in the darkness. He can handle our trauma responses and our wounded words. He sees our suffering. And he has given us a model of what it looks like to pray through our most visceral anger even as we refrain from taking vengeance.”
Amen.
Thank you. I enjoyed this and really look forward to the rest.
All the comments for this article are very intriguing and insightful. I am a Chaplain, so trauma is a common theme that I encounter. This will be very helpful to me.
Great work, Catherine. Well-written theological/pastoral exegesis. Imprecatory psalms have been a regular resource for my work with trauma survivors. I look forward to hearing about the additional reading of this psalm. In addition to “praying through trauma,” I’m interested in the possibility of singing through trauma as a more thoroughly embodied act. There is a growing awareness of the place of singing lament psalms/songs. Eg, my church has occasional gatherings for corporate lament. I think Psalm 137 et al challenges us to consider gathering for corporate imprecation (rightly understood, of course).
That’s really interesting! I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who have become Anglican because the liturgy and the rhythms of standing/sitting/kneeling—embodied worship, in short—was a lifeline in a difficult season in their lives.
This reminds me of the book Practicing Lament by Rebekah Eklund that I'm reading for my NT Theology class, and how the Psalms have these laments that don't always end on a high note, but show us how to express even our darkest feelings and frustrations to God. I appreciate the time taken and the perspective to ponder these passages that might make us cringe, but can give us a lesson and a window into true vulnerability with God.
Reminded me of On the Willows from Godspell, even that song leaves out the bitterness of these images. Thank you for setting the table so well, context is key!
I love your writing style! I have ADHD so it's hard for me to read long form content but this article had me hooked. Trust me it's a compliment to your writing if you can engage my attention for longer than 1 minute 😂 please write more like this! I especially like how you made up a character (Jonathan) to better illustrate what people may have experienced during that time. It makes things easier for me to visualise and understand. Keep up the good work girly
Brilliant insights! I am growing more and more to love your writing.
As I read this piece, my mind went to our (Canadian here) first nations’ peoples who continue to suffer the trauma of the residential school system. I think your reading of Psalm 137 is very apropos.
It also has me pondering how, in compassion and intercession, I can lament on behalf of those who can’t, won’t, or don’t know how, and in solidarity with those who do. I think it is trivializing and re-traumatizing when my prayers say, “I know just how they feel” when I can’t possibly know. But, if the psalter is my prayer book as well as theirs, maybe I can honestly pray, “Father, I know why they feel…”
Thank you for making me ponder… I look forward to more!
Thank you for your kind words! Great thoughts—I think the communal nature of the prayer certainly can point us that direction.
I’m glad you added Lewis to your resources. He admits he’s no theologian in his intro to that book, just a guy who’s reflecting on the passages.
Thanks for the careful and helpful exegesis and excellent application. The Scriptures capture people in real life living through difficult experiences and you really navigated that well!
Very well written and researched. I appreciate your insight into this part of scripture. Important.
Hi Catherine! Thanks for tackling such a hard topic. I've never read an article on this before, and I think you handled the text with such thoughtfulness. I work for the Daily Grace Co., and we love helping our readers tackle tough issues like these from the Bible. I'm curious if you would be interested in writing an article for us about a hard passage or a topic in Scripture that tends to be avoided. Please message me if so!
I’m glad you wrote about this. I recently read through Psalms and enjoyed sitting with this one quite a bit. I do prefer this reading to the metaphorical one, though it is grisly. I think the hard reality is that these people lived with an ethic that was more tolerable to brutality than we are. God did not deliver them from it by dropping a modern ethic on them, but by walking with them to form them into a people capable of sustaining justice and peace.
I noticed as well that asking them to sing songs of Zion was not just for entertainment but mocking God and His powerlessness using irony. At first I thought hanging the harps would be done only in grief but I started to wonder if it could also be an act of defiance. We aren’t going to sing because God will be mocked. Instead we will lament and remember, and appeal for justice.
Finally, I think about children (especially in OT) representing generational continuity. From Babylon’s perspective, they may have thought “we won, therefore we are justified”. But Israel’s trust in God says victory does not prove righteousness. Even if justice does not happen immediately, the brutality they visited on Israel will be visited on themselves in some form in the future (and I agree, it is not Israel saying we will do this to you, but whoever does it will be justified). It’s like saying: you built your power by destroying futures, your future will be judged in return.
Funny thing about those gates of Babylon, I've seen them, and I've never been to Iraq...because they're in Berlin. German archaeologists boxed them up as thousands of little fragments and shipped them home and reassembled them and now they share the Museuminsel in the Spree with the Berlin Cathedral, which if you walk past its gates leaving the museum you will see dozens of bullet holes pockmarking its surface.
Europe is full of the world’s antiquities!
“Psalm 137:9 gives us permission to pray when we’re raw and raging. It tells us that we don’t have to hide the dark parts of ourselves from God or wait until we’ve found a way through the pain. God meets us in the darkness. He can handle our trauma responses and our wounded words. He sees our suffering. And he has given us a model of what it looks like to pray through our most visceral anger even as we refrain from taking vengeance.”
Amen.
Thank you. I enjoyed this and really look forward to the rest.
All the comments for this article are very intriguing and insightful. I am a Chaplain, so trauma is a common theme that I encounter. This will be very helpful to me.
I’m so glad you’ve found it helpful!
Thank you for this. Every time I hear this Psalm I think of the Bob Marley song that uses this Psalm in the lyrics. This is very helpful.
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Encourages me to keep going!
Great work, Catherine. Well-written theological/pastoral exegesis. Imprecatory psalms have been a regular resource for my work with trauma survivors. I look forward to hearing about the additional reading of this psalm. In addition to “praying through trauma,” I’m interested in the possibility of singing through trauma as a more thoroughly embodied act. There is a growing awareness of the place of singing lament psalms/songs. Eg, my church has occasional gatherings for corporate lament. I think Psalm 137 et al challenges us to consider gathering for corporate imprecation (rightly understood, of course).
That’s really interesting! I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who have become Anglican because the liturgy and the rhythms of standing/sitting/kneeling—embodied worship, in short—was a lifeline in a difficult season in their lives.
This reminds me of the book Practicing Lament by Rebekah Eklund that I'm reading for my NT Theology class, and how the Psalms have these laments that don't always end on a high note, but show us how to express even our darkest feelings and frustrations to God. I appreciate the time taken and the perspective to ponder these passages that might make us cringe, but can give us a lesson and a window into true vulnerability with God.
I love this! Is Eklund’s book good? I haven’t read it yet.
Yeah it is, I'm two chapters in but it's already good!
Reminded me of On the Willows from Godspell, even that song leaves out the bitterness of these images. Thank you for setting the table so well, context is key!
Thank you!
I love your writing style! I have ADHD so it's hard for me to read long form content but this article had me hooked. Trust me it's a compliment to your writing if you can engage my attention for longer than 1 minute 😂 please write more like this! I especially like how you made up a character (Jonathan) to better illustrate what people may have experienced during that time. It makes things easier for me to visualise and understand. Keep up the good work girly
Fellow ADHDer here! 🙌
My background is fiction writing, so I place a very high value on holding attention! I’m so glad you loved it!
my background is fiction writing too 😂 are we just the same person?
I have a counterpart across the world!
Nice article. I am happy that you are tackling the difficult passages.
One aspect that is interesting is that they are singing about what God had previously said He will do to Babylon in Isaiah 13:
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives raped. (Isaiah 13:15–16, NRSVue)
They are referencing oracles written over a century earlier.
They are in a sense saying, Our God is scarier than you are. You are not the ultimate power.
Sometimes, in our deepest trauma, we don’t just need the God who comforts us, but also the God who is more terrifying than any possible enemy.
Yes!
I needed this today, thank you
I’m so glad you found it helpful. God sees you.
Yes, so many interpretive questions hinge on genre!