Wisdom Books Psalms

Maturing In Discipline

Discover Jesus as: King of Glory Psalms 137-139 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 458 of 730
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INTRO

Our study of the Psalms of Ascent is complete. Psalm 137 is about the Babylonian captivity. In captivity, the people remembered the good days in the past in Israel. The author of Psalm 137 is unknown. The psalm’s title is simply, “The Lament of the Exiles.” Wiersbe pointed out that the words “remember” and “forget” are used five times in the nine verses of Psalm 137.1

TEACHING

Psalm 137:1-4: MacArthur characterized the first four verses as lamentations.2 The exiles sat down by the rivers of Babylon— the Tigris and Euphrates3 —and wept over their memories of Zion. The Temple, which symbolized God’s presence, was in Zion, so perhaps the exiles wept over a feeling of inability to connect with God. Even after the exile ended and the Temple was rebuilt, the people still had this feeling: “As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:1–3). The exiles sat by the river because sitting was the official posture of mourning.4

As they sat by the rivers, the Israelites put away their instruments because the Babylonians jeered them to sing “the songs of Zion” (v. 3). Music was meant to be a joyful expression of Israel’s worship: “Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob. Lift up a song—play the tambourine, the melodious lyre, and the harp. Blow the horn on the day of our feasts during the new moon and during the full moon”(Psalm 81:1–3). Now, in captivity, the Israelites saw no cause for joy, especially as their captors sarcastically asked them to sing songs of their God. The setting seemed completely out of place for the Israelites to praise God. Their attitude was summarized in verse four, “How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil?”

Psalm 137:5–6: MacArthur observed a transition from lamentations to conditions.5 The Israelites pictured Jerusalem because it was the place where they would have rather been. In the middle of their sorrow, the Israelites intentionally remembered where they came from and where their joy resided. Their desire to remember was so strong they asked God that their “right hand forget its skill” (v. 5) and their tongue stuck to the top of their mouths (v. 6) if they ever forgot Jerusalem. Forgetting Jerusalem would have been equivalent to forgetting God, so the Israelites worked to keep their eyes on Jerusalem.

Even though the Israelites were suffering, they were learning to work through their suffering. They were in exile, so their conditions were not good. However, they were learning to keep their eyes on God in the midst of their suffering. It might have felt awkward for the Israelites to keep their eyes on the Lord in this way, but they were attempting to live out Psalm 9:11, “Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the nations.” The Israelites were being refined by the Lord. They were learning how to hold onto their faith in the Lord in the midst of suffering and in the middle of things not working out like they expected.

Psalm 137:7–9: While this psalm started with lamentations and then moved to conditions, verses seven through nine contain imprecations.6 Imprecations express hatred for enemies. The psalmist expressed his desire for God to step in and deal with Israel’s enemies who had caused them to go into exile. Implied within the imprecatory statements is a desire for God to fight against Israel’s enemies because Israel was powerless to do so themselves.

The Edomites had been allies with Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem7: “So rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom, you resident of the land of Uz! Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself. Daughter Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not lengthen your exile. But He will punish your iniquity, Daughter Edom, and will expose your sins” (Lamentations 4:21–22). While Edom rejoiced over the destruction of Jerusalem, Israel asked God to repay them with a similar fate because of their own sin. The Israelites experienced God’s discipline because of their sin. Constable wrote, “Believers who experience God’s discipline for their sins may feel great sorrow. Sometimes discipline cuts us off from the blessings of corporate worship and the joy it brings. It is always appropriate to ask God to remain faithful to his promises.”8

CLOSING

“In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or faint when you are reproved by Him, for the Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He receives. Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:4–11).

Chip Ingram listed five characteristics of biblical discipline from this passage in Hebrews:9

  1. The necessity of discipline is to deter destruction (Hebrews 12:4)
  2. The means of discipline are actions and words (Hebrews 12:5)
  3. The motive of discipline is to express love (Hebrews 12:6–8)
  4. The goal of discipline is to teach obedience (Hebrews 12:9)
  5. The result of discipline is short-term pain and long-term gain (Hebrews 12:10-11)

When you look at Psalm 137, you have to look at Hebrews 12 to understand why God did what He did. He wants to make sure we learn. It's a refining process and in the refining, you begin to look more like Jesus.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2004), p. 363.

  2. John MacArthur, The John MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), p. 689.

  3. Wiersbe, p. 363.

  4. Wiersbe, p. 363.

  5. MacArthur, p. 689.

  6. MacArthur, p. 689.

  7. MacArthur, p. 689.

  8. Thomas Constable, Dr. Constable’s Bible Expository Study Notes: Psalms, p. 465; available at https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/psalms.pdf.

  9. Chip Ingram, “Five Characteristics of Biblical Discipline”; available at https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/effective-biblical-discipline/effective-child-discipline/five-characteris- tics-of-biblical-discipline.

Questions

  1. In Psalm 137, why were the people weeping? Have you ever felt like you were in captivity or enslaved to something/someone? If so, explain.
  2. Read Psalm 138:6. Explain what the statement, “He takes note of the humble,” means. What about the statement, “He knows the haughty from a distance”?
  3. In Psalm 139, David shared that God knows everything about us and that we cannot flee or hide from Him. How did David seem to feel about these truths? What about you? How does knowing these things about God make you feel?
  4. According to Psalm 139:16, God had written in His book all the days ordained for David before he was even born. Do you think this is true about each one of us? Why or why not?
  5. In Psalm 139:23, David asked God to search his heart. After describing how God knew everything about him earlier in the chapter, why do you think David worded his request this way?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Psalms 137—139 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Psalm 139:13–14

“For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.”

The God of the universe created you in your mother’s womb. He knit you together. He calls you remarkable and wonderfully made. He knows your eyesight, your height, the number of hairs on your head, and even your thoughts. Nothing is hidden from Him. All your days were written in His book before a single one of them began for you. Isn’t that amazing? From the moment of your conception, He has been at work maturing you and disciplining you into His image?

Not only is the Lord all-knowing, but His presence is also always with you to strengthen and guide you as you mature. There’s nowhere you can hide, no distance you can run, no height too high, or depth too low, where He is not with you and able to move on your behalf. His hand is always there to lead you and hold on to you. As you walk through today, believe these truths from the Lord: You are known. God has plans for you. You, child of God, are beautifully and perfectly created. God designed you and has a specific plan for you! Hold on to these powerful promises for your life today!

“For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.”

— Psalm 139:13–14

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Psalm 139:1–5 — “Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me.”
  • Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
  • 1 Peter 2:9 — “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”